Caylin Delaroy

Fly fishing is still relatively new for Caylin, but really plays a large role in her life now. Her fiancé, Kyle, took her fly fishing for the very first time in the summer of 2015. When she first started fly fishing, Kyle showed a lot of patience with me, and he still loved Caylin even after she lost all of his flies in the trees!
It wasn’t until summer 2019 that Caylin had her breakthrough with fly fishing. Prior, fly fishing was a hobby that she participated in casually. Now, it has turned into an enthusiasm where she finds herself going out almost everyday in the summer. While Kyle has been Caylin’s support and guide (literally!) all this time, she feels that she has finally gained more confidence in herself and my her casting skills to fly-fish more independently. As her confidence has grown in the sport, so has her passion.
Caylin says, “I see and love all the female anglers that are a part of this sport who are advocating to get more women into it. It is my hope that my story of overcoming my initial lack of confidence is something that can inspire other ladies who are new to the sport. We all have to start somewhere!”

Erica Nelson

Erica is a self-taught fly fisher who started the summer of 2016 when she moved to Lander, Wyoming, to become a NOLS whitewater instructor. Having moved to a new state, she started looking for new hobbies. One day, she borrowed a fly rod and watched some YouTube videos. After many tangles and lost flies, she started her Instagram account @AwkwardAngler to branch out and meet people who were willing to teach and answer questions, and eventually found a mentor. Erica is now an ambassador for @BrownFolksFishing, an Instagram community that cultivates the visibility, representation, and inclusion of people of color in fishing and its industry. Erica has observed that, for those who didn’t grow up fly fishing or having access to mentors, there are many barriers to becoming involved in fly fishing. From understanding land boundaries–where you can and cannot fish, indigenous water rights, or lack thereof–to what is a tippet, how to tie on flies, what is up with rod weights and varying line types. Learning a new language doesn’t come easy for all, and she uses her account to increase awareness and education around these topics, infused with humor.

Cuyler Vesely

Cuyler works in emergency medicine as an EMT, and she found that she needed an outlet–a way to clear her mind, calm her down, and get her outside more often. Fly fishing has allowed her to grow as a person in ways that she couldn’t imagine. Cuyler lives for the fresh air, for the beautiful colors of the fish, and for the amazing community that involves fly fishing and conservation. She’s been fly fishing her whole life, but really fell in love with it about a year ago. It’s strengthened relationships, and she’s able to share so many aspects of fly fishing with the people she loves in my life.

Cory Mclaughlin

Fly fishing came into Cory’s life full-force about five years ago, when she lived in Colorado and worked at a dude ranch. She quickly became infatuated with the sport and hasn’t stopped since. Cory has been lucky enough to catch some amazing fish in some amazing places and has managed to think up quite a bucket list of fish and places to go next. In her real life, she trains, shows, and sells horses for a living. This job takes her all over the U.S. and to other countries, as well. When Cory is not riding or is done with her day, you will find her either fishing in the rivers nearby (if there are some) or looking up the stats on the rivers around me to find the ideal fishing spots. I’m very lucky to live this life where I get to be outdoors all the time with my two passions easily fitting in my day-to-day routine.

Faith Briggs

Faith Briggs moved to Portland, Oregon, from Brooklyn, New York and immediately fell in love with fly-fishing upon getting involved with Soul River Inc., a non-profit organization that brings veterans and inner-city youth together into the outdoors through fly fishing and conservation education. A runner and cyclist, she found fishing a very different kind of recreation, but an amazing reminder to slow down and reconnect with the life cycles around her. The opportunity to travel to Kamchatka, Russia, with Columbia Sportswear definitely spoiled her for the rest of her life, but she recently caught her first Oregon trout and that was just as special. Faith is a Brown Folks Fishing ambassador and very proud to be reclaiming space and representing a legacy of diverse folks spending time immersed in our nation’s beautiful rivers. Both her grandparents were avid anglers and it’s been exciting for her to reconnect with that family tradition.

