Few people become famous by fly fishing, but that’s the way the reel turned for 25-year-old Maddie Brenneman. The fly-fishing guide and longtime Coloradan spends most days on quiet rivers in remote locales, yet 64,300 people follow her latest adventures on Instagram.
Her account’s appeal is obvious – the photolog is fly fishing porn, with beautiful images of the photogenic Brenneman casting and catching everywhere from Colorado to Patagonia, all captured through the lens of her boyfriend (sorry, fishy dudes), Nick Kelley.
While Brenneman says she’s just doing what she loves, she knows that her Instagram fame makes her an ambassador in what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport.
“I’ve seen a lot of women getting interested and learning how to fly fish in the last decade,” she says, remembering how intimidated she used to feel walking into a fly shop. “Social media can let people know there are women who fly fish, and it makes it less intimidating to learn.”
The fame has brought a number of opportunities, including fishing excursions across the globe, and an invitation to compete at Vail’s GoPro Mountain Games.
So what’s next?
“I’d love to always continue guiding, but I’d like to move more into the conservation side of things and help protect our cold-water fisheries,” she says.
—Melanie Wong
