WFS 355 – Fly Fishing Guide Relief Program with Mollie Simpkins – Outdoor Guide Association

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/355

Presented By: Bearvault, Zoe Angling Group, FishHound Expeditions, Togens Fly Shop

Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors

Mollie Simpkins is here to enlighten us about their mission at the Guide Relief Program and Outdoor Guide Association. She tells us how they work to ensure a better future for outdoor or fly fishing guides throughout the country, supporting them on and off the water.

We also hear about Mollie’s life in broadcasting as a TV and radio personality before she jumped into these guide programs.

Find out why GRP and OGA are game-changers for the guide community and why we should support these organizations.

Show Notes with Mollie Simpkins

03:30 – Mollie works at Sweet Water Fly Shop – just a couple miles south of Livingston in Paradise Valley. The Vermillion brothers used to own that shop.

04:20 – We had an episode about Sweetwater Travel with Steve Wilson at WFS 105

04:40 – In the shop, Mollie handles the events, all the outfitting, and the guides

07:00 – Mollie came across the group Chesapeake Women Anglers

10:00 – In the early 2000s, Mollie started as an intern in the broadcasting industry at a company called, Metro Traffic. 20 years later, she ended up being the Director of Operations out of Washington DC.

12:55 – Mollie was terribly shy when she started in the broadcasting business – she tells the story of how she overcame her shyness

15:00 – Mollie and I ran into each other at the IFTD in Salt Lake, Utah

17:00 – Mollie tells the story of how they started raising money for guides

20:00 – Josh Mills from the Pacific Northwest started Flies for Flood Relief which raised over 50,000 USD

21:00 – The other portion of the Guide Relief Program is mental health. Any guide can go to their website and apply for 2 free months of mental health care.

24:20 – Mollie talks about the Outdoor Guide Association

27:00 – They work with a company in Connecticut regarding insurance and health. For $204 a year, a guide gets free tell health plus some discounts for medical, dental, vitamins, roadside assistance, global travel assistance, pet care, etc.

30:00 – Through their partner at Crosscurrent in states like Montana, every guide has to have Liability Insurance. They also offer accident insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance.

37:00 – Mollie mentions the companies that partnered with them since the beginning. She also mentions the companies that are going to partner with them this year like Orvis and R.L. Winston Fly Rods, Cross Current Insurance, etc.

41:44 – Mollie talks about their experience at the shop when the massive flood hits Montana on June 13. They call it “the 500-year flood”.

47:30 – Here’s that video of the flood that Mollie mentioned – watch here

1:00:44 – Mollie tells us about her trip to Baha Mexico. She tells us about her bucket list trips.

1:03:20 – Mollie was given the alias, “Shitter. Getter. Doner”. This will be her WFS card name. Stay tuned for it!

Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/355