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Scott Allen is a United States Air Force veteran, a former Government contractor, and former Orvis Fishing Manager. He has had the opportunity to fish all around the world, wherever work took him. Allen has spent the greater part of the last two decades fishing the local waterways of Virginia and Maryland, as well as hosting fishing trips to West Virginia, Tennessee, Montana, and Belize. Instruction has always been a common thread throughout his career. He is a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting
Instructor and is passionate about providing high-quality casting instruction to novices and enthusiasts alike. Allen provides casting instruction at Allen Fly Casting and at the Orvis Chesapeake Bay Fly Fishing School. He is the Treasurer and Casting Director for Fly Fishers International Chesapeake Council, the Secretary for the Virginia Council Trout Unlimited and the Vice President for the Northern Virginia Chapter Trout Unlimited. This is his first year as a speaker at the Virginia Fly & Wine! Need some casting tips? Don’t miss his lecture on the FFI’s Fly Casting Skills Program.
Puerto Rico native Jamie Aponte began fishing as a kid with his father and grandfather; today he carries on the family tradition, crediting father Jose for passing along a deep love for the water. During a summer job at Yellowstone while in college, Aponte picked up his first fly rod--and never put it down again. He is an eclectic angler: Aponte's favorite fish on the fly is whatever is biting when he's on the water. Now the owner of Pagosa, Colorado-based outfitter Piedra River Anglers, Aponte guides for trout and pike on the fly. In development is a new program that will enable him to take anglers to his home waters in Puerto Rico to fly fish for tarpon. Aponte also assists Mike Williams owner of Nomadic Waters with hosted trips to Brazil for peacock bass. Aponte loves to draw others into fly fishing with his "both/and" philosophy: Anglers can both enjoy our precious fisheries and respect, protect, and conserve them.
Beau Beasley has fished the waters of the Old Dominion since early childhood and knows them as only a native can. His insider’s knowledge of Virginia ranges from the mountain brook trout streams of the Shenandoah National Park to the salty windswept shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Although he’s pursued trout on Montana’s Bighorn River, landed every species of salmon in Alaska, and successfully brought to hand five-pound brook trout in Labrador, his first love is still fishing poppers on a Virginia farm pond. Beau has garnered multiple awards for his articles covering conservation of such diverse species as menhaden and bonefish. He has distinguished himself as a thorough, impartial investigative journalist covering thorny issues like public sporting access to local waters and lands. His writing has appeared in numerous regional and national publications. Beau serves as the Director of the Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival.
Don’t miss his new class Badass & Bourbon co-taught with Jason Hardy. The class goes over a few characters in his latest book "Healing Waters: Veterans' Stories in Their Own Words". Students get to receive a complimentary copy of the book ($30 retail) and a bourbon tasting compliments of J.H Bards Distillery. This class has limited seating.
Troy Basso has been fly fishing since he was 9 years old. A decade in the US Army meant that he was able to fly fish around the world for free; he found it difficult, however, to find high-quality flies in Europe and South Korea during the '90s--and thus was born a lifelong passion for fly tying. Today Basso can be found all over the Southeast chasing everything from bass to tarpon. His flies are marketed around the world through Catch Fly Fishing. Basso is also a prolific outdoor writer, columnist, fly-fishing guide, and editor-at-large for On the Fly Magazine; he has also been published in Southeastern Fly Fishing, FUR FISH GAME, and Midwest Outdoors. Basso teaches fly tying at Fly South in Nashville, and in his “spare time” he maintains the Troy Basso Outdoors blog, which chronicles his journeys in fly fishing and upland bird hunting. We are pleased to have Troy in one of our sought after Featured Fly Tyer’s spots at this year’s festival. He'll be tying his signature pattern Troy's Dock Light Dancer. If you’d like to chat with Troy in person, he’ll be hanging his hat in the On the Fly Magazine booth when he’s not tying.
Retired Marine Jim Bensinger, owner of Fiber Flies Dubbing, is obsessed with all things fly fishing—and especially with fly tying. Bensinger has developed a line of materials derived from Alpaca, which is perfect for dubbing and user-friendly enough that amateur fly tiers will love it. Bensinger also serves as the Marine Corps Base Quantico Program Lead for Project Healing Waters. He has led hundreds of fly-tying classes and has a gift for bringing novices into the fly-tying fold. Bensinger is on the national pro staff for Norvise and will teach a specialized “Beginner Fly Tying” class which will be held on Saturday. To register for this limited seating class go here.
