Rachel VandeVoort

Fly fishing has sculpted and continues to sculpt Rachel’s life. She was fortunate enough to be born into the fishiest of fly-fishing families: to say that her grandfather was fly-fishing-obsessed is a bit of an understatement, and her father was a fly-fishing guide. Casting lessons started at age 12 in a vacant lot near Rachel’s grandfather’s, fly tying started before that, she started working in the local fly shop in exchange for gear at a very young age. Fly fishing is forever woven into her personal and professional life; to say that fly fishing is a passion feels to minimize the impact that it has had on who she has become, the life she leads, and how she plans for the future. Fly fishing is one of the constants in her life that lifts her up, pushes her forward, and shakes the world down into perspective and focus. Life on the water is her best life.

Sascha Clark Danylchuk

A worshiper of sandy toes and mountain air, Sascha has spent most of her life seeking water in one form or another. Her obsession led her to a career centered around the natural world. As a fisheries scientist, Sascha has focused most of her work on recreational angling, specifically the science of catch-and-release. It is the intersection between her work as a scientist and her passion as an angler that led Sascha to Keepemwet Fishing, where she is Co-Executive Director. With a belief that recreational anglers have something to learn from fisheries scientists and that scientists need to make their work accessible to a wider audience, Sascha endeavors to develop a space in which everyone can communicate more directly and in a language that can be understood by all. To learn more about her work and Keepemwet Fishing, visit keepemwet.org or you can listen to her interview with Tom Rosenbauer on the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast.

McKenzie Ensminger

McKenzie Ensminger is from Peabody, Kansas, and she graduated from the University of Kansas with a Sport Management degree. McKenzie has been adventuring outdoors as long as she can remember, and her dad recently got her into fly fishing. She is still learning, but she enjoys being out outdoors as much as possible!

Karen Brooks

Karen’s passion for the outdoors led her to fly fishing 25 years ago, fuelled by her husband, Peter.

Years of fun followed, fishing the small streams that flow from the high country of southeastern Australia before exploring farther afield to many and varied international destinations.

A 2010 fly-fishing “trout bum” holiday through South and North America led to several aspirations: to inspire more women to become involved in fly fishing in Australia, to set up a guiding and accommodation business in Tasmania, and to attain her Certified Casting Certificate with Fly Fishers International. Driftwater Lodge in Tasmania was born from that idea, and others have followed. Karen now finds herself guiding and teaching both women and men on the pristine rivers and lakes of northern Tasmania—and inspiring other females to enjoy fly fishing.

In 2016, Karen was introduced to competition fly fishing in Australia, and has since competed regularly in state and national competitions. She was selected to represent Australia at the World Masters Fly Fishing Championships in South Africa in February 2019, the first female to represent Australia for more than 30 years.

Lisa Isles

Lisa started fly-fishing with her Granddads and Dad when she was 10 years old, and she has loved it since her first casting lesson. Over the years, Lisa has competed for the England Youth Team and successfully Captained the team in 2007, when they won Bronze at the Youth World Championships in Pennsylvania. Since then she has also fished for the England Ladies Team, and just last year Lisa competed in her first Fly-Fishing Casting Championships, where she took a Bronze Medal in the Female Trout Accuracy.

Lisa has travelled to many place–such as New Zealand, Norway, USA, Poland, and the Czech Republic, to name a few—to fly-fish. She loves tying her own flies and travelling the world, discovering new fly-fishing destinations and catching different species. One of the things she loves most about fly-fishing is that there is always something to learn. Lisa works full-time for the family business, which sells aftermarket parts for Harley Davidson’s & Custom Motorcycles.

Sara Jarrell

When Sara was a young girl, she was introduced to fishing by her grandmothers, around the age of 6 or so. It was a special activity that she shared with both of them–one lived in Montana and one in Alabama–so she got a taste for different types and environments for fishing at a young age. Then when visits to see grandma started to give way to college and jobs, Sara found herself fishing less and less. After her grandmothers passed away, she reminisced about all the fishing they had done together and decided it was time to create more fishing memories on her own. So she picked up fly fishing at the ripe old age of 31 and hasn’t stopped practicing casting yet.

Malorie Crispo

Malorie grew up in the woods, and was already equipped with a big love of hiking, camping, and nature, in general. A good friend introduced her to fly fishing about six years ago, and it just naturally wriggled into her already outdoorsy lifestyle. That natural integration turned into the healthiest obsession. She has learned so much, and continues to learn–whether it be about fishing or about herself–every time she steps into a river. She’s so lucky to live in Nova Scotia, which is a fly angler’s paradise and a playground for the outdoor enthusiast!

Emily Roley

Emily started fly fishing at the tender age of 13. Her passion for the sport only grew in intensity as she grew into an adult and finally, at 35 years old, she decided to turn the passion into a profession. She moved to Taos, New Mexico, where she became a guide and the shop manager for the Taos Fly Shop.

Becca Powell

Becca K. Powell is no stranger to the outdoors, having spent the summers of her youth in the mountains of North Georgia and hiking the Appalachian Trail; her college years in Boone, North Carolina, camping, hiking, skiing, fishing and rock climbing; and more than a decade working within the Waterkeeper movement.

As development director for the nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Becca works to bring awareness to the river that serves more than 5 million Georgians and sustains one of the South’s most thriving trout fisheries. When she’s not working, she can be found with a fly rod in hand. Some of Becca’s favorite moments are spent traveling with her husband, Justin, to Belize for bonefish, the Pacific Northwest in search of steelhead, or the Florida Keys, where she’s still dreaming of landing a tarpon on the fly.

Becca’s passion is the environment, and it shows not only through her career, but also her volunteer work. She is a proud member of the Georgia Women Fly Fishers, Fly Fishers International, Upper Chattahoochee Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and a volunteer for Casting for Recovery. Becca is also an associate editor for DUN Magazine and was featured as the Summer 2018 cover story. Becca is proud to be a part of the Orvis family, assisting with the #5050onthewater initiative in the Atlanta market. To follow Becca’s adventures both on the river and in the environmental movement, check her out on Instagram.

Emerald LaFortune

Emerald LaFortune is an Idaho guide and angler. She loves sharing Idaho’s wild places and wild fish with people from all over the world! Fishing is also one of her favorite ways to relax and spend time alone or with close friends. Alongside her work supporting Idaho guides as Director of the Redside Foundation, she also enjoys introducing women to fly fishing and writing about the intersection of outdoor sports and feminism. You can learn more about Emerald on her website The Emerald Lens or on Instagram at Emerald Lens Media.