Joan Wulff's legacy is all around us
As she turns 100, Joan Wulff's impact in fly fishing has never been more apparent.
Current Flowers of State,
Fly fishing icon Joan Wulff turned 100 last weekend.
Fly Fisherman produced a great video showcasing Joan and her achievements through the years. It's well worth watching if you've never seen her iconic casting stroke, or haven't learned about her role in angling.
Wulff didn't just elevate casting instruction. During fly casting's heyday, she slammed the door open and shoved in new ideas of who a champion angler might be.
Why Joan Wulff matters
Joan Wulff's legacy is not stuck in the 20th Century. It's alive, and bearing fruit in fly fishing today.
Take, for instance, this years World Flycasting Championships in Northern Italy, which just concluded in August. Team USA took home top honors, with powerhouse casters Whitney Gould and Steve Rajeff anchoring the squad, dominating the Women's and Veteran's division.
Their haul is impressive enough, but the talent pool runs deeper. 14-year-old Elias Blagojevic-Lilly from southwest Florida won the Men's medal in Trout Accuracy, the youngest ever to win the title. Elaine Gong, who is in her eighties, took home the women's Trout Accuracy title.
This breadth of talent, across generations and genders, anchored by mentors and coaches, is to a large degree possible because people like Joan Wulff expanded our ideas of who the sport was for, and what people who wanted to learn and test their skills might do to take it further.
Thanks, Joan.
Listen to Gould and Gong talk competitive casting with Richard Harrington on the River Rambler podcast (one of my fave fly fishing pods).
Upcoming events
October 27: Snow Peak x CFS Community Connect
Join us at Snow Peak's Portland HQ for a free community hang.
This month we're talking flies. Why fish eat 'em, what kinds there are, how to make 'em.
Whether you've spent years on the river or are just curious about where to start, we're convening an approachable space to learn, ask questions, and connect with others through a shared interest in fly fishing.
November 8: Casual Casting
Winter's coming! Bust off that two-handed rust, or just keep those summer skills alive with a free Sunday casting jam co-hosted with fellow casting-instructor-in-training Lisa Amato.
All are welcome, and if you don't have a rod, we can loan you one.
Got an event you want the community to know about? Send it over and I'll include it here. You can find and register for all of our upcoming CFS-led events on Luma.
Leaders ➰
Fishy links to start your week. Got one to share? Hit reply and send it over! 🪝
Born to be free 🐵 (20 min read)
After losing iconoclastic founding editor Dave Grossman earlier this year, Southern Culture on the Fly magazine has produced a special issue of stories and memories in tribute. (southerncultureonthefly)
Casting tips from a Champion coach 🏆 (5 min read)
Joe Mahler (coach of Blagojevich-Lilly, above) offers a few small ways to make your cast 5% better. Where efficiency's the name of the game, small things add up. (epicflyrods.com)
Stripping for steelhead 💃 (9 min read)
No, it's not that desperate. But it's easy to forget steelhead will strike a stripped fly. Ohio angler Matt Redmond offers some tips. (farbank.com)
Improving your fly tying 🏫 (8 min read)
Heather Purvin offers some advice for newbie tyers. (Looking at you, winter is coming.) (jsflyfishing.com)
Finding comradeship on the Madison 🫂 (15 min read)
Jonathan Gluck writes a poignant story about his long struggle with blood cancer and the bonds he built with a group of fellow anglers on the Madison. Thanks, Robert, for sending this over! (nytimes.com gift link)
Columbia-Colorado comparison ⚖️ (11 min read)
With a decades-long reckoning coming to the Colorado River, Nick Engelfried breaks down the impacts of climate change and increased pressure on the other Big C. (columbiainsight.org)
Hope for a Great Lakes grayling comeback 🌈 (5 min read)
Vivian La visits with three tribes trying to re-introduce Arctic Grayling, absent for over a century, to Michigan waters. (goodgoodgood.co)
We've raised over $10,000 for the Deschutes River Alliance and sent ribbon maps to supporters in over 14 states! Have you got yours yet?
That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish. You can also find CFS on Bluesky 🦋, Instagram 📸, YouTube 🎥, or the Fishcord 💬
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"I know of no pleasure deeper than that which comes from contemplating the natural world and trying to understand it." - David Attenborough