Conservation Police Officer Bonnie Braziel has been employed with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources for almost seven years. She is currently assigned to the Special Operations Unit as the only female K9 Handler, where she thoroughly enjoys working with K9 Grace, a three-year-old black Lab. This girl power duo–K9 Grace and CPO Braziel–has been involved in several cases involving wildlife crimes, felonies, and even murder. When Officer Braziel is not working with K9 Grace, she is an avid fisherwoman; living on Virginia’s east coast, she has the opportunity to take advantage of everything from small freshwater ponds to the Atlantic Ocean. CPO Braziel is also passionate about combining angling with travel: She has enjoyed fishing for trout in Branson, Missouri; yellowtail snapper in Key West; and most recently, salmon and halibut in Alaska. We are so pleased to have Bonnie (and Grace) as guest instructors at this year’s Beyond the Cast Women’s Fly Fishing Symposium. Bonnie's class How to Interact with Wildlife was so popular last year, at this year's 2024 festival we will be offering it to the general public.
Roanoke-based Virginia Trophy Guides, owned and operated by Captain Austin Conrad and Captain Josh Laferty, specializes in fly fishing for musky across the Commonwealth of Virginia. They also provide float trips for tailwater trout, smallmouth bass, and other species on a seasonal basis. When not guiding clients to the best of the Southeast, these professionals spend summers in Bristol Bay, Alaska, on the world-renowned Naknek River. Conrad and Laferty are journeymen guides with nationwide experience and a reputation for world-class hospitality. If you want to learn the ins and outs of landing Musky with a fly rod, don’t miss Captain Austin’s lecture on that very topic at this year’s festival.
John Demuth learned to fish growing up near the South Holston and Watauga Rivers in East Tennessee, and his wife Katie learned to fish growing up near the rivers of the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. John and Katie became passionate about fly fishing and tying flies together, and John quickly became drawn to the world of fly tying and continues to grow in his fly tying skills. Katie also enjoys photography as a hobby and takes many photos of tied flies and fish. Her photos and photography tips have been featured in several fly fishing magazines, retail magazines, websites, and blogs. John ties a variety of both fresh and saltwater flies and is always looking to learn something new from other fly tying legends and friends. He is passionate about sharing what he has learned with other fly tiers and enjoys this aspect the most about fly tying. John and Katie also look forward to sharing fly tying and fly fishing experiences and skills on through their live show, “Whip Finish Wednesday” which is now being streamed on their YouTube channel. The two also enjoy taking part in fly fishing shows and demonstrations and have attended many across the country (and now world) together. John and Katie are both pro team members and ambassadors for several fly fishing and fly tying companies, including Semperfli and Renzetti. John is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and Katie is a veteran of the United States Army. He and Katie have four children who keep them busy when they are taking a break from fly fishing, tying flies, and traveling.
Callie Freeman is a member of the Hardy Pro Staff, an avid fly angler, passionate fly fishing instructor, and professional entomologist. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Freeman received her master’s degree from the University of Kentucky and her doctorate in entomology from North Carolina State University. She is the owner and principal scientist of Parker BioLabs LLC, a consulting company specializing in contract research and environmental consulting. Freeman was the co-leader of PDX Women on the Fly, a Portland, Oregon-based Trout Unlimited affiliate. She is a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor and lives with her husband and children, (and food-obsessed Labrador named Benelli Rose) in South Carolina.
We are pleased to have Callie as a guest speaker this year at our Beyond the Cast Fly Fishing Symposium for Women on Friday. She’ll also be speaking to the public on all things bug related. Be sure to check the schedule so you don’t miss her very popular class.
Blacksburg native Jason Hardy, commercial market manager for Mechanicsville-based Carter Bank & Trust, co-owns and operates Blacksburg's JH Bards Spirit Co, the New River Valley’s first whiskey distillery. He enjoys balancing both jobs while trying to find time to sit on the beach, play golf, and fish for New River smallies. Always on the lookout for new whiskey brands to sample, Hardy is grateful for the opportunity to talk spirits with aficionados and novices alike because he firmly believes that whiskey is a gift meant to be shared with friends and family round a campfire or at a tailgate party. A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Hardy resides in Blacksburg with his high school sweetheart Kara, their two boys, and Maggie, a “spirited” German shorthaired pointer.
