I began fly fishing and fly tying while in high school in the 70’s. This led to a love of the sciences and the outdoors. After enjoying years of outdoor sports, many of them on rivers, I came back to fly fishing about 6 years ago. Now I am learning new things and looking forward to more adventures.

Randy has been a member of South Sound Fly Fishers since moving to Olympia in 2002. He enjoys teaching casting to beginners. He loves to see it come together when students competently cast and catch their first fish on a fly. If they built the rod and tied the fly it’s even more rewarding!

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up fishing mountain lakes with my grandpa and local lakes with a couple friends up until high school. I started fishing again just before my son was born. A coworker and great friend handed me a fully loaded tackle box and trout rod combo and said “You’re a dad now. You need to remember how these work.” He was more right at the time than either of us could understand. Fishing became a type of family and personal therapy as I became a young clueless parent. I taught myself, my son, and stepson to fish on our local lakes and rivers. Some of my favorite times fishing together was spent tying knots for them, hearing them shout “fish on” as they hooked the same snag they hooked 12 times today, and occasionally watching them land fish. We spent time fishing trout, salmon, and steelhead almost year round for a lot of their youth.I started tying jigs around 16 years ago and started tying flies and fly fishing around 14 years ago. I fell in love with the beauty and serenity of our local rivers and streams and hope to do my part to help spread awareness, preserve, and/or restore them for all future generations. Most of my fly-fishing experience has been on the Deschutes and Skookumchuck rivers and Munn lake. I’ve also had a few unsuccessful solo trips to the Yakima river and a couple Olympic peninsula rivers. No fish caught but I still managed to come home with a few unbelievable stories and new friends met on the river. I’m passionate about fly tying and fishing and have a lot to learn. I’m grateful to have discovered this community last spring and I look forward to sharing in learning, community outreach, and time fishing with all of you.

I began fly fishing about 20 years ago in Texas. For the first few years I fished with flies that were given to me. I decided to try tying my own after watching others tie. I learned a lot by trial and many errors, but I was fortunate to be able to learn from some master fly tyers in the north Texas area. I passed the Silver Tyer level of the International Federation of Fly-fishers (IFF) a few years ago and might start working on the gold level one of these days.

When I retired my wife and I moved to Olympia. We are enjoying getting to know the area and discovering new fishing spots. These days I spend as much time in front of my fly tying vise as I do fishing, but I hope to change that in this new year.

I was introduced to fly fishing many years ago by my brother in law Greg. It has only been the last couple of years however, that I have had the opportunity to really spend time learning more about it. Took the SSFF class Intro to Fly Fishing two years ago, then Casting and Fly Tying. These classes were a lot of fun and since then I’ve gotten involved in the SSFF club and Kevin and others have been so generous in their time taking me fishing, mentoring along the way and showing me how to tie knots, continue my progress casting and finally caught and landed my first fish all by myself last year! I have come to really enjoy flyfishing for so many reasons, including all the beautiful places you get to explore.

Catching fish with strange and difficult methods is my favorite thing. I caught my first fish(bluegill) at age four in a drainage pond by a freeway off ramp with a cane pole in Tampa. That’s a true story. Another time I caught a bunch of Espada(a fish of nightmares) totally sober, night time hand lining a strip of orange trash bag off the side of a cargo ship in East Africa. Also a true story. Growing up near the Rogue River I inevitably found my way to a fly rod. While not quite as exotic as some of my other misbehaviors in Ichthyology. I still manage to mess it up pretty bad most of the time. Lately I’ve been stumbling around the Olympics with a Spey rod using the process of elimination method. That’s where I make so much noise in the water I eliminate the other people fishing’s slightest chance of catching anything.
Besides that I get around the Sound bothering sea-run cutthroat. I’m not as miserable at that. Sea runs I’ve got pretty dialed. As for club business I am currently holding the Outings Chair. I research, plan and organize our monthly outings. I also make sure the breakfast burritos are hot and on time while Max is in Arizona enjoying the sunshine. If you see me at a meeting and know a good localish spot you think the club would enjoy, come and tell me. We like to hold the occasional pop up outing to supplement the regular one. Share the wealth and I’ll squeeze it onto the calendar somewhere.
Someone please take me tiger muskie fishing.

I began fly fishing in the mid 1960’s on the Blue Ribbon waters of “Hat Creek” in the Southern Cascades north of Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park and in many other streams and lakes throughout the highlands of the Central and Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Targeted species sought were mainly Rainbow, Brook, Brown and Golden Trout.

After retiring, my wife and I moved to the Pacific North West to hunt, fish and explore WA. Once we learned of the South Sound Fly Fishers, we became members and soon made many new friends. Being asked to become a board member sometime thereafter, I found this experience to be quite enlightening and proved to me just what it takes to run such a successful organization of over 60 years.

My goal for the Club is to continue developing a fly casting program geared to helping new fly fishers develop their skills and confidence allowing them to compete in and earn their FFI Bronze, Silver and Gold Fly Casting Skills Development Course Certificates.

Bruce got his introduction to fly fishing in his home state of New Jersey. While attending grad school at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) he took advantage of some casting classes to improve his techniques and he also took an introductory fly tying class. This led to some great fishing experiences in the Sierras and all over the Pacific Northwest. He mostly enjoys alpine lake fishing. But don’t let that fool you – his family in Florida will attest to Bruce fishing their southern salt water.

I have been fishing for most of my life and started fly fishing about 20 years ago. I have been involved with South Sound fly fishers for the last couple of years, and have been the mentorship chair person for the last year. One of my favorite things about fly fishing is the casting. I am looking forward to working with the casting in the mentorship program. I also have built a few rafts over the last and hope to do some rivers floats.

I have served with SSFF for the last 7 years as Secretary, President, outings chair and educator. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York, I have been an avid fisherman most of my life. Retired from serving 24 years in the military, and 10 years as a behavioral Therapist, I know own 2 businesses Dixon Fly Co and Woodard Bay Ranch and live in Olympia.

Kevin describes himself as a “self-inflicted” fly fisher starting in the late 1970s in Colorado. His current focus is on quality – quality of the experience, camaraderie, and the fun of the day. On his recent trip to our Kennedy Creek he caught the little 6‑inchers with (very nearly) the same excitement as when he describes catching 20‑plus inch trout. It’s all wonderful.

Vic Andrade moved from the Midwest to Washington in 2016 after retiring from a career in IT. He joined the SSFF after taking the Introduction to Fly Fishing Class in 2019. He uses his experience in maintaining his blog about his cross country bicycling adventures to maintain the club’s website and Facebook page.

Dave took up fly fishing after retiring in 2022.  He joined the South Sound Fly Fishers club in 2023, and currently serves as the club’s newsletter editor.