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Kaitlin Boyer

FEATURED ANGLER

: I live in Cascade, Colorado, a tiny mountain town at the base of Pikes Peak in Southern Colorado. It’s a great place to live because it’s only a thirty-minute commute to the city, and a thirty-minute commute to the river. The views are epic, and being so close to Pikes Peak also means we have close access to Pikes Peak’s high mountain reservoirs.
How long have you been fly fishing?: I started fly fishing in 2010. I had just moved from Oregon back to my home state of Colorado, and my dad had the fly-fishing bug really bad. He started teaching me on camping trips, and by 2015, I was totally obsessed.

Favorite fly-fishing partner: That’s a hard one. My significant other, Andy, is my ultimate fishing partner. He’s a grassroots fly fisherman who has been fishing since he was seven years old. He really advanced me to a level of angling I thought I’d never achieve. When we fish together, there’s a perfect balance of competitiveness, tenderness, and encouragement. Our dogs are pretty fun to fish with too; we are the only ones on the river with Shih Tzu’s.
Favorite water to fish: I think I’m biased, but Colorado has some pretty epic fishing. The western slope is always a treat, whether it’s the Roaring Fork Valley or the Gunnison River Basin; there are so many wonderful fisheries where the trout are plentiful. My favorite, though, is the Uncompahgre River in southwestern Colorado. Every other year, we take a long trip out there and fish for Snake River Cutthroats.
Favorite species to fish for: I’m honestly not a very worldly fly fisher. I rarely leave Colorado, and I only fish for trout, and the occasional salmon run. I do love trout though--fishing for rainbows in the spring, brookies in the summer, browns in the fall. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of them. I think once our kids are older, I’ll have more opportunities to travel more and experience fishing for different species.
Bucket List: At this point, I would go anywhere to fish for anything! Patagonia, Alaska, and New Zealand are at the top of my list. I’d love to do a saltwater trip to fish for tarpon or permit.
Top Three Fly Patterns: Buckskin: This is my favorite nymph. When it’s wet, it looks like a caddis larva or a midge in the water. I’ve caught more fish on this fly than anything else. Amy’s Ant: This is a hopper pattern that is great in the summer and fall. You cast it up against the bank, in shallow riffles, or in still water and the fish just go nuts. Purple Egg-Sucking Leech: I’m not huge on streamers, but I’m trying to get better. I caught a lot of fish on this fly in Wyoming last fall and now it’s my go-to streamer.

Kaitlin Boyer

Fly fishing fits into Kaitlin Boyer’s life like a piece of a puzzle that she didn’t know was missing. It’s a religion, a temple, a passion, a therapist, a friend, a way to connect with her significant other, a career, a profession, and a creative outlet. To reset, she spends her free time on the river bank. She captures her fishing journeys with her camera, and writes about them in hopes of getting published. In the summer, she gets up before dawn to take people fly fishing and teach them how to catch fish, and in turn gets money to provide for her family. The friends and the memories she’s made have come with many casts, bad net jobs, and fish that made the day. All in all, fly fishing isn’t a hobby, or just a job, it’s the air Kaitlin breathes.