Don’t miss Jason Hardy's new limited seating specialty class Badass & Bourbon, co-taught with author and festival director Beau Beasley at the 2025 Virginia Fly & Wine!
For more than 30 years Mike Heck has fished Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley, learning the art of fly fishing on some of the hardest and most famous spring creeks in the country. With a degree in forestry from Penn State University, professional trout guide Heck understands the complex interaction of foliage, insect, and stream. He is the author of Spring Creek Strategies, the co-author of Tying Dry Flies and Keystone Fly Fishing, and has had articles published in Fly Fisherman, American Angler, and Fish and Fly magazines. Heck has also appeared on Road Trip USA, a Discovery channel television show that aired across Europe. He is an innovative fly tyer, with several patterns credited to his name. His signature fly patterns are used worldwide and when not tying Heck guides on the Falling Springs, Big Spring, Letort, Yellow Breeches and other great trout streams in south central Pennsylvania.
Gabriella Hoffman is a freelance media strategist, podcaster, columnist, and 2019 Professional Outdoor Media Association Pinnacle Award recipient. Her writings have appeared in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Sporting Classics Daily/Sporting Classics Magazine, The Virginia Sportsman, and other national publications. She hosts the weekly “District of Conservation” podcast and is a Senior Fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum. Hoffman will be a special guest speaker at this year’s Beyond the Cast Women’s Fly Fishing Symposium.
West Virginia native Bubba Holt has fished all over--but his passion for angling always brings him back to the Mountain State, where he has fished more than 650 streams. In 2013, Holt survived a near-fatal car accident, which required that he relearn how to walk. His best friends knew the remedy: get him back on the water. (Holt's story is featured in the book Healing Waters: Veterans’ Stories of Recovery in Their Own Words.) Striving to give back, Holt is part of a team organizing the annual Trout Unlimited-sponsored veteran fly-fishing outing at Thornwood (WV) 4H Camp. He also spent several years organizing the state fly-fishing school for the West Virginia State Council of TU. When he isn't at home in Parkersburg with wife Sarah, children Brett and Emma, and hounds Maggie, Jazzie, and Rosie, Holt may be found in the mountains, at the Outer Banks, or chasing musky on the fly. Bubba Holt's life is a testament to the healing power of water, the deep camaraderie of fellow anglers, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Don't miss Holt's new specialty limited seating class being offered this year. Wine & Woolly Buggers co-taught by Shannon Horton owner of Horton's Vineyard. This class combines education of the most effective trout flies in the Mid-Atlantic and combines it with a wine tasting 101 class. Stay tuned for more details on this new class.
Shannon Horton was raised in the wine industry. Her father Dennis instilled in her the importance of hard work and to follow her passion. That passion has led Horton to work in a more active role at her family's own Horton Vineyards. Her wine knowledge has come as “on-the-job training,” which started at a young age: Horton remembers punching down reds after school when she was no more than 10 years old. Many family events and conversations centered around the weather, the crop, and the wine in the cellar. She is proud to be a part of what her father built. Shannon Horton is also the only East Coast-based national board member of the Rhone Rangers.
Shannon is a long-time vendor at the festival, but this is her first year teaching a class at the festival. Want to bush up on some wine basics? Don’t miss her Wine & Wolly Buggers Class. What better way to learn about trout flies while tasting some great Horton Vineyard wines?
C
illa Johnson has been fishing since she was 15 years old. Based in Northern Virginia, she can be found with her husband and children, at her job as a federal business development manager--or fishing. She supports our troops through organizations Bravo Zulu Outdoors and Heroes on the Water, and supports women in the outdoors through the Women’s Fishing Federation. A serious kayak angler, Johnson is a Pan-American Bass Kayak gold and silver medalist for Team USA; competes in her local kayak tournament clubs Northern Virginia Kayak Bass Anglers (NVKBA) and Mid-Atlantic Kayak Bass Fishing (MAKBF); and competes nationally with the Hobie Bass Open Series and Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF). Her many industry sponsors include Dugout Bait & Tackle, Jackson Kayaks, YakAttack, and Torqeedo. The 2025 Virginia Fly & Wine is delighted to welcome back Cilla Johnson, who will teach the public everything they need to know about fishing from a kayak!
