Dr. Steve Simper

Steve has been fishing the Henry’s Fork since he was six years old. He learned to fly fish in front of Mack’s Inn at the age of eight, and almost all of his family’s vacations were spent in Island Park. Even during his ten years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Steve made it a point to return almost every year to fish the Henry’s Fork.

For more than 30 years, Steve has owned a cabin in Pinehaven, and his favorite stretches of the river are Box Canyon and the water that flows past his cabin. He has been a dedicated member of the Henry’s Fork Foundation nearly since its inception, and over the decades, he has witnessed many changes—both in the river and in Island Park as a whole. Now semi-retired, Steve is eager to give back to the place that has given him so much.

Steve grew up in Brigham City, Utah, and attended both Utah State University and the University of Utah. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology, with a focus on Limnology—the study of aquatic ecosystems. Professionally, Steve built his career as a general surgeon in Salt Lake City. He served as Chief of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Scott Air Force Base, Chief of General Surgery at McKay-Dee Hospital, Chief of Surgery at St. Mark’s Hospital, and was President of the Salt Lake Surgical Society.