Jess McGlothlin

FEATURED ANGLER
Missoula, Montana
How long have you been fly fishing?
Since I was a kid! My parents started me young, and one of my earliest memories is making a makeshift fort under the casting deck of my dad’s drift boat during a thunderstorm on the Snake River.
Favorite fly-fishing partner
Whomever I happen to meet in far corners of the world. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some awesome people in some very random places. (It’s easy to spot another angler in airports... look for the rod tubes and dry bags.)
Favorite water to fish
The South Pacific. I fall more in love with the salt water, the unique light, and the fishing every time I’m down there. Nothing better than spending a long day wading the flats for whatever beast might come cruising by, then crashing on the beach with a coconut afterward.
Favorite species to fish for
Honestly, I thoroughly enjoy snook. I’ve been lucky enough to “meet” a number of interesting aquatic species around the world, but there’s something about the scrappiness of snook I really enjoy. And bluefin trevally. And giant trevally. Who am I kidding? I’m all for whatever species swims my way.
Bucket List
Napoleon (humphead) wrasse—I’ve never caught one. And destination? I’d love to make it out to the Seychelles at some point, and there are a couple of islands in the South Pacific that are calling my name.
Top Three Fly Patterns
1. Clouser in chartreuse / white: it seems to entice fish when nothing else will, and it’s such a simple pattern. 2. Purple haze: it’s become one of my go-to patterns at home in Montana. And 3. Merkin crab, for no reason other than that, at the age of ten, it was the first saltwater fly I tied successfully on my own.

Jess McGlothlin

Jess McGlothlin sees her mission as a simple one: tell stories. Working as a freelance photographer and writer in the fly-fishing and outdoor industries, she was once the Orvis Outdoor Copywriter and now works with a variety of brands and publications. It’s never boring— while on assignment in the past few years she’s learned how to throw spears at coconuts in French Polynesia, dodge saltwater crocodiles in Cuba, stand-up-paddleboard down Peruvian Amazon tributaries, eat all manner of unidentifiable food, and fish for some truly incredible species. See more of her work at Jess McGlothin Media.

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