Avid fly angler Joe Jackson (AKA Sergeant Bass Fisher) is a prolific fly tyer best known for artistic masterpieces with deer hair, including his Baby Yoda, Hummingbird, and T-Rex. An Army vet, Jackson was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan; after being medically retired with 14 years of service, Jackson discovered fly tying through Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, where he found more therapeutic relief than he did in the therapist's chair. Jackson began tying flies in November 2016; by May 2017 his unique style had already garnered attention at an annual Project Healing Waters fly-tying event. Jackson tied in public for the first time at the International Fly-Tying Symposium in November 2017; meanwhile, his quirky art flies were creating a buzz on social media. Today Jackson is a pro-staffer for Partridge Hooks, Lidrig, Squimpish Flies, Nature's Spirit, Solarez, J.Stockard, Umpqua Feather Merchants, TFO, and Regal Vise. He spends most of his time tying flies, fishing, and volunteering with various veteran-focused nonprofits like Project Healing Waters and Guitars4Vets.
This is Joe Jackson’s first year with the Virginia Fly & Wine Festival. We are pleased he is co teaching a new class at this year’s festival with Phil Rowley called An Insider's Guide to Trying with Deer Hair. This class has limited seating so don't wait.
His father introduced Steve Maldonado of Evergreen, Colorado, to the outdoors as a child, and he has been fishing ever since. He is an Umpqua Signature Fly Designer with numerous patterns to his credit, including Maldo’s Trico, Maldo’s PMD Emerger, and Maldonado’s Jungle Junkie. He is also a pro staffer with Semperfli, Regal Vise, Scientific Anglers, Ahrex Hooks, and Solarez. A huge saltwater angling fan, Maldonado has fished all over the United States as well as Belize, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Canada. He is passionate about fly fishing and fly tying and teaching others to match the hatch and learn to tie flies.
This is Steve's third visit to the Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival, and we are simply delighted to have him at this year's event. Be sure to visit with Steve as he teaches our attendees how to tie streamers for big trout and other predator species!
Montana native Julie Mattson began fly fishing and tying when she was just 10 years old. Now a seasoned expert with more than 25 years of fly angling experience, Mattson competed in the first-ever USA Women's Fly Fishing Nationals held in Colorado in 2022, winning a silver team medal and landing a spot on the national team. She and the women's team competed in the first-ever women's fly fishing world competition in Norway, brought home the bronze from the second women's world competition in Canada in 2023, and clinched fourth place in the Czech Republic in 2024. Mattson has been a guide and outfitter in Montana, Alaska, and Oklahoma for decades; today she guides in Southeast Alaska during the summer and owns and operates On The Rivers Fly Fishing Company in Southeast Oklahoma on the Lower Mountain Fork River. She volunteers with Reel Girls, Boy Scouts, and Project Healing Waters and is a mentor for The Mayfly Project.
Julie will be our Lead Instructor and Host for this year’s Beyond the Cast Women's Symposium. Please be sure to say hello to her, and the other women from the USA Women’s Fly-Fishing Team at this year’s festival.
Wayne McGee‘s lifelong dream has been to run a world-class fishing operation on a prolific river system in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Luckily for his many clients, McGee’s dream came true! For the past 18 years, McGee has fished across Alaska–including his “home water,” the Alagnak River, where you’ll find his Alaska Trophy Adventures Lodge. McGee doesn’t limit his fishing to Alaska, though: he has pursued everything from tigerfish and Nile perch in the Congo and Nile Rivers of Africa, to Atlantic salmon and sea trout in Norway and Scotland. In a former life McGee owned a charter boat company based in Senegal, West Africa, where he chased blue marlin, tuna, and sailfish. Today his heart is firmly fixed in Alaska’s Bristol Bay and the wild Alagnak River–and he’s eager to share the region’s beauty and bounty with you!
Captain Matt Miles, the 2023 Orvis-Endorsed Fly-Fishing Guide of the Year, grew up in Lynchburg and began fly fishing in the early 90s. After graduating from high school, Miles moved to Colorado to pursue his dream of becoming a fly-fishing guide. He credits Pat Dorsey owner of The Blue Quill Angler, who gave him his first guiding job, with teaching him how to be the best guide in the business. In 2003 Miles decided to return to Lynchburg to guide his home waters. With over 20 years of experience working with beginners to advanced anglers, Matt Miles' passion is guiding, teaching, and being on the water--and especially pursuing smallmouth bass with popping bugs. Last year Matt’s class on “Fly Fishing for Smallies in Virginia”, was packed so don’t be late or you may not get a seat.
