Kathy Scott grew up in northern Michigan, but it was as an adult living in Maine that she made a reputation for herself in the world of fly fishing.

Believing strongly in the power of fly fishing, Scott started Fly Fishing Kids in 2002 at the Lawrence Junior High School in Fairfield, Maine, where she holds the position of library media specialist. Fly Fishing Kids received national coverage when it was featured on the PBS series Zoom. Scott’s program is still a major offering at Lawrence, and she has spoken at symposiums across the country to promote fly-fishing education in schools. In appreciation for her work, Trout Unlimited honored her with the National Youth Education Award in 2009.

Scott is also an accomplished writer and has published four books that tell the story of her life through fly fishing and the great outdoors. Her first book, Moose in the Water, Bamboo on the Bench (2000), introduces Scott and her husband, rod maker David Van Burgel; in Headwaters Fall as Snow (2003), Scott examines the winter months between fly-fishing seasons; in Changing Planes (2008), she makes her own bamboo rod; and in her latest book, Brook Trout Forest (2011), Scott and Van Burgel make twin bamboo rods and travel to Labrador. Readers often comment that Scott has the uncanny ability to make them feel as if they are part of the story.

Her writing can also be found in several magazines and journals, including Midwest Fly Fishing, Powerfibers, the Planing Form, and the Atlantic Salmon Journal. Scott has recently issued a DVD that demonstrates the making of furled leaders.

Kathy Scott lives with her husband and dog along the Great North Woods of Maine promoting fly-fishing instruction to kids, finding inspiration in nature, writing in her journals, and participating at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum’s annual rod-making seminars. She continues to work at Lawrence Junior High School. Her most recent book has been well received by critics and readers alike.

Note: this text was written in 2011.