Our Goal:
To inform and entertain our audiences by providing high quality fly fishing related content.

Who We Are:
Fly fishing enthusiasts who are passionately dedicated to pursing all aspects of the sport.

 

 

Contributors:

 

Leo Vensel

Leo Vensel started fly fishing in 1974 for bluegill and bass. Born in Miami Florida, he gained a diverse range of experience from fresh to salt. Leo currently resides in Pennsylvania and pursues a variety of species. His number one pursuit is wild Trout. You’ll find him throughout the year exploring the region’s high quality limestone streams, mountain runs, lakes, and choice tailwaters. He is a certified fly casting instructor by the Federation of Fly Fishers, a member of Trout Unlimited, and to many a genuine trout bum. Leo has a passionate streak for fly casting and considers it an art form. Whether it’s providing instruction, angling, or the occasional guided trip, he does it with passion and creativity.

 

 

Ken Vallino

Ken’s interest in fly fishing began along Mill Creek in the Ligonier Valley when he landed his first brown trout on a March Brown wet fly. Since then he hasn’t looked back. His passion for fly-fishing has taken him to every corner of Pennsylvania and surrounding states, along with excursions to Patagonia, Colorado, Montana, Utah, the Bahamas and Louisiana.
As an artist and art instructor for 27 years, Mr. Vallino concentrated on watercolor eventually moving into woodcarving and ceramic sculpture. His favorite medium however, is fly tying. An avid fly tier, Ken has demonstrated his craft and innovative terrestrial patterns at many fly tying roundtables and local fly shops. Recently, he has combined his artistic ability with his fly-tying skills to create a series of “Art Flies”. He has created exotic species such as crayfish, a luna moth, imperial moth and other unique compositions.
Ken’s love for the quiet sport goes further. A long time member of Trout Unlimited, he has been involved with local stream improvement work on Loyalhanna Creek, Linn Run, Rock Run and is currently heading the Mill Creek restoration project. He has been president of Forbes Trail Trout Unlimited since 2002. He believes that the true way to give back to the sport is through conservation efforts with local “grass root organizations.”

 

 

Mark Lynch

An avid bird and deer hunter for over 24 years Mark was introduced to fly fishing in 1994 on the Loyalhanna in scenic Ligonier. Since that first rainbow on a green weenie his addiction to the sport has bordered on insanity. A certified history teacher, he has traded the classroom for trout streams all over Pennsylvania, though he has blended his skills as a historian with his love of wild trout with his soon-to-be competed master’s thesis entitled, “Big Spring Creek: An Environmental, Economic, and Recreational History”. Mr. Lynch is a true trout bum, fishing well over 60 days a year, a wilderness schedule enable by his long-time work as a professional golf caddie. This occupation enables him to indulge spur of the moment trips to Yellow, Spring, Fishing, Penn’s, and Laurel Hill creeks, in addition to his beloved Yough River. Accordingly, his angling buddies both love and hate him for his open schedule. When not fishing, he can be found tying flies and running his champion Cedar Ridge English setters, Patch and Candy. He lives in Ligonier, Pa, where his goal is to catch the few wild rainbows in the state on some undisclosed mountain streams near his home.