Josh Miller's first book, Euro Nymphing: Tips, Tactics, and Techniques (Stackpole), debuted in spring 2024. From 2016 through 2020, Miller was a member of the USA Fly Fishing Team and head coach of the US youth team, which won gold in the 2023 World Championship in Bosnia. He has competed in the regional and national competition circuits and has assisted in coaching four world youth fly-fishing championships. Miller is a full-time guide and traveling instructor and is a signature tyer for Orvis, Fulling Mill, and others. He endorses Thomas & Thomas and Scientific Anglers. Josh Miller lives with his wife Sarah and son Jonah in western Pennsylvania. He is the owner of Trout Yeah Guide Service.
This is Josh’s first year with the festival, and he will be teaching a limited seating specialty classes on Fishing Hopper-Dropper Rigs , check back later for more updates on those classes. Josh will also swing by the author’s booth and sign copies of his latest book.
Conservation Police Officer Amanda Nevel has been employed with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources for six years. CPO Nevel is assigned to the Northern Neck of Virginia and enjoys her work in wildlife enforcement. She has been hosting Women and Youth Hunter Education Program classes to empower more women to the outdoors for the last five years. Nevel participates actively in outreach for the community by hosting educational events. In her free time, CPO Nevel enjoys backpacking the Appalachian Trail and has completed over 250 miles so far in Virginia. She enjoys hunting, fishing, the outdoors, and traveling. She has been to Colorado for a pheasant hunt and has also participated in a women’s antelope hunt in Wyoming. Nevel enjoys all kinds of angling, whether for grouper offshore in Florida or for bass in local private ponds or for striped bass in her home waters of the Chesapeake Bay. We are pleased to have Amanda as one of our instructors at this year’s Beyond the Cast Women’s Fly Fishing Symposium. Amanda's class How to Interact with Wildlife proved so popular in 2023, that we are offering this class to the general public in 2024.
Captain Reid Parker is co-owner of Richmond-based Current Culture Fly guide service. Parker, who has lived and fished in central and eastern Virginia since he was six years old, enjoys fly fishing for pretty much anything that swims in Virginia's tidal waters. He specializes in guiding fly-fishing trips for striped bass, hickory and American shad, northern snakehead, bowfin, and largemouth bass. When the fishing season slows down, Parker can be found in the woods and fields bird hunting behind his Llewellin Setter.
Don’t miss his informative new talk at this year’s festival on “Landing Snakehead and Bowfin on the Fly”.
Jen Ripple, editor-in-chief and publisher of the international fly-fishing lifestyle magazine DUN, was Southern Living's Southerner of the Year and a 2023 inductee in the prestigious Southern Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. Ripple is considered one of the top women in the quiet sport of fly fishing. She is also an avid upland hunter and an outdoor writer with bylines in numerous prestigious publications, including Outside, Game & Fish, Gray's Sporting Journal, Wired2Fish, Florida Sportsman, and many others. Ripple has served on the boards of outdoor organizations including AFFTA, FFI, POMA, Harpeth River Conservancy, and more. She is a professional angler, writer, and conference speaker, who spends her time empowering anglers by teaching fly-tying and casting clinics, speaking nationwide on a variety of topics, and devoting her time to conservation efforts through nonprofits. A sounding board for women in a male-dominated sport, Jen Ripple has created a place for anglers worldwide to connect and engage in the art of fly fishing.
We are delighted to have Jen with us this year, as a special speaker at our Beyond the Cast Symposium for Women, and as a speaker at the festival over the weekend. Be sure to say hi to her, and ask about exciting things in the upcoming issues of DUN.
Tom Rosenbauer has been a fly fisher for 50 years and was a commercial fly tier by age 14. He has fished extensively across North America, in England’s fabled chalk streams, on Christmas Island, and in the Bahamas, Belize, Kamchatka, and Chile. He is credited with bringing bead-head flies to North America and is the inventor of the Big Eye hook, Magnetic Net Retriever, and tungsten beads for fly tying. Rosenbauer has some 20 fly fishing books in print including The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide; Reading Trout Streams; Prospecting for Trout; Casting Illusions; Fly Fishing in America; Approach and Presentation; Trout Foods and Their Imitations; Nymphing Techniques; Leaders, Knots, and Tippets; Dry-Fly Techniques; The Orvis Fly Fishing Encyclopedia; and The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide, which won a 2001 National Outdoor Book Award. Salt, Rosenbauer’s collaboration with photographer Andy Anderson, also won a National Outdoor Book Award in 2014. He has been published in Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Catalog Age, Fly Fisherman, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Sporting Classics, Fly Rod & Reel, Audubon, Men’s Journal, and more. His latest book, Fly Fishing for Trout—The Next Level, was published in November 2016. Rosenbauer is the writer and narrator of “The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide Podcast,” one of the top outdoor podcasts on iTunes. Rosenbauer has worked for the Orvis Company for 44 years in a variety of capacities. In 2022 he was awarded Fly Rod & Reel’s Angler of the Year Award for his many educational efforts in books, magazine articles, and his podcast. He lives with his wife and son in southern Vermont on the banks of his favorite trout stream. We are delighted to have Tom Rosenbauer return this year to teach two special classes Reading the Water, & Matching the Hatch, both with limited seating.
