2024 Meet Up #5 - Chocklett Factory: Blane Chocklett Changes the Game
Mar
17

2024 Meet Up #5 - Chocklett Factory: Blane Chocklett Changes the Game

Changing the game: Captain Blane Chocklett joins Masters of the Fly to discuss the thinking behind his unique fly-tying approach, and shows us how to tie one of the most innovative fly designs in recent years, the Game Changer.

A disciple of the seminal fly-tyer, Bob Popovics, Blane Chocklett has incorporated the same innovative mindset to create a whole new approach to imitating natural bait - not only in appearance, but in motion. His Game Changer fly is lethally effective for a wide range of gamefish - from stubborn muskie to trophy striped bass. Join us for a special evening of tying with Blane, as he talks about the thinking behind his unique fly-tying approach, and shows us the technique behind one of the most innovative fly designs in recent years.

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2024 Meet Up #4 - Jason Taylor: The Art and Science of Fly Tying
Feb
25

2024 Meet Up #4 - Jason Taylor: The Art and Science of Fly Tying

OG Master of the Fly, Jason Taylor makes his return to the show for another special evening of fly tying. One of the most artistic and innovative fly tiers today, Jason (@flyonby) employs a variety of both classic and modern techniques in an effort to find harmony within the vast assortment of materials available to today's fly tier. A frequent presenter at shows and fly-tying events, Jason is known for helping other tiers and fishermen, as he believes that aspect of the sport is as important as any other. Greatly influenced by Bob Popovics, David Nelson and others, Jason enjoys stalking trout with dry flies, chasing stripers in the surf and exploring urban fisheries near his home in Philadelphia.

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2024 Meet Up #3 - Captain Crease: Joe Blados and the True Story Behind the Crease Fly
Feb
4

2024 Meet Up #3 - Captain Crease: Joe Blados and the True Story Behind the Crease Fly

Join us for an unforgettable evening with one of the true innovators of saltwater fly tying, Captain Joe Blados, the inventor of the crease fly

Among the small number of true innovators in the history of saltwater fly tying innovation, Joe Blados stands out for creating the distinctive foam-bodied crease fly, a deadly bait for surface-feeding gamefish. But the crease fly is much more than a single pattern - it represents a unique innovation in the approach to imitating baitfish that has wide applicability in a range of fishing situations. We are thrilled to have the legendary Captain Joe join us on Masters of the Fly for a discussion of the origin of the fly, and his approach to creating flies for saltwater fishing.

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2024 Meet Up #2 - Ben Whalley // Saltwater Edge Stock the Box Expo
Jan
21

2024 Meet Up #2 - Ben Whalley // Saltwater Edge Stock the Box Expo

Don’t miss Masters of the Fly’s first remote broadcast from The Saltwater Edge’s Stock the Box fly-tying expo in Newport, RI, featuring some of the true legends of saltwater fly tying, including Blane Chocklett, Ben Whalley, Scott Stryker, Joe Calcavecchia, Joe Cordeiro, Jason Taylor, Chris Kokorda, Michael Perechinsky, Casey Allen, Bill Murphy, Jay Foss, Phil Farnsworth, Pete Farrell, Steve Cook, and others.

This Zoom event will also feature a tying session with fly-tying innovator and striped bass guide, Ben Whalley.

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Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #6: Casting with Mark Sedotti // Gear Fisher
Apr
30

Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #6: Casting with Mark Sedotti // Gear Fisher

Join Master of the Fly for a special session on the art of the long cast, with master fly caster, Mark Sedotti, and special guest, Gear Fisher, the developer of the OnForm video analysis app. Mark and Gene will be using OnForm to analyze and improve your casting videos! Stay tuned for more details on how you can submit video of your casting for analysis and feedback by Mark and Gear.

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Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #4: Steve Ramirez and Ted Williams
Mar
26

Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #4: Steve Ramirez and Ted Williams

Texas-based Steve Ramirez (Casting Onward, Casting Forward, Casting Seaward) is one of today’s great documenters of our sport, with regular columns in Fly Fisherman Magazine, Trout Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, American Angler. Ted Williams is considered the foremost fish conservation writer of our time, writing for Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, and Fly Rod & Reel magazine. Join us for an evening of reflections from these two legendary fly fishing authors about the evolution of our sport and our fishery.

