Lori-Ann Murphy was born and raised in California. Angling was an activity enjoyed by all members of the Murphy family, and she spent many vacations visiting different fishing locations.

Murphy attended college in Idaho and then moved to Seattle in 1983 to attend nursing school. While living in Washington, she and a friend went fly fishing on the Deschutes River, and Murphy landed her first steelhead on a fly. This event sparked her interest in fly fishing and started her life on a new path.

After completing nursing school and while traveling to a new job in Wyoming, Murphy stopped in Driggs, Idaho, to spend some time on the water. Instead of continuing her trip to Wyoming, she accepted a hospital nursing job in Driggs and settled into a new life that included fly fishing. It was in Idaho that she met her future husband, a professional guide, who encouraged her to use her angling skills by becoming a guide. Murphy attended a 1989 Orvis Rendezvous in Livingston, Montana, and by chance was paired with Leigh Perkins, then-owner of the company; after this event, Murphy became the first woman guide to be Orvis endorsed.

By 1994, Murphy had taught the first women-only class while guiding for Joe Bressler in Jackson, Wyoming; served as the fly-fishing technical advisor during the filming of A River Wild (featuring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon); assisted with the creation of Orvis’s women-only fly-fishing school; and founded Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures with friend Christy Ball. Reel Women was the first company to offer women-only fly-fishing trips; the company was an immediate success and received nationwide recognition.

Among Murphy’s other accomplishments are working with Nancy Zakon and Christy Ball to design and launch Orvis’s collection of women’s fly-fishing clothing; winning the International Sportsmen’s Exposition’s Best of the West Casting Competition in 2003; being a winning member of Team Under Armour during the 2007 Outdoor Life Network Fly Fishing Masters Tournament; and being featured on Outdoor Channel’s 2011 series Buccaneers and Bones.

Lori-Ann Murphy currently lives in Belize nine months of the year and is the director of fishing and guest relations at El Pescador Lodge. She visits her home waters in southwestern Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming as often as possible.

Note: this text was written in 2011.