At age 12, native Texan Jeff Rowley (Rowley Benchworks) received a fly-tying kit as a gift. What began as a hobby soon turned into an all-consuming passion. Rowley spent years fishing in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; he loves chasing trout in the Rocky Mountains, bass in warmwater rivers and impoundments, and redfish on the Texas coast. Rowley has gained a serious following because of his unique ability to tie deer hair bass bugs. He is on the pro-staff of numerous companies including Ahrex, RenomedUSA, LidRig, and Semperfli. Rowley debuts at the Virginia Fly & Wine in 2025, so swing by his booth to pick up expert fly-tying tips!
Don't miss Jeff's limited seating specialty class co-taught with his friend Joe Jackson. An Insiders Guide to Tying with Deer Hair will be offered each day of the festival.
Allen Rupp has been tying flies for 30 years now. Growing up around the District of Columbia, his first fish on the fly were Potomac River smallies. Allen now owns and operates Fly On the Water and while he lives in New York City, his flies have caught fish all over the world–from Belize, Chile, Canada, Mexico, the UK, and the Seychelles to Colorado, Montana, New York, Wisconsin, and beyond. Lately saltwater fish–and especially snook–have been taking up most of his time. This is Allen’s second appearance at the Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival. and we are pleased to have him. New this year is an all day Sunday fly ting class for dedicated bass fly tyers called The Complete Near Nuff Fly Tying School based on the work of famed fly tyer Dave Whitlock who Allen studied under. This limited seating class will be held at the festival hotel. Allen will also be offering a Saltwater Fly Tying Techniques Class on Sunday afternoon on the festival grounds. We anticipate both classes selling out so don't wait to make your reservations.
Mark Signorino is a Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor from Erie, Pennsylvania. He is involved with the Gem City Outdoorsmen Fly Tiers and is a director for the Franklin, Pennsylvania-based FFI Affiliate club Keystone Fly Fishers. Signorino has competed in American Casting Association events, is a helper/instructor for Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission fly-fishing seminars, teaches "Fly Fishing 101" classes at state parks in Western Pennsylvania, and is a volunteer with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. He is a member of the Lake Erie Advisory Council, the purpose of which is to present new projects, easements, and land acquisitions that are funded through the monies generated from the Lake Erie Stamp fishing permit. Signorino's first article, "So you received a fly tying kit for Christmas--now what?" has been published in MidCurrent. When he isn't teaching, Signorino is an avid steelhead, trout, and bass fisherman.
We are pleased to be welcoming Mark back with us at the festival again this year. New to fly fishing? Then don't miss his specialty Beginner Fly Casting Classes.
Tim Urtiaga discovered fly fishing at a very young age and quickly decided he wanted to share his love for the quiet sport with others. Over the years Urtiaga has successfully guided many clients to beautiful trout on New Mexico’s famed San Juan River. After catching a few monster Northern pike on the fly, Urtiaga was himself “hooked”—and began to offer the only guided fly-fishing trips for Northern pike off of a boat. Urtiaga, who has been featured in Field & Stream and American Fly Fishing, is trying to raise awareness of Northern pike, abolish the catch-and-kill rule, and increase conservation efforts to protect this species. Urtiaga opened Eagle Nest Fly Shack in Eagle Nest, New Mexico, to provide a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts with the gear and equipment they need to become independent anglers. The Fly Shack, which really did begin as a shack beside an old gas station, thrived and grew until Urtiaga expanded to include more space and even lodging. Today Eagle Nest Fly Shack and Lodge offers eight hotel-style accommodations as well as guided fishing with four different experienced fishing guides.
