USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team

06/25/2026

And last but certainly not least, introducing the Coach of the USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team World Team🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸, the mentor who coached us to 🥇GOLD🥇 in 2025, and an ongoing support and inspiration for all of us, competitive angler extraordinaire, Norman Maktima!!!!! 👏👏🎣🎣❤️❤️

🎣 Hailing from Pecos, NM, Norman is a true indigenous native of the Southwest and a descendant of the Pueblos of San Felipe, Laguna, and Hopi. He grew up fishing with his father on the Pecos River and has been fly tying since childhood.

🎣 Norman has coached the USA Fly Fishing Women's Team World Team through two previous World Championships, including leading the team to a Gold Medal in Idaho in 2025.

🎣 He has competed with Fly Fishing Team USA at World Championships in Sweden, Slovakia, Italy, Slovenia (finishing 6th individually), Norway, Czech Republic, Bosnia (team silver medal), and the USA (team bronze medal). He won the individual gold medal at the Youth World Championships in 1998 (along with team silver) and the US National individual and team gold medals in 2018.

🎣 Norman loves to teach fly fishing through clinics and classes and works with indigenous individuals to showcase fly fishing as a viable job and career opportunity. He feels strongly that the knowledge he has gained does no good if others cannot benefit from it.

🎣 Norman is a signature tyer with Umpqua Feather Merchants, a fly fishing guide with About Trout Guide Service on the San Juan River, and he works at Los Pinos Fly Shop in Albuquerque, NM. He also runs his own business, selling his own unique, Pueblo-inspired fly fishing designs, NMAktimaFlyFishing.com

06/18/2026

🥇Introducing the anglers who will defend our LADIES WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL in Norway this July!!! 🥇

🙌🙌 Hands up for our teammate Julie Mattson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!🙌🙌

🎣 Julie was born and raised in Montana and has made a life as an Outfitter and Guide for over 25 years, working in Alaska, Montana, and Oklahoma.

🎣 Julie has been on the USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team since competing at the first Women's Nationals in 2022, and she was a member of the first US Women's Worlds Team that same year. She looks forward to returning to Norway as a competitor with our team this July.

🎣 If she's not on the river guiding or practicing for the next competition, you will find her at the bench tying flies, or in her newest adventure as a star host on the Mayfly Rising Podcast.

🎣 Julie is passionate about teaching fly fishing and getting youth involved in the sport. She loves volunteering for different nonprofits to help get more anglers on the water. She also attends fly fishing shows as a speaker, sharing her knowledge with others, and always teaching and learning.

🎣 A quote that Julie lives by is: "Never sit in a rocking chair on the porch talking about waters you should have fished. Sit in that rocking chair on the porch talking about all the places you did fish and people you met."
-Julie's Grandfather, Stephen Bronec

06/13/2026

Press release is out!!!!!!! Things are getting real!!! 💥💥💥
5 weeks until we arrive in Norway!!!! 🎣🎣🎣
This team is PUMPED!!!!! 🙌🙌👊💪

USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team Returns to Defend World Title in Norway One year after making history as the first American team to win gold at the Ladies World Fly Fishing Championship, Team USA returns to defend its title at the 5th FIPS-Mouche World Ladies Fly Fishing Championship in Åkrestrømme...

06/09/2026

🥇Introducing the anglers who will defend our LADIES WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL in Norway this July!!! 🥇

🔥🔥 Let's hear it for the 2025 WOMEN'S WORLD INDIVIDUAL GOLD MEDALIST, Tess Weigand!!!!🔥🔥

🎣 Tess is one of the founding members of the USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team and is currently our Team Captain. She has competed with the team in four successive women's world championships.

🎣 Tess is also a member of the Fly Fishing Team USA, a co-ed team comprised of the top 15 anglers in the country.

🎣 Tess has been guiding for wild trout for 10 years, splitting her time between Southwest Montana and Central Pennsylvania.

🎣 Tess is known not just for her technical mastery and competition skills, but also for her expertise in entomology and her profound connection to the waters she calls home, particularly the Penns Creek Watershed.

🎣 Whether guiding new anglers or competing on the world stage, she is committed to fostering community, inspiring women in sport, and protecting the waters she loves for future generations.

05/26/2026

🥇 Introducing the anglers who will defend our LADIES WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL in Norway this July!!! 🥇 We have some new faces this year!!!

🐟 Based in Colorado for over 30 years, Katie Mazzia is a dedicated fly angler and a member of the U.S. Women's Fly Fishing Team since 2024.

🎣Her initiation into competitive fly fishing was sparked by her son, Jack Arnot, who is also a U.S. National and World Team angler. Together, they represent one of the first mother-son duos to serve on U.S. national teams.

🐟 Aside from working full-time as a dietitian, Katie participates and volunteers in a variety of fly fishing events. Her accomplishments include placing 2nd in the 2024 GoPro Games Orvis Species Slam, finishing Troutwoman 6 times, and completing both Ultrout and Lucifish.

🎣She is also passionate about water and native fish conservation, serving as a Board Member for the nonprofit Running Rivers.

🐟 In her free time, you might find her trail running to high alpine lakes seeking cutthroats or at home baking sourdough.

05/19/2026

🥇 Introducing the anglers who will defend our LADIES WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIP GOLD MEDAL in Norway this July!!! 🥇 We have some new faces this year!!!

🔥 HANDS UP for Erica Hickey (Janefish Erica)!!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

🎣 Erica hails from Avon, CO and has been a member of the USA Fly Fishing Women’s Team for 4 years. 

🎣 Coming from a background of classic fly fishing and bamboo rod building, she hopes to honor the soul of this sport while striving to fish at the highest level possible.

🎣 She is a board member with the conservation not-for-profit Keep Fish Wet, and advocates for catch and release best practices within the competitive angling community. 

🎣 Erica is also a mother and a palliative care nurse practitioner, and she is pumped to represent these values and her country on the world stage this summer. 

05/16/2026

🎣 Cheering for our teammate, ⭐️Kim Frederick⭐️, as she competes in the Chesterfield Reservoir Spring 2026 Mini this weekend in Idaho.

🎣 She'll compete in two, back-to-back events on Gem Lake and Chesterfield Reservoir. With a line up of fierce competitors, this should be a fun two days to watch!

❤️ Kim, we are rooting for you!!!!! ❤️