Events

Captain Sally Ann Moffett
(Fly Fishing Guide and Outdoor Writer)

By: Todd Fleming

Captain Sally Moffett with large troutI am very excited to tell you that our special guest speaker for the February meeting of the Alamo Fly Fishers will be Captain Sally from Rockport, Texas. I first met Captain Sally at a Shallow Water Expo in Austin about four years ago. I had heard her name, and heard that she was a saltwater fly fishing guide. I also heard that she was fishing from kayaks in shallow water for tailing redfish. These were all things that I was trying to learn, and not having a lot of success at yet. I made sure to get a seat at her seminar in Austin, and soaked up everything she had to say. It was clear to me that she knew what she was talking about, and she had an informative power-point presentation to prove it. Since then I have seen her speak a several functions, read her newsletters and other publications, and even attended some of the same fishing events. She is very active in the fly fishing community, and very approachable and fun to be with. If you have not yet met Captain Sally, or heard her presentations, be sure to come early because I expect the crowd on hand to be standing room only!

Sally Ann Moffett has been a lifelong lover of the outdoors and grew up along the shores of Lake Erie. Her father was a boating and fishing enthusiast and the family spent many summers aboard their Chris Craft cruiser fishing and camping along the inlets and bays. He shared with her his fishing and boating knowledge and often joked that Sally was the son he'd never had.

After pursuing a career as a paralegal and computer networking specialist in Houston, Texas and San Diego, California, Sally decided to leave the hustle and bustle behind. She moved to the Rockport area in 1984. She found that her legal skills were very much in demand and she became a free-lance paralegal while outfitting her first fishing boat.

She obtained her 25 Ton Near Coastal Masters Coast Guard Captain's license and decided to go out on her own as a professional fishing guide in 1998. Her present guide boats are a 24 ft. Carolina Skiff, and custom Ocean Kayaks, and a Maverick HPX technical poling skiff. She has gained wide recognition as one of only a handful of female fishing guides in the country, the first female fly fishing guide on the Texas Coast and the first professional fishing guide to specialize in Kayak Fishing in Texas.

She is sponsored by Maverick Boat Company who provides her with a new Maverick HPX technical poling skiff, Yamaha Outboards, Anchor Marine of Texas, the Laguna Rod Company and Temple Fork Outfitters Fly Rods, Stiffy Pushpoles, Brown Lures, Texas Rattlin’ Rigs, and Shoreline Publishing Maps. She is a founding member of the Texas Women Fly Fishers Club and on the Board of Advisors of the Texas Lady Anglers fishing club. Sally is working with Stacy Trimble to start up a fly fishing club in the Rockport area.

Sally contributes regular columns to local fishing magazines and newspapers. She is a regular voice and guest host on several urban radio shows. Captain Sally has been featured on ESPN2, on the national fishing show Inshore Angler. She has been featured in magazine and newspaper articles both in Texas and nationally and has also authored the Texas Mid Coast chapter of the nationally published book, Saltwater Fly Fishing From Maine to Texas, edited by Don Phillips.

Sally is soon to publish several new books of her own about kayak fishing and shallow water sight casting. The first is titled, Saltwater Kayak Fishing the Texas Way. Sally is bringing several advance copies of this book to our meeting, and they will be available for purchase for the first time anywhere. An autographed copy of this book will surely be a collector’s item. You can also sign up for Sally’s newsletter by visiting her website at www.captainsally.com.

In addition to Captain Sally, we will also have the pleasure of hearing from two more women who are active in our fly fishing community. Mary Rohrer from the Fredericksburg Fly Fishers, and Karen Gebhardt from GRTU will attend our meeting to make a short presentation for Casting for Recovery. They are recruiting volunteers and donations to help out with this year’s retreat. They will also have information for anyone who wants to attend the Casting for Recovery retreat.

I’m excited about our triple line-up of speakers for the meeting on February 20th. The meeting is back at our usual location – lower level of the Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church, 6201 Broadway at Corona. I hope to see you there. Bring a fly for the fly raffle!