I’m still not really quite sure how I ended up writing and photographing for the fly fishing world. It started off with an investigative piece about the Madison River while I was living in Bozeman… a rumor floated around town and I saw it as a challenge. Something to chase down.
My first time interviewing someone was for that feature; I was on an adrenaline high and think I got the cold sweats. It was an entirely new world for a twenty-one year old girl.
And one that rather intrigued me.
Fast forward four years and I’ve been going hard and fast. Photography and writing have taken me on adventures I never could have dreamed of in my wildest fantasies, and every day it just gets better. Of course there have been the times where I wonder what the hell I’m doing and I’m just out-and-out tired of the slog. Sure. It happens to all of us.
I’ve been followed by FSB in Russia, had a ceiling collapse in Montana and been put through my paces on an Army obstacle course. Skidded through Yellowstone during a whiteout and fished with Yvon Chouinard. Along the way there have been rivers of all manners – from the weird milky green of the San Marcos to the crystal clear home waters of the Gallatin. The mighty Missouri claimed my attention last summer, bringing a sense of home and hordes of incredible people into my life.
And, really, that’s what it all boils down to. The people. Be it an angler I get to spend the day with on a photo shoot, a park ranger I talk with over the phone about the latest conservation battle, some random dude who stops me at a gas station in Utah and says “hey, you’re that photographer,” a makeshift family on the Missouri or the guy at an Austin Starbucks who stopped me yesterday and said “I like your sticker” while pointing to the new Orvis carp sticker on the Suby, the people are what make this all worthwhile. Fly fishing has brought the most incredible folks into my life, and I get a rush of gratefulness every time I open a new email or read a blog comment.
To that end, I have big news to announce. Orvis has brought me on as their new outdoor copywriter. I’ll be covering the fly fishing and shooting categories, and relocating to Orvis Corporate Headquarters in Vermont with the New Year.
I spent much of last week in Vermont and was, quite frankly, shocked with the quality and affability of the Orvis team. True professionals, they are spearheading very exciting times in the fly fishing world and I can’t begin to express how excited and thankful I am to join the team.
And there’s fishing around. Stripers, steelhead, trout, carp, pike… the list goes on and on.
Here’s to a banner 2014, full of new adventures, new comrades and new stories. Thanks to everyone who has made the journey possible… and worthwhile.
