Judith Frances O’Keefe was born in Paris in 1956 and was raised in northern California. She began to fish at age ten and spent many enjoyable fishing trips with her dad along the piers. O’Keefe cast her first fly rod in 1993 after meeting her husband, photographer Brian O’Keefe.

O’Keefe has traveled with her husband to freshwater and saltwater locations around the world in pursuit of permit, trout, and salmon. By 1998, O’Keefe had become proficient with a camera and assisted on photo shoots as the backup photographer. That same year, she published her own photograph in a fly-fishing trade magazine and started to make a name for herself. Since then, O’Keefe has added several photo credits to her name and has been published in magazines such as Fish & Fly, American Angler, Fish Alaska, Northwest Fly Fishing, and Southwest Fly Fishing. She has also written articles for fly-fishing magazines and has done product endorsements for Cabela’s and Scientific Anglers.

In 2009, O’Keefe combined her passion for fly fishing with her passion for travel, and she founded the outdoor adventure company Stream to Sea. Her company offers domestic and international fly-fishing trips—for individuals and couples, women and coed groups—that stress instruction, angling, and enjoyment of the local culture.

Judith O’Keefe lives with her husband and three dogs in Powell Butte, Oregon. She has recently expanded her resumé with upland bird and waterfowl hunting.

Note: this text was written in 2011.