Family, Fishing & Friends with Shandy Danford and Callie Freeman

Whether you get out on the water with Dad or with friends, you’re building great memories. Today’s guests, Shandy and Callie, both had great experiences with their fathers, which are dear to their heart. A fishing event is also the place where Shandy and Callie met. Today they enjoy fly fishing together in the state of Oregon. Trout, steelhead, and salmon are all fair game with these two ladies. They talk openly about the mental shift it takes when you go from catch and keep, to catch and release, and how their growing up experiences shaped how they view fishing. The bonds that are created being out on the water can last a lifetime. Join us today as we meet Shandy and Callie. Bios: Shandy Danford: “I was born and raised in Hawaii, have lived in a handful of beautiful destinations such as Southern California, Colorado, Oregon and most recently Australia for 16 years. I’ve always been a water baby, traveler, a student of experiences rather than in a classroom. All of my travels have revolved around the surf and the cultures that support the waves and the oceans. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined dreaming of destinations around a creek, stream, river, brackish estuary or mangrove to chase fresh or saltwater fish with a fly! I now call Salem the place where I rest my head. My “ride or die” is Rob and I am mom to Fred the Bengal cat and to Lark the…scruffy butt woolie bugger terrier thing… also known as the best little river dog a girl could ask for! I liken myself to the 3rd grader in the K-12 School of Fly Fishing and I’ve never been so pumped!!! The learning curve is a harsh one but so worth the homework and “research” time on the water. I am always down for a road trip, an adventure and any excuse to get out of doing chores! I dream to one day incorporate a fly rod and my dirtbike and to find water sources off the beaten track via single track and trails! Life is here to live it!” Callie Freeman, a Kentucky native, is currently a stay at home mom to two and military spouse with a professional background in biology and entomology (she studied bugs before the kids and military moves!). Callie became an avid angler at a young age thanks to her father’s influence. Their shared fascination with fly fishing began while watching Flip Pallot and Jose Wejebe poll the flats on Walker’s Cay Chronicles and The Spanish Fly. Soon they began fly fishing for small mouth bass and panfish around local streams. Fishing took a backseat however to graduate school and subsequently the birth of two children. After moving to coastal North Carolina she regained her interest in fly fishing and began frequenting fly club meetings and picked up a rod again. Callie also has a passion for conservation and in the past has volunteered with an all women’s chapter of Ducks Unlimited and spent two years on the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina Board of Directors. Currently, Callie volunteers with PDX Women on the Fly, an affiliate group of the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited. She has witnessed how passionate and effective women can be when they work together and hopes fly fishing will inspire more ladies to get involved in conservation. Callie is also working towards receiving her Casting Instructor certification through Fly Fishers International so that she may better assist in growing the fly fishing community. She looks forward to the future and finding a forever home where she can dig in and make a difference! Callie’s latest move to Oregon has put her within range of some of the most hallowed trout, steelhead and salmon fishing rivers in America. She is determined to fish as many rivers as possible and learn as much about targeting these native species as she can during her time in that beautiful state! This is Fly Girl Fish episode 010, first aired on 11/14/2019.

Whether you get out on the water with Dad or with friends, you’re building great memories. Today’s guests, Shandy and Callie, both had great experiences with their fathers, which are dear to their heart. A fishing event is also the place where Shandy and Callie met.

Today they enjoy fly fishing together in the state of Oregon. Trout, steelhead, and salmon are all fair game with these two ladies. They talk openly about the mental shift it takes when you go from catch and keep, to catch and release, and how their growing up experiences shaped how they view fishing.

The bonds that are created being out on the water can last a lifetime. Join us today as we meet Shandy and Callie.

Bios:

Shandy Danford

Shandy Danford: “I was born and raised in Hawaii, have lived in a handful of beautiful destinations such as Southern California, Colorado, Oregon and most recently Australia for 16 years. I’ve always been a water baby, traveler, a student of experiences rather than in a classroom. All of my travels have revolved around the surf and the cultures that support the waves and the oceans. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined dreaming of destinations around a creek, stream, river, brackish estuary or mangrove to chase fresh or saltwater fish with a fly!

I now call Salem the place where I rest my head. My “ride or die” is Rob and I am mom to Fred the Bengal cat and to Lark the…scruffy butt woolie bugger terrier thing… also known as the best little river dog a girl could ask for!

I liken myself to the 3rd grader in the K-12 School of Fly Fishing and I’ve never been so pumped!!! The learning curve is a harsh one but so worth the homework and “research” time on the water.

I am always down for a road trip, an adventure and any excuse to get out of doing chores! I dream to one day incorporate a fly rod and my dirtbike and to find water sources off the beaten track via single track and trails!

Life is here to live it!”

Callie Freeman

Callie Freeman, a Kentucky native, is currently a stay at home mom to two and military spouse with a professional background in biology and entomology (she studied bugs before the kids and military moves!).

Callie became an avid angler at a young age thanks to her father’s influence. Their shared fascination with fly fishing began while watching Flip Pallot and Jose Wejebe poll the flats on Walker’s Cay Chronicles and The Spanish Fly. Soon they began fly fishing for small mouth bass and panfish around local streams. Fishing took a backseat however to graduate school and subsequently the birth of two children. After moving to coastal North Carolina she regained her interest in fly fishing and began frequenting fly club meetings and picked up a rod again.

Callie also has a passion for conservation and in the past has volunteered with an all women’s chapter of Ducks Unlimited and spent two years on the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina Board of Directors. Currently, Callie volunteers with PDX Women on the Fly, an affiliate group of the Oregon Council of Trout Unlimited. She has witnessed how passionate and effective women can be when they work together and hopes fly fishing will inspire more ladies to get involved in conservation. Callie is also working towards receiving her Casting Instructor certification through Fly Fishers International so that she may better assist in growing the fly fishing community. She looks forward to the future and finding a forever home where she can dig in and make a difference!

Callie’s latest move to Oregon has put her within range of some of the most hallowed trout, steelhead and salmon fishing rivers in America. She is determined to fish as many rivers as possible and learn as much about targeting these native species as she can during her time in that beautiful state!

This is Fly Girl Fish episode 010, first aired on 11/14/2019.