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Masters of the Fly 2023 Meet #3: Mastering the art of big flies with Brita Fordice
Mar
12

Masters of the Fly 2023 Meet #3: Mastering the art of big flies with Brita Fordice

Brita Fordice is a West Coast fly fishing guide, and one of the true innovators in tying big flies for big fish. Join for an evening of fly tying with Brita as she takes us through the materials and approaches she uses to create realistic baitfish imitations that will work on a variety of species, in diverse situations, and across inshore and nearshore fisheries

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Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #2: Andy Mill // Mill House Podcast
Feb
26

Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #2: Andy Mill // Mill House Podcast

Fly fishing legend, Andy Mill, joins us to talk about his journey from champion alpine skier to perhaps the most-famous name in tarpon fishing. Andy is also the creator and host, with his son Nick, of the iconic Mill House Podcast, which, since January 2020, has been recording the unique stories of the legendary guides and anglers of our most famous inshore and nearshore fisheries.

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Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #1 - Tony Friedrich, Blane Chocklett and American Saltwater Guides Association
Feb
5

Masters of the Fly 2023 Meetup #1 - Tony Friedrich, Blane Chocklett and American Saltwater Guides Association

Join Masters of the Fly and our friends Tony Friedrich and Blane Chocklett from the American Saltwater Guides Association for an important update on the state of our fishery in 2023. As the premier conservation organization representing the interests of the recreational angling community, ASGA led important scientific and policy work in 2022, including providing key input into the recently-passed Amendment 7 of the Striped Bass Management Plan. At the end of 2022, ASGA launched the first-ever false albacore-tagging program, which has already led to unprecedented insights about this important light-tackle gamefish. This session will provide all of us with an update on the most significant issues in fisheries science conservation, and how we can all stay informed and support this important work.

This is a FREE EVENT - but we ask that you consider becoming a member and making a donation to the American Saltwater Guides Association via this link.

Event and Q&A discussion moderated and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

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2022 Meetup #7 - Salty Fly Guides Roundtable
May
1
to May 2

2022 Meetup #7 - Salty Fly Guides Roundtable

Join Masters of the Fly for a roundtable discussion with Captains Abbie Schuster, David Blinken, Gene Quigley, and Merrit White. What lessons did we learn from the 2021 season? What are the predictions for the 2022 season? What new tackle, techniques, and technologies are we looking forward to using this season? And what are our biggest hopes and fears for fisheries management and coastal conservation efforts in 2022? If you’re like all of us, you’re already gearing up for the new fishing season. Get a head start by tuning in to our guides roundtable discussion!

Click HERE for more info and to register for this FREE virtual event.

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2022 Meet Up #6 - James Prosek
Apr
3

2022 Meet Up #6 - James Prosek

Join Masters of the Fly for a special evening with legendary angler, artist, and author, James Prosek, who will talk about his life’s passion pursuing and painting fish around the world, tell us the fascinating stories behind three of his most iconic paintings, and what he learned about fish, fishing, and the natural habitat as a result.

James Prosek made his authorial debut at nineteen years of age with Trout: an Illustrated History (Knopf 1996), which featured seventy of his watercolor paintings of the trout of North America. His latest book, Art, Artifact, Artifice (Yale 2020) has been hailed as one of the most important books on art and nature in recent history.

Compared by The New York Times to John James Audubon, James is a modern-day master whose art and writing are cherished by anglers and naturalists around the world.

Event and Q&A discussion moderated by Erik Schatzker of Bloomberg News and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

Click HERE for more info and to register for this FREE virtual event.