Soul River
Brown Folks Fishing

Jennifer Holbrook

Unofficially hooked on fishing as a kid chasing bluegills in Virginia lakes, Jennifer’s military-brat upbringing had her putting line in waters from Florida to Maine much of her life. Now officially hooked on fly fishing after an early summer trip on the Gunnison River in 2018, she jumps at all opportunities to target fish in the nearby Pacific, San Diego area bays and lakes, streams of the Sierras, and any southwestern waters she reaches in her travels. Still developing her network of fly-fishing pals, Jennifer launched the SoCal Women on the Fly Facebook group in Fall 2018 and, with the support of its membership, tries to schedule quarterly get-togethers for women in the region. In addition to her multi-adventure-sport background, fly fishing keeps Jennifer even more connected to a variety of amazing, natural places.

Wendy Krag O’Neil

While they were living in Santa Fe in the ‘90s, Wendy’s husband, Tom, introduced her to fly fishing, which quickly became a true passion. Along with being an avid angler, she is also a silversmith, now living in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and working out of a studio that is located in the hay loft of an old, renovated barn. Wendy feels very lucky to have been able to combine her two favorite passions. She handcrafts sterling-silver belt buckles, key chains, bracelets, cuff links and charms with fish, fly-fishing, and island themes. She loves both cold stream trout fishing and the thrill of saltwater angling. Over the years, Wendy has become involved in several inspirational organizations that deeply care about our environment and angling culture, including Casting for Recovery, United Women on the Fly, Stripers Forever, and the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

Samantha Warner

Samantha grew up barefoot in the woods and fishing Lake Erie with the greatest man on Earth, her dad. It’s because of him that she grew so passionate about nature and has continued her love for this sport over the years. It wasn’t until Samantha moved to Florida, however, that she discovered the thrill (and challenge) of saltwater fly fishing. She finds something therapeutic about simply casting a fly rod – but something even more rewarding about watching a snook carefully examine her fly before crushing it on the surface. Throughout her relatively new fly-fishing journey, every rejection, fumbled cast, and hook-up has taught her patience, perseverance, and a genuine respect for the ecosystems she’s fishing in. Whether she’s fishing the docks for laid up snook, cruising the beaches for rolling tarpon, or scanning the flats for tailing redfish, there’s always something to look forward to – and someone special to share the moment with. When the fishing’s not great, you can find Samantha and her other half waist-deep in Big Cypress alongside her favorite animals on Earth, alligators and snakes.

Elizabeth Hendrix

Elizabeth’s passion for fly fishing began when she was a small girl playing in the rocks and pools while her father fished for trout and steelhead. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, it was easy to fish local rivers and lakes for trout and Puget Sound for salmon, and as she grew older Elizabeth was able to get out on her own.

She wanted to spend her free time in nature, and fishing was her conduit to experience the magic of the outdoors. It was the experience that filled her soul and that she loves to share with friends, family, and fellow fishers.

Her passion for fishing inspired a move from being a communications professional in Seattle to wanting to teach more women to fish in Sun Valley, Idaho. A single mom, Elizabeth moved her two children from Seattle to Sun Valley and has been sharing the joys and experiences of exploring our local waters and catching a variety of trout species ever since. It gave her special memories with her kids and loved ones, and it introduced her to new friends. She’s seen how fishing brought out the love of a mother and daughter that were struggling before they found common ground casting to fish together, and she’s shared the delight and captured the smiles of women, men, and kids who hooked into their first fish. One of her favorite guiding trips was teaching a 90-year-old woman and her 16-year-old great granddaughter to fish at the same time—both caught fish with the entire family watching on the riverbank.

Fly fishing has taken Elizabeth to parts of the world–the Everglades and Key West in Florida, Alaska, the Bahamas, the Yucatan, Montana, Wyoming, and many others–that she might have never visited. It has opened her life in ways that continue to ripple outward. She loves when her kids come home for a few days of fishing. Someday there will be grandkids in tow, and Elizabeth is waiting to share with them this amazing way to connect with others and with nature.

Moe Newman

Moe Newman is the owner of Journey South Outfitters in Venice, Louisiana, where she also guides. She grew up fishing primarily with conventional gear and catching some amazing species doing so, but she needed to find another way to challenge herself. In 2011, she picked up her first fly rod, starting small, with a 12-weight. LOL. Once she figured out the basics, within a few casts she hooked up to a nice 25-pound blackfin tuna for her first fish on fly. Since then, fly fishing has rejuvenated her love for fishing. She now guides more and more fly trips each season, and on her days off, she tries to chase some fish with the fly rod. It has now become the love for the chase and not so much the catch.