Meet Our Leaders

I have been a member of OFF since 2015, and a board member since 2017. But I wasn’t introduced to fly fishing until 2003. In the two decades and countless waters that have passed since, it has become a passion. My brother-in-law gifted me a basic fly tying kit a few years back. This inspired me to dive even further into the sport, quickly becoming an ambitious fly tyer. It also sparked my interest in aquatic insects. The insight and knowledge I’ve gained as a result have made me a better fisher. It has also deepened my appreciation of the entire ecosystem. When I’m not fishing, I enjoy traveling, woodworking, and bird hunting dogs. As club president, I work hard to keep information flowing between our leadership and members. It’s very important to me that our members feel welcome and supported, regardless of their experience level. I like to say, “This is a club, not a clique."

Dave has served as Treasurer of our club and foundation since 2023. He first picked up a fly rod in 2001, and a tying vice soon thereafter. Dave quickly discovered that catching a fish on a fly that you created and tied elevates the experience of fly fishing. His favorite outings include fishing the damsel hatch on Dry Falls in the spring, casting to aggressive coastal cutthroat trout with an orange spider on a local stream in the fall, and drifting the Klickitat in search of the elusive steelhead. Tying flies on his bench in the dead of winter, dreaming of warmer days on the water, balances out the year.

When I joined Olympic Fly Fishers in 2022, I knew the mechanics of fly fishing. What I didn’t know was how much I had to learn—and how generous this club would be in helping me cut that curve. Over the past three years, I’ve made friends who have invited me into their homes, shared their materials, and set me up with techniques and patterns that work. John Wendt, for example, taught me the dropper technique with a Girdle Bug over a smaller nymph—a setup that has consistently brought fish to hand for me on every river I’ve fished since. I’ve also learned a tremendous amount from friends and mentors like Steve Ruppert and Dennis Potter. Steve has been incredibly generous with both his knowledge and his gear—and just as generous with his time on the water. Dennis was one of my earliest mentors, especially in fly tying, encouraging me to explore the creative side of the sport by designing my own patterns. That opened my eyes to another connection between fly fishing and the natural world: we use both natural and synthetic materials to imitate life. There’s no substitute for a club like this. Online videos and articles can give you pointers, but it’s the people who teach, encourage, and fish alongside you that give fly fishing its real value. This is a tradition that connects people of all backgrounds and experience levels. Since 2023, I’ve served as Communications Director and in 2025 began hosting club outings—many to rivers and beaches the club hadn’t fished in years. One highlight was our Snoqualmie trip, where some members hiked through old-growth forest to reach the river while others waded in just steps from the parking lot. It was a reminder of the rare beauty in our backyard—and of how important it is to protect it. Conservation has been a natural extension of fly fishing for me. As a member of the Conservation Committee, I became a Forest Steward for Picnic Point with the Snohomish County Healthy Forest Project in 2023. Watching the site transform from ivy-choked ground to a living landscape of native plants has been incredibly rewarding—not just for the fish and creek, but for everyone who visits the beach and experiences its marine breeze, dune foliage, and the wildlife it sustains. Along the way, I’ve fished with club members in Montana, Nevada, Canada, and across Washington—from the salty air of Ocean Shores and the shadow of Mount St. Helens to the eerie stillness and raw desert beauty of Lake Omak on the Colville Reservation. Every time I fish with another member, I learn something new. I also love fly tying. Since taking the club’s beginning and advanced classes, I’ve filled out multiple boxes with flies of my own making, and I’m now experimenting with deer hair patterns like dragonfly nymphs and caterpillars. There’s nothing quite like bringing a fish to hand on a fly you tied yourself. Away from the water, I’ve worked for 15 years as a professional content partner with values-driven clients in 17 countries. I hold a B.A. in print journalism and film production from Cal State Long Beach. Fly fishing has been the perfect counterbalance—replacing hours in front of screens with the fulfillment that only comes from water, wild places, and good friends.

Paul has been a member of OFF since 2021 and has served as Secretary since 2023, keeping the official record of our board meetings and ensuring that our administrative work stays accurate and organized. In 2025, he also stepped into the role of Chairperson of Programs, a position he shares with co-chair Amy Phillips. Together, they curate a wide range of monthly topics and bring in guest speakers who help members dive deeper into skills, fisheries, techniques, and conservation. Paul also serves on the Conservation Committee and participates in our quarterly cleanups at Picnic Point Beach. Paul’s angling roots reach back to fishing for flounder and mackerel north of Boston—where he grew up—and to freshwater bass trips in Northern Maine (yes, he used spinning rods!). Today, he spends his free time fly fishing and tying the flies he fishes with, often gifting his sons boxes of hand-tied flies for the holidays or special trips. In recent years, he has expanded his fly-fishing adventures, including a memorable multi-day trip to Tulum, Mexico, where he and his sons chased bonefish on the flats. He regularly fishes lakes with OFF and has also spent time—with much success—fishing Douglas Lake Ranch in British Columbia for Pennask cutthroat trout. Paul is now looking forward to learning rivers. His favorite days on the water are the ones spent fishing with his son in Bend, Oregon. His fishing dreams include chasing tarpon and bonefish in Florida—and salmon in Alaska.

