Editor’s note: Lori-Ann Murphy has been guiding for twenty-seven years, a career that started in the rivers of the West and nine years ago led her to her home in San Pedro, Belize. Over her illustrious career, Lori-Ann has experienced a number of milestones. She was the first woman to become an Orvis Endorsed Guide in 1990; she started the first Women’s Fly Fishing School for Orvis in 1992 in Manchester, Vermont; and she started the first women’s travel business, Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures, in 1994. Lori-Ann has worked with Meryl Streep and shared adventures with Marth Stewart. Her time spent working with some of the fly fishing greats like Joan, Lefty, Mel, Tim Rajeff, and Jerry Siem has fueled her passion for teaching advanced fly fishing techniques in simple ways to beginners and experienced anglers alike. Today, Lori-Ann continues to create and run trips for Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures, as well her own outfitting business, Reel Belize. She is currently the only female guide in Belize chasing bonefish, permit and tarpon on the flats of Ambergris Caye.
The Braided Snake River
by Lori-Ann Murphy
co-founder of Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures
In my sweet dreams I’m sitting on my truck’s tailgate – Victor, Idaho. We are hanging around after guiding being loud and obnoxious I guess. All of my favorite things were shaping my next adventure in life. Fly fishing, strong women fly fishing friends, a great place to live and explore as well as a place to ignite a strong curiosity for distant waters. I remember being so excited because I had found a home and a community that fit my personality. This is where Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures was born. Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures has always been supported by passion. Thank God. That original posy of strong fly fishing women and excitement is what started a new life for me. I knew that this drive to become a solid fly fishing guide and share my journey was bigger than me. The business and the people I have met through Reel Women show me everyday that it is OK for a woman to love fly fishing, and also find a way to share this thrilling life I lead through my work.
I just got back to my home in Montana from our “Jackson Hole Sampler,” in Victor, Idaho. We stay at a ranch I have always loved nestled along the pass from Victor to Jackson. It’s actually on the old mail trail used to deliver the mail via horseback in the day. Standing on a hillside covered in sagebrush, I breathed the “west” and remembered what brings people together in a time when things are changing so fast. Sometimes it’s just nice to hang out in a landscape that has not changed much. It allows us to feel who we are and listen to our hearts.
That original posy of strong fly fishing women and excitement is what started a new life for me.
September is my favorite time to be on the Snake River known for all of it’s “braided” behavior. Last year’s high water moved things around which created new lines to navigate the water via driftboat. The river section from Wilson to South Park became a brand new river! It doesn’t always happen, but this year we had days when the fish ate all day on top. Fires in the west have created a solid haze and the majestic peaks of the Tetons presented as a mere shadow of themselves. So I returned to an area where I guided for seventeen years, had a fly shop, was married and immersed in my beginning surroundings that created a life I never dreamed could happen to me.
My soul was renewed with the new fly fishing women I met on this trip. Each woman had their own experiences which they shared but it was their curiosity and drive to fly fish that kept a solid smile on my face. I loved the stories of defeat and victory. It tickles me when I get to push women to new horizons. What? “You have to wait five years to be able to double haul?” Yikes. Let’s move through that one. Or, “I’m not good enough to go on that trip…” That’s when I know I’m doing what I need to be doing. Sharing the good news that it’s just not that hard. And the only way to know is to keep on fishing and exploring. It’s doesn’t have to be a big trip! It can be a simple cast in your backyard that can bring joy. It was sermon time for all of us as we welcomed the end of summer and beginning of a new season.
My soul was renewed with the new fly fishing women I met on this trip.
People ask me how I can make a life like mine happen. Living in Belize guiding full time and returning to the West in the fall for freshwater tugs and finding birds for my setter. The only answer is my passion! It’s scary sometimes, I wonder myself. I watch my bank account go up and down according to guide expenses and life itself. I really have to practice positive thoughts and prayer everyday. All day. I wonder what it would be like not to have to be concerned about money, but then I go back to the fact that I have always been provided with what I need. And even if it sounds corny, it’s true.
I love fly fishing because it keeps me in the “present.” I’m not thinking of any of life’s challenges, I’m just there, casting to fish.
I have learned that I can’t really “will” something to happen. My own fishing has taught me that. I can practice, I can pay attention and listen. I can put my best into a day and feel good about it. I can make mistakes and know that life itself creates new chances. Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures continues to show me all of these things. One of my dear client friends, Florrie – who has passed away about five years ago now, said to me: “Lori-Ann, you cannot sell Reel Women. It’s you. You’ll always want your business to provide new beginnings for you and your angling friends.” And she is of course correct. Every time I think I should go do something a little more main stream, I’m steered back on course. Some story or event fuels me to keep creating new trips, new ways to share through fly fishing – allowing women and men to be themselves with each cast.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lori-Ann Murphy, co-founder of Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures
As an avid sportswoman, Lori-Ann discovered the excitement of experiencing nature through fly fishing on her home waters of southwest Montana, Idaho’s Snake River and the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming. Her first fish to the fly was a wild steelhead from the Deschutes Rive in Oregon. And from there the journey to explore and learn everything about fly fishing started.
In 1989, Lori-Ann was the first woman to be named an Orvis-Endorsed fly fishing guide. She has served as a consultant to several fly fishing tackle and equipment manufacturers and presents her discoveries at sport shows and fly fishing clubs all over the United States.
In 1994, Lori-Ann co-founded Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures. Reel Women was the first company to offer women-only fly fishing trips all over the world. Reel Women has since grown to include guided float trips for both men and women, fly fishing schools, fly fishing guide schools, casting clinics, and destination trips.
Presently, Lori-Ann guides on Ambergris Caye from her San Pedro home. Beginning bonefishing to the hot pursuit of permit and tarpon on fly, Lori-Ann provides anglers with the tools they need to find their fish. She designs custom fly fishing trips for people who want to visit Belize and explore. In her past seven years of living in San Pedro, she has networked with the guides of Belize. Unique lodging or booking into any of the well know lodges is all part of her service.
Late summertime finds Lori-Ann in her Montana town. Willow Creek is home to the Reel Women School house. Located next to the Missouri Headwaters, the fishing options are endless. The Reel Women School program and destination trips are all a part of Lori-Ann’s mission to share the fun of fly fishing.
October is Lori-Ann “soul” fish time. And birdie time with her favorite Setter, Panga.
To contact Lori-Ann, e-mail reelwomenflyfishing@gmail.com.