Stephanie Vatalaro is the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications at the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF), where she leads the consumer and stakeholder outreach strategy for RBFF and its Take Me Fishing™ and Vamos A Pescar™ brand campaigns. A marketing and communications professional with more than 20 years’ experience in corporate, agency, nonprofit, and TV newsroom settings, Vatalaro has devoted the last 15 years of her career to getting more people out on the water fishing and boating and conserving our nation’s aquatic natural resources. Vatalaro currently serves on the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) Marketing and Market Insights Committees, Boating Industry’s Leadership Council, the Marine Marketers of America Board of Directors, and NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries Business Advisory Council. She was recognized in Boating Industry’s 2020 Women Making Waves, and she volunteers with Casting for Recovery. Vatalaro, who received her B.S. degree in communications from Florida State University and a certificate in management from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, grew up in the Florida Keys and is the daughter of a flats fishing guide. She now spends summers fishing and boating with her family on Virginia’s Potomac River. Vatalaro will be a special guest at this year’s Beyond the Cast: Women’s Fly Fishing Symposium which will run concurrently with this year’s festival.
For Jake Villwock, fishing is in his blood: He grew up in a commercial fishing family on Maryland's Eastern Shore and has been an industry professional for over 17 years. After a stint guiding fly fishing and saltwater trips--and dog sledding tours--in Alaska, Villwock returned to his native East Coast in 2009 to manage several TCO Fly Shop locations before launching his own business, Relentless Fly Fishing, which serves as a contract guide service for four TCO Fly Shop locations. Villwock has a passion for warmwater fishing: In Pennsylvania, Villwock guides for trout, smallmouth, and steelhead. Winter finds him in Florida, chasing redfish and snook on his skiff. In addition to guiding, he is the author of Smallmouth Bass Flies Top to Bottom and a contributor to Fly Fisherman and Eastern Fly Fishing magazines. Villwock is also a Montana Fly Company signature tyer, a blog writer, a YouTube content creator, and a pro-staffer for Hatch Reels, Scientific Anglers, Riversmith, Simms, ClackaCraft Drift Boats, Scott, and Regal Vise. Jake Villwock lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Jake Villwock is new to the Virginia Fly & Wine! Watch for updates on his 2025 limited seating specialty class “Advanced Tactics for Smallmouth.” Villwock will also swing by the author's booth to sign copies of his new book.
Ashley Wilmot, owner of Spring Creek Fly Fishing LLC guide service and an adjunct professor for the Joe Humphreys Penn State Fly Fishing Program, volunteers with Casting For Recovery Western Pennsylvania, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, and Trout Unlimited. She is a member of the US Women’s Fly-Fishing National Team and the US Women's Fly Fishing World Team. Wilmont also organizes Reel Girls, a fly-fishing program for girls ages 12 to 18. She currently lives in State College, Pennsylvania, and works in Human Resources for Penn State. Wilmont will be helping to lead this year’s Beyond the Cast Fly Fishing Symposium for Women, and we are delighted to have her and her teammates involved in this year’s festival. Photo credit Joyce Yong.
Alex Wise has been fishing the banks of the Smith River for nearly two decades. Living no more than a mile from its banks in Eden, North Carolina, he has spent countless days from the headwaters near Woolwine, Virginia, all the way to the confluence with the Dan River in Eden for a multitude of species. Wise has dedicated the last 12 years to fly fishing and guiding for brown and rainbow trout from Philpott Dam downstream to their furthest reaches. He has traveled to fish many states including Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Montana, West Virginia, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Tennessee, but has great pride in calling North Carolina/Virginia home. Alex guides on the Smith for New River Fly Fishing and hopes that a day spent with him on the water results in his clients learning how to better their angling experience.
Shannon Young, who began fly fishing as a teenager in the mountains of North Georgia, was a bass angler for 30 years and fished the B.A.S.S. state federation circuit for three years before opening a guide service in Western North Carolina. Young loves to instruct and guide clients in the art of European or "Czech" nymphing. He and his wife Kristin own and operate Maggie Valley Fly Shop in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. As an avid fly angler, pro-staffer for Hardy Fly Rods as well as Cortland Line Company, guide, and fly shop owner, Young is driven to welcoming novices into the quiet sport of fly fishing and introducing them to the enduring beauty of the outdoors. Young is one of our new speakers for the 2025 festival, and we are grateful to have him and his wife Kristin join us.