Helena is an entomologist who joined OFF in 2024. As Conservation Chair, she is dedicated to supporting club activities that focus on preserving and protecting our waters for future generations. “Our OFF conservation efforts will benefit the health of aquatic life by creating healthier ecosystems for all,” she says. “Healthier ecosystems lead to an abundance of healthy fish. They also create balance and harmony with our environment and promote a sense of peace and well-being for ourselves and the nature around us.” Joining the club, and her specific interest in fly fishing on rivers, was strongly inspired by a live presentation she attended by Jason Borger. Borger did most of the fly casting scenes in the movie, A River Runs Through It. This lecture helped cement Helena’s firm belief that fly fishing is an environmentally friendly sport that can be used to help promote conservation efforts. Through catch-and-release and other sustainable practices, fly fishing raises awareness and encourages people to connect with nature. At the same time, it also provides us with opportunities to enjoy the challenge and excitement of fishing. Helena has held several leadership positions within conservation throughout her career. She has guided graduate students in the organization of beach cleanups in countries around the world. She has also participated in numerous bioblitz events throughout the United States during which groups of scientists and other participants study and catalog all the different living organisms within a given area. On lakes, Helena fishes from her pontoon boat. When she’s not fly fishing, you can find her hiking the mountains of Washington state and casting a keenly observant eye on everything she sees.

John is one of our most senior club members, originally joining OFF in 2011. He is currently our education chairman and instructor for the club’s popular fly tying classes. This role tasks him with selecting the patterns for each session as well as assembling the individual kits of materials given to each student. He also recruits club members to volunteer their help and expertise each week within the classes themselves. John has served as OFF’s president and vice president. For nearly four years, he also helped plan and book guest speakers for our club meetings, organized the club’s annual Christmas party and auction, booked a caterer for our meetings, and purchased and stored the beverages in between. Chironomids are one of John’s favorites when fishing stillwater lakes with his pontoon boat or wade fishing rivers in Montana and Washington. Alongside several other OFF members, he also organizes an annual trip to the Douglas Lake Ranch in British Columbia. John’s favorite time to fish is when the bite is on!

Bob is our membership chairman. He has been associated with OFF on and off for 15 years and has seen many changes during that time. As membership chairman, Bob writes welcome letters, arranges for membership badges, and assembles the fly boxes gifted to each new member. Growing up in southern Montana, Bob fished a Herter's fiberglass fly rod. He also tied his own flies – some of which he sold to fly shops – and now enjoys helping new students learn to tie. A memorable highlight from his early years fishing was landing a 7-pound steelhead on the Stilly. Bob prefers rivers to stillwater lakes and says the Montana rivers spoiled him. These days, he fishes from his frameless pontoon boat, and on overnight outings by ‘roughing it’ in the nearest Holiday Inn (with free morning breakfasts). Compared to other clubs, Bob feels OFF is the most congenial and welcoming. He appreciates seeing our members help each other learn about fly fishing and get out on the water.

I have been fly fishing since 2022 when I took my first class. I joined OFF in 2023 after a casting class. I am learning from all the great OFF members. I try to get to as many outings and attend meetings and First Friday Follies to get all the tips I can to be a better fly fisher. Each time I catch a fish it is exciting. I took the fly tying class in 2024 to learn more about the flies we use to catch fish. I had held off learning to fly fish as the flies seemed so complicated. John’s class took us step through step, starting with less complicated to more complex patterns. Learning all the terms in this fashion made it all make sense. Having different members helping gave us enough one-on-one to really learn the techniques. I plan to take the class again to reinforce the skills I have learned and used tying flies at home and in other classes. I have also learned the true value of a guide and mentors. I got my first two fish with Jim Black’s assistance on the Yakima and caught ten on the Madison in Montana that I would not have without the amazing guide John set us up with. Last year I reached out to the women in our club to learn what they would like to get out of OFF and what might help more of them feel comfortable attending meetings and outings. Everyone is a beginner sometime and everyone learns a different way, and I want to help make sure OFF continues to be a place where people can learn, share, and feel welcome. As Chairperson for Outings – Lakes, I hope to support our members the same way others have supported me. The club is a great place to learn, share, and socialize about fishing.

A lifelong fisherman, I joined OFF in 2024 in order to meet new people, discover new ways to fish and to help others get the most out of fly fishing. I’m currently leading the Stream Team which is responsible for organizing our club's outings on moving water. In my time at OFF, I have met and gone fishing with some really fun people. I grew up around rivers and lakes and was always fishing with traditional spinning gear. My fly fishing journey started about 25 years ago after getting badly skunked on a backpacking trip to a high alpine lake in Montana that was loaded with trout. They completely disregarded my lures because they were keyed in on bugs. We went a little hungry on that trip and when I got home, I took a fly fishing class. My favorite places to fish are freestone streams for trout – especially cutthroats and rainbows. I fish mostly in the Pacific Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. I like to say that “Trout don’t live in ugly places.” So I enjoy being in the outdoors camping, wading and floating rivers almost as much as I enjoy catching fish. Like Norman Maclean, “I am haunted by waters.”

I haven’t fly fished for very long, I started June 2024. What I lack in experience, I make up in enthusiasm. I haven’t caught very big fish. What I lack in size, I make up in variety. Rainbow, Redband, Brown, Cutthroat, Brook – in Washington and North Carolina. Alpine lakes, lowland lakes, big rivers, small rivers. I love nature: the challenge, the quiet, the solitude. I love it all. I believe whatever catches a fish is the best method for that moment. I have been educated, awed, and inspired by the members of Olympic Fly Fishers of Edmonds. It takes a village to raise a fledgling fisher girl. Thank you all, let’s go fish and learn together.