Joan has been casting a fly rod since she was a young lady in school, about 1937. She was also the first female to win the National casting competition. In fact, she was the national champion from 1943 to 1960 in distance casting. At the time she broke a record with her cast of 161 feet. Can you imagine that!!???!!
For a long time she was quite popular at fishing shows, giving casting demonstrations. She married Lee Wulff (another famous angler) & together they started the Wulff School of Fly Fishing where she taught casting. She was also the first female professional angler to get an endorsement deal with the Garcia company in 1959. She has authored columns about fly casting for more than 20 years for Fly Rod & Reel magazine in addition to writing books about fly casting.
Joan was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2007. Below is a brief video from that induction, giving some more info about Joan's life & work.
Joan Wulff is easily one of the most influential anglers of the 20th century. A hundred years from now anglers will know her name - & they should. Her accomplishments are many, but her dedication & kindness to passing on her knowledge & skill to other anglers is inspiring. It is grace in motion to watch her cast a fly line.