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2022 Meet Up #5 - Breaking the Glass Surface: Women Leaders In Fly Fishing
Mar
20

2022 Meet Up #5 - Breaking the Glass Surface: Women Leaders In Fly Fishing

Breaking the glass surface - guiding and angling secrets from today’s most influential women in saltwater fly fishing. Capt. Abbie Schuster, United Women on the Fly’s Heather Hodson, Dun Magazine’s Jen Ripple, and Masters of the Fly are excited to team up with some of today’s top women in fly angling who are pushing the envelope forward by innovating new approaches and challenging old orthodoxies in a field traditionally dominated by men.

Virtual event and Q&A discussion moderated by Erik Schatzker of Bloomberg News and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

Click HERE for more info and to register for this FREE virtual event.

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2022 Meet Up #4 - Jason Taylor
Mar
6

2022 Meet Up #4 - Jason Taylor

Known for his elegant imitations of large saltwater baitfish, fly-tying guru Jason Taylor joins Masters of the Fly for a discussion of his philosophy and approach to fly-tying, and a demonstration of his tying techniques.

Virtual tying demonstration with Q&A moderated by David Blinken and Luyen Chou.

Click HERE for more info and to register for this FREE virtual event.

Click here for more information and for a list of tying materials.

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2022 Meet Up #3 - Chris Wood // Trout Unlimited
Feb
27

2022 Meet Up #3 - Chris Wood // Trout Unlimited

Trout Unlimited’s president, Chris Wood, joins Masters of the Fly for a discussion about TU’s conservation efforts, the future of our fishery, and what we can all do to help preserve this resource for the next generation of fly anglers.

Virtual event and Q&A discussion moderated by Erik Schatzker of Bloomberg News and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

Click HERE for more info and to register for this FREE virtual event.

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #7 - James Prosek
May
2

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #7 - James Prosek

Join Masters of the Fly for a special evening with legendary artist, writer and naturalist, James Prosek, who will talk about his latest book, Art, Artifact, Artifice. James Prosek made his authorial debut at nineteen years of age with Trout: an Illustrated History, which featured seventy of his watercolor paintings of the trout of North America.

Compared by The New York Times to John James Audubon, James is a modern-day master whose art and writing are cherished by anglers and naturalists around the world.

Event and Q&A discussion moderated by Erik Schatzker of Bloomberg News and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

This session will be held virtually. Attendance limited to the first 100 registrants.

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #6 - fly-tying with Tony Friedrich
Apr
11

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #6 - fly-tying with Tony Friedrich

Join us for a night of fly tying with Tony Friedrich, Vice President of the American Saltwater Guides Association and master fly tyer. Tony will show all of us young Padawans how to tie his innovative and versatile Mtfbwu fly (“May the Force Be With You”).

Feel free to just watch, OR if you want to follow along, check out the list of materials below, AND you can purchase all of the materials directly from our partner Chris at Saltwaterflies.com!

Click here for more information on this event including tying materials for those who want to follow along.

This is a virtual event. The event is limited to 100 participants.

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #5 - fly-tying with Ken Ekelund
Mar
21

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #5 - fly-tying with Ken Ekelund

Join us as Staten Island-based fly fisherman and fly tyer Ken Ekelund demonstrates how to tie one of the most productive and beloved saltwater flies, the Rhody Flatwing.

Feel free to just watch, OR if you want to follow along, check out the list of materials below, AND you can purchase all of the materials directly from our partner Chris at Saltwaterflies.com!

Click here for more information on this event including tying materials for those who want to follow along.

This is a virtual event. The event is limited to 100 participants.

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #4 - fly-tying with Jonny King
Mar
7

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #4 - fly-tying with Jonny King

Join us for a special evening of fly-tying with Jonny King, the inventor of the popular Kinky Muddler fly. Jonny will demonstrate how to tie both the Kinky Muddler and the Hoo fly - two of the most productive and versatile saltwater flies being used today.

Feel free to just watch and listen, OR if you want to follow along on your vice, we'll be sending out a list of requisite materials before the event, AND a link to our partner, Chris at Saltwaterflies.com, who can send you a pre-packaged kit!

Click here for more information on this event including tying materials for those who want to follow along.

This is a virtual event. The event is limited to 100 participants.

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #3 - fly-tying with Capt. David Blinken
Feb
21

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #3 - fly-tying with Capt. David Blinken

Capt. David will demonstrate how to tie two of his highly-productive flies - the Little Brown and the Jellyfish.

Feel free to just watch, OR if you want to follow along, check out the list of materials below, AND you can purchase all of the materials directly from our partner Chris at Saltwaterflies.com!

This is a virtual event. The event is limited to 100 participants.

REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE

Click here to purchase materials for this session from saltwaterflies.com

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #2 - Jamie Howard, HowardFilms
Feb
15

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #2 - Jamie Howard, HowardFilms

Join Masters of the Fly for a special evening with filmmaker Jamie Howard. This event will include a screening of two short clips from his iconic striped bass fishing film, Running the Coast, followed by a Q&A session moderated by Bloomberg News editor-at-large (and fellow Master of the Fly), Erik Schatzker.

If you ever wondered how the aerial footage in Chasing Silver was shot before the availability of drones, now is your chance. Trust me, it's a great story!

This session will be held virtually. Attendance limited to the first 100 registrants.

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Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #1 - John McMurray and the American Saltwater Guides Association on the state of our striper fishery
Jan
24

Masters of the Fly 2021 Meetup #1 - John McMurray and the American Saltwater Guides Association on the state of our striper fishery

Join us on Sunday, January 24, 2021 for a FREE “State of the Striper Union” address by Capt. John McMurray and the American Saltwater Guides Association.

Event and Q&A discussion moderated by Erik Schatzker of Bloomberg News and hosted by Masters of the Fly.

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2023 Speakers

 

Tony Friedrich

Former saltwater fly fishing guide and professional fly tyer Tony Friedrich is president of the American Saltwater Guides Association, President and Policy Director.

ASGA is the first-ever non-profit association launched to protect the interests of saltwater fishing guides and recreational anglers, by activating and uniting guides, small business owners and like-minded anglers, and serving as their voice in federal, regional and state policymaking conversations.

Tony previously served as the Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland, and has played a key role in in major fisheries decisions in the Mid-Atlantic and across the country. 

Blane Chocklett

Blane grew up fishing the small mountain streams near his home in Blue Ridge, Virginia, and, in the late 90s, opened Blue Ridge Fly Fishers in Roanoke, Virginia. Blane has worked to create patterns that have the intricate nuances of flies with the strike-generating action of conventional lures. Flymen Fishing Company currently produces many of his most popular patterns.

A decade ago, Blane returned to the river where he now specializes in float trips for musky, smallmouth bass, stripers, and trout. Blane also hosts trips around the world.

Blane is the Southeastern Field Editor for Fly Fisherman magazine. He is an advisor or brand ambassador for many of the industry’s top brands: Patagonia, Temple Fork Outfitters, Scientific Anglers, Costa, Yeti, Sightline Provisions, Renzetti, Flymen Fishing Company, Adipose Boatworks and Hog Island Boatworks.

Andy Mill

Andy Mill is one of saltwater fly fishing’s more prolific and recognized personalities. His impact on the sport has been profound as a TV Host and producer, tournament angler, product consultant, ambassador, writer, author, and, most recently, with his son Nick, a popular podcast host.

For seven years Mill hosted and produced the award winning show “Sportsman’s Journal”.  Traveling the world for the Versus network he produced 81 fishing programs including one with former President Bush inside the arctic circle. No angler has won more tarpon tournaments than Andy, including five Gold Cups. He was the first of only three anglers to win a bonefish, permit, and tarpon tournament. 

Andy is a member of four halls of fame: Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, Aspen Valley Ski Club HOF, the City of Aspen HOF, and Bonefish Tarpon Trust HOF. As a skier, Andy competed in two Olympic Games and four World Championships.

Brita Fordice

Brita Fordice is a native of Washington State,learned to fly fish at the age of 8, taught herself to tie flies at the age of 10. Spending summers and weekends at her family house on the Stillaguamish river fed her desire to explore new fishing water. After a few years in Idaho and Alaska she returned to Seattle in 2005 to begin guiding and working in a fly shop just north of the city. Brita has hosted fishing trips and traveled all over the world, with Christmas Island being her favorite fishing destination.

Brita is a recognized fly tying innovator, and is a virtual encyclopedia when it comes to recognizing and procuring tying materials for both classic and modern flies.  Fishing Puget Sound beaches and rivers for steelhead are her passion these days.  She shares her work time between guiding and research and development for RIO Products, where she designs flies for wholesale production and retail sale.

Steve Ramirez

Steve Ramirez is an award winning outdoor and conservation author who lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country. Steve’s first book, Casting Forward - Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country, was featured in the film Mending the Line starring Brian Cox and Sinqua Walls. His second book, Casting Onward – Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish has received critical acclaim as an important work of outdoor adventure and conservation literature.

Steve currently writes the Seasonable Angler column for Fly Fisherman Magazine and his work has appeared in various journals including, Fly Fisherman, Trout Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, American Angler, Tail Magazine, Hallowed Waters Journal, Under Wild Skies, and many more.

Steve serves as the Ambassador for Texas for the American Museum of Fly-Fishing, is a Life Member of Trout Unlimited, and a contributing member of the Nature Conservancy and Audubon. As a certified Master Naturalist, Steve is passionately involved in promoting the restoration and conservation of the watersheds, rivers, wetlands, and shorelines of North America and beyond. He is an avid outdoor adventure traveler who has explored four continents, but who always seems to return home to the spring fed Hill Country streams of Texas.

Ted Williams

Ted Williams detests baseball, but is as obsessed with fishing as was the “real” (or, as he much prefers, “late”) Ted Williams. “I know outdoor writers burn themselves out fast with bile and cheap booze” he says, “but it’s somewhat discouraging when my readers meet me in person and still think I’m the frozen ballplayer.”

The surviving Ted writes rare books about fish and wildlife. He also writes articles and blogs about fish and wildlife for low-paying national publications. Ted has received the annual Conservation Achievement (“Connie”) Award from the National Wildlife Federation, the Federal Wildlife Officers Association Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Earthwrite Award from Sierra Magazine, the Aldo Leopold Award from the Federation of Fly Fishers, the Conservationist of the Year Award from the Coastal Conservation Association of New York, the top conservation award (“Jade of Chiefs”) from Outdoor Writers Association of America, and the Nautilus Award for his recent rare book “Earth Almanac.”

Williams graduated Colby College with a BA in English and Boston University School of Public Communication with an M.S. in Journalism. He lives in central Massachusetts with Governor Benning Wentworth II (his Brittany) and Donna (his wife).

Gunnar Brammer

Gunnar Brammer has been tying professionally since 2015 and specializes in predator fly design along with fly tying demonstration. Brammer is a St. Croix Rods Pro, HMH Vises Pro, Hedron Inc. Tying Team Member, Deer Creek Pro, FlymenFishingCo Ambassador, and a Friend of Ahrex Hooks. He was recently featured in Fly Tyer Magazine – “The Creative Streamers of Gunnar Brammer” and is a frequent guest writer for the Flymen Blog. Gunnar continues to buff out his YouTube channel with meticulous step by step fly tying instructions and fly fishing related content geared towards the diehard streamer junkie! Gunnar currently resides in Duluth, MN.

Mark Sedotti

Mark Sedotti was Fly Casting Columnist for Saltwater Fly Fishing Magazine. He has performed countless fly casting demos at fly casting, fly fishing, and sportsmen’s club events as well as at The Fly Fishing Show, ISE San Mateo, and FFF conclaves nationwide. A well known fly tyer, he started the now world wide Big Streamer - Big Trout craze when he brought his Sedotti's Slammer bunker fly series to Michigan and Arkansas at the start of the millenium.

Past Speakers

 

Johnny King

Jonny King is a lifelong fly tyer and fly fisherman from New York City. His flies have been featured in all of the major fly fishing magazines, including Fly Fisherman, American Angler, and Fly Tyer, as well as many foreign publications, and he served as a staff writer for Fly Fishing In Saltwater for many years. He also penned one of the chapters for Fleye Design, by his close friend and mentor Bob Popovics. Jonny is a regular presence at fly tying shows and fly shops, where he gives demonstrations on both fresh and saltwater patterns. His flies are commercially available through Fulling Mill. When not waving a fly rod, Jonny is an intellectual property lawyer and professional jazz pianist, who has toured the world with various different bands.

Willy Goldsmith Ph.D

Willy is ASGA’s Executive Director. A lifelong angler with a background in fisheries science, He spent the past two years working in fishery management in Washington, DC, first as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and more recently at the Lenfest Ocean Program. Willy holds a doctorate in Marine Science from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William and Mary.

Bob Popovics

Bob Popovics is the founder of the Atlantic Salmon Saltwater Fly Rodders, advisory member of TFO rods, a member of the Renzetti Legacy Tying Team, associated with Tibor Reels and a Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and Catskill Fly Fishing Museum Hall of Fame inductee. Though he has refined his fishing techniques and casting skills by traveling around the world, Bob is perhaps best known as a designer of flies (or ”fleyes,” as they’re called) and as a teacher.

James Prosek

Artist, writer, naturalist, and Yale graduate James Prosek published his first book at nineteen years of age, Trout: an Illustrated History (Alfred A. Knopf, 1996), which featured seventy of his watercolor paintings of the trout of North America. Prosek's work has been shown at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, NY, Gerald Peters Gallery, NY and Santa Fe, The Royal Academy of Arts in London, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, The Yale Center for British Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with solo exhibitions at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT, The Addison Gallery of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The New Britain Museum of American Art, The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, The North Carolina Museum of Art and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC among others.

Chris Wood

Chris is President and CEO of Trout Unlimited. Prior to joining TU in 2001, Chris Wood served as the senior policy and communications advisor to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service where he helped protect 58 million acres of publicly owned land. Chris began his career as a temporary employee with the Forest Service in Idaho and also worked for the Fish and Wildlife program of the Bureau of Land Management. He is the author and co-author of numerous papers and articles and three books including, Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices (AFS 1997), From Conquest to Conservation: Our Public Land Legacy (Island Press, 2003), and My Healthy Stream: A handbook for streamside owners (Trout Unlimited and Aldo Leopold Foundation, 2013).

Jason Taylor

Former restaurateur Jason Taylor grew up in rural Virginia, fishing the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and any farm pond or creek he could find. Jason’s flies employ a variety of both classic and modern techniques in an effort to find harmony within the vast assortment of materials available to today's fly tier. He also enjoys helping other tiers and fishermen, as he believes that aspect of the sport is as important as any other. Greatly influenced by Bob Popovics, David Nelson and others, he ties most of his flies late at night after working as a professional waiter. Jason serves on the Pro Staff for Tuffleye, Regal Vises and Partridge Hooks. He enjoys stalking trout with dry flies, chasing stripers in the surf and exploring urban fisheries near his home in Philadelphia.

Capt. Abbie Schuster

Martha’s Vineyard-based guide and yoga instructor Abbie Schuster is the owner/proprietor of Kismet Outfitters. A lifelong fly angler, Abbie grew up fishing on Martha's Vineyard as well as the rivers and small creeks of Maine, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Having attended the University of Montana fueled her passion for fly fishing, and she began guiding professionally in 2011. To Abbie there is nothing better than giving the gift of fly fishing to a client. Her goal is to have every client leave with lifelong memories, a stronger passion for fly fishing and conservation and a greater understanding about the sport.

Heather Hodson

Heather Hodson is founder of United Women on the Fly and committed to building an inclusive community that educates, provides resources, encourages and connects anglers from around the world. Her passion for getting anyone involved in fly fishing and enthusiasm to think outside the box is infectious.

United Women on the Fly (UWOTF) is committed to building an inclusive community that educates, provides resources, encourages, and connects anglers from all backgrounds into the sport of fly fishing. We will foster a sense of belonging by centering, valuing and amplifying the voices, perspectives and styles of women. UWOTF acknowledges that our events and photos shared take place on traditional, unceded Indigenous lands.

Jen Ripple

Jen is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of DUN Magazine. In addition to her work at DUN, she writes the Fly Fishing Women’s Buyer’s Guide for Outside Magazine and the Women’s Best Of column for Gray’s Sporting Journal, among others. She is a member of the Executive Board of Directors for Fly Fishers International, member of the Board of Directors for the Professional Outdoor Media Association, member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Harpeth River Conservancy, member of the Advisory Committee for the TU Service Partnership and a former member of the Board of Directors for the American Fly Fishing Trade Association. She has been named Southerner of the Year by Southern Living Magazine and is considered one of the top women changing the sport of fly fishing.

Ken Ekelund

Ken has been an avid fly tyer and fly fisherman for over twenty years, spending most of that time roaming the beaches of New York, New Jersey and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Although his main focus is catching trophy striped bass, he has caught multiple species on the fly - false albacore, redfish and tarpon being at the top of that list. Tying for Ken connects him to his quarry, it gives him the opportunity to improve his skills and share what he’s learned along the way. He believes every bare hook in the vise has the potential to be memorable. When not tying or chasing fish with a fly rod he is a father, husband & "lab dad," as well as a network security engineer for a large telecom firm.

Capt. Merritt White

A native of Eastern Long Island, New York, Merritt comes from a long line of hunters and fishermen. He is a 1989 graduate of St. Lawrence University with a B.S. degree in Biology and Environmental Science. Merritt is a fully insured and U.S. Coast Guard licensed fishing guide. He has been guiding professionally on Long Island for over twenty years. In the spring and summer, Merritt fishes the shallow waters of Shinnecock, Peconic and Gardiner’s Bays in search of bluefish and striped bass. During the fall, Merritt guides in Montauk, seeking the fabled North East “grand slam”: bluefish, false albacore and striped bass. Captain Merritt White is a patient, fun loving guide who is eager to share his fishing knowledge and experience with novice and expert anglers alike.

Capt. Gene Quigley

Capt. Gene is a USCG licensed Captain. Raised on the Jersey Shore, Gene has been fishing the inshore & offshore waters for over 40 years. He specializes in catching trophy Striped Bass and Tuna on top water lures, jigs and fly tackle and runs our 36 Yellowfin and 41 Valhalla. Gene is a noted author, seminar speaker and has been featured on many TV shows. He was voted Saltwater Sportsman Magazine's "Top 50 Captains worldwide" and one of Field & Stream Magazines "Top 100 Guides in North America". Gene serves on the board of directors for the American Saltwater Guides Association and sits on the national pro staff for many of the fishing industries top brands.

Captain John McMurray

John is the President of ASGA and the owner and operator of One More Cast charters. John was also the first Executive Director of the Coastal Conservation Association New York, the Director of Grants Programs at the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, and a well-known and widely-published writer, specializing in fisheries conservation issues.

Jamie Howard / HowardFilms

Jamie Howard founded HowardFilms with the mission of “entertaining, informing and connecting with an audience in new and unexpected ways.”

Today, HowardFilms is honored to have Chasing Silver become a part of the IGFA Hall of Fame and is featured in its theater in Dania Beach, Florida. And for many Northeast saltwater anglers, Running the Coast has become the definitive film on the annual striped bass migration from Chesapeake Bay to the upper reaches on Maine.

Capt. David Blinken

Captain David Blinken started fly fishing at the age of six and started tying flies seriously in his 20s. Twenty-five years ago he started North Flats Guiding and has been a full time fly fishing guide on the east end of Long Island, NY ever since. David chose a lifestyle that he lives and breaths every day. As he puts it: “Fly-fishing is a passion and a lifestyle not just a job.” His enthusiasm for all things fishing is contagious. Just ask anyone on his lengthy list of regular clients. David's photographs and articles appear in numerous publications, and he continues to be one of the true innovators of saltwater flies.