Joan Wulff

The First Lady of Fly Fishing. Joan has done everything in the sport. She is a tournament caster, a world record holder, an accomplished casting instructor and an inspiration for tens of thousands of flycasters. Joan advises Winston on issues specific to women fly fishers, but we owe her so much more. She is a great caster and technician who has taught us things about our rods and rod actions that we would have never considered. OUR RODS ARE BETTER THANKS TO JOAN WULFF.

Joan is one of the sport's pioneering casting instructors, an accomplished writer, tournament caster since the age of 11, and a frequent guest and expert commentator on national television. Joan's accomplishments are not limited to fly fishing: she's the mother of two sons, the former director of a successful dancing school, author of two books, she's served as the first mate on a 56' schooner, and has soloed an airplane. She has cast an incredible 161 feet in competition, proving that technique has far more to do with distance casting than strength. In fact, she's the only woman to have won a national distance casting championship, (Fisherman's distance), over all-male competition.

Among her writing credits are three books: Joan Wulff's Fly Casting Techniques, the instruction book that pioneered a set of casting mechanics, Joan Wulff's Fly Fishing: Expert Advice from a Woman's Perspective, and Joan Wulff's Fly-Casting Accuracy. She was a columnist for Fly Rod & Reel magazine for 22 years, writing a regular casting column, the first of its kind in the industry. She now serves as Editor-at-Large at Fly Rod and Reel.

Along with her late husband Lee, she founded the Wulff School of FLy Fishing in 1979 where she still serves as a consultant.

Winston rods have always had a certain "feel" which made me a fan. Originally it was because the rods had a softer action than others, but now, even with the faster action Boron II rods, that sensitivity is still there. That sense of feeling is an invaluable teaching tool and, as an angler, adds greatly to my fishing enjoyment.

Joan also sees her involvement with Winston as an opportunity to address the needs of women anglers. "When I got started, women weren't given much encouragement to stay with the sport. Waders were heavy, rods were heavy, and grips were too big. The need to overcome the limitations of the available tackle helped me develop some of the casting techniques I still teach today."

For years, I'd been suggesting to the industry that increasing the participation of women is critical and that, as manufacturers, now is the time to address women anglers with specific product features. David Ondaatje is the only one who responded with a plan.

Pro Staff

Pro Staff

Joan Wulff