BACKGROUND

Born and raised in Oregon, Marty grew up on the banks of the Sandy River. With his dad as tutor and angling mentor, Marty landed his first steelhead at the age of five. During the 70s his dad continued to hone and shape [perhaps unknowingly] Marty’s future by taking him fishing, seemingly every day, and instilling in him the instincts and techniques for pursuing steelhead. Much of his fly-fishing inspiration came from devouring books, especially those written by such notable and insightful naturalists as Roderick Haig-Brown and Bill McMillan. While still a young strapling in the 1990s, Steve Kruse took Marty underwing and taught him the art of Spey casting. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that all these elements now manifest themselves as Marty’s unbounded enthusiasm for guiding—backed up by over a decade of professional experience in the “field”—and an almost missionary zeal for teaching others and sharing in the pure joy of rivers.

Mia’s love for the outdoors formed a straight path into field work in fisheries for both the US Forest Service and the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. In the late 90s she moved to Alaska where she worked aboard commercial fishing boats. Naturally, during slack moments and days off, she sport fished for trout and salmon. On one such occasion she caught her first glimpse of Marty casting with a two-handed rod. She confesses that it was witnessing that graceful “dance of Spey casting” that won her heart. Indeed, years later—after marrying Marty, birthing their first child, Tegan, and learning, plus refining, the many challenges of managing a guide operation—Mia herself became a pupil [some would say an obsessive] in the finer mechanics of Spey casting. Her ambition to become a “better” caster and angler ultimately led to competing at the 2010 Spey-O-Rama World Championship in San Francisco. [If asked, she’ll modestly admit to walking away with first place.] Besides fulfilling her role as mom, wife, guide, bookkeeper, photographer, blogger and backcountry snowboarder, Mia relishes teaching Spey casting to both sexes and to continually advocating for women in the sport of fly-fishing.