Featured Ambassador: Kenzie Quinn

Fast Fishe Facts 

Favorite fish - A big ol’ streamer eat’in brown trout for freshwater and permit for saltwater! (even though a permit will most likely break your heart a little bit.) 

Most loved Fishe product - Loveeee my brookie fleece (so cozy and warm) and also my brookie dry backpack, I take that thing everywhere I travel. The new permit pattern has to be my new favorite