Working in the Fly Fishing Industry- One Woman’s Experience

When I was 23, I decided it was time to get a “real” job — the main qualifier for “real” being health insurance — and move away from my idyllic but poverty stricken ski/trout bum life in Colorado.  So I scoured the internet and sent out my resume to anyone who had a posting.  I was thrilled to get one call back about a job at Orvis working as a coordinator for their Fly Fishing product development team and somehow managed to convince them to hire me.

I arrived at my first corporate job ready to learn and prove myself, but not old enough to rent a car.  It was a perfect job for me, and I look back on that first position and the people I worked with fondly.  A few years later I moved on to be a buyer for that same department – what luck!  It was my dream job, and I scoured the marketplace for the latest fishing accessories, technical clothing and eventually waders.

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Murph Eats the Console; Murph Training Week XIII

murphconsole
Who me?
photo by Tim Bronson

While Murph is doing exceptionally well in his training, let us not forget that he is a six-month-old puppy. I learned this valuable lesson today when I decided to make some changes in his living arrangements in the car. I bring Murph to work everyday, and he stays in the kennel in the car. Fortunately, I can park within steps of my office and I go out there at least three or four times a day to take a break and let him run. During lunch is my major training period around the woods and pond here at the Orvis headquarters.

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Tuesday Tip: On-the-Water Checklist

Inspecting the Fly

Before you cast to that rising trout, take the time to inspect your fly, knot, and leader to ensure you’re giving yourself the best shot to land the trout.
photo by Sandy Hays

Fly-fishing is such a process-oriented sport that it’s easy to become fixated on the specific task at hand—whether it’s drifting a dry fly along a fallen long or high-sticking a nymph rig through a riffle. But there are lots of other things an angler needs to pay attention to if he wants to be successful. How many times have you hooked and lost a fish, only to ask yourself, “When was the last time I checked that knot?” or “Why did the tippet break there?”

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South Florida Exotics on the Fly

It had been a grueling drive from Vermont to South Florida with my friends Marty and Tim Sienkiewycz to fish with the self-proclaimed “Bonefish Whisperer,” Cordell Baum Jr. , who was waiting for us right by the road when we arrived just after noon on a Monday. Since we were raring to go, we all strung up 5- and 6-weight rods to head out for some. . .

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The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast Interviews Lori-Ann Murphy and April Vokey in Belize

This week we’re bringing you a special video podcast from Belize, where I spent some time chatting with two of the most dynamic women in fly fishing, Lori-Ann Murphy, fishing manager of El Pescador Lodge and founder of Reel Women Fly Fishing (and co-star of this year’s “Pirates of the Flats” TV show), and April Vokey, noted steelhead guide, teacher, and TV personality. We get sidetracked and the discussion goes from permit to steelhead. This is the first of a series of podcasts with noted female anglers in celebration of the American Museum of Fly Fishing’s new exhibition “A Graceful Rise, Women in Fly Fishing–Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”, which opens on June 11 and 12 (www.amff.com)


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The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast Interviews Lori-Ann Murphy and April Vokey in Belize

This week we’re bringing you a special video podcast from Belize, where I spent some time chatting with two of the most dynamic women in fly fishing, Lori-Ann Murphy, fishing manager of El Pescador Lodge and founder of Reel Women Fly Fishing (and co-star of this year’s “Pirates of the Flats” TV show), and April Vokey, noted steelhead guide, teacher, and TV personality. We get sidetracked and the discussion goes from permit to steelhead. This is the first of a series of podcasts with noted female anglers in celebration of the American Museum of Fly Fishing’s new exhibition “A Graceful Rise, Women in Fly Fishing–Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow”, which opens on June 11 and 12 (www.amff.com)


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Enter the “My Favorite Dog Breed” Contest

Golden retrievers and Labs are two of the most beloved dog breeds. But all dogs are great companions for all kinds of reasons. Now you have a chance to win a FREE Orvis Dog Bed because of your love of dogs! In the comments section below, leave your favorite breed of dog, or mixed breed, and tell us why you love it so much. Other visitors can can then “like” your comment by clicking the “thumbs up” next to it. The most thumbs up by 4 PM Monday, May 9, wins a FREE Orvis Dog Bed. Encourage your friends to vote! Have fun.

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Tips for Protecting Spawning Redds

The cutthroat, named for the vibrant orange or red slash marks along its lower jaw, is Montana’s state fish. Historically, the westslope cutthroat ranged west of the Continental Divide throughout Montana but their numbers are rapidly declining due to hybridization with rainbows, degradation of habitat, and warmer temperatures. More and more fisherman are catching cut-bows and fewer and fewer anglers are catching true cutthroat. In order to help preserve the next generation of trout in Montana, please avoid stepping on redds this spring. Click Read More to learn more about what spawning redds look like, so you can avoid them and benfit the next generation of cutthroat and rainbows.

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Secrets of Springtime Smallies

Smallmouth bass are some of the most fun fish to catch on a fly. They hit hard, fight hard, jump, and are more than willing to take a fly. Catching smallies on the fly is something that I love to do, and the springtime is my favorite time to do it.

Smallmouth bass start switching into spawn mode at about the same time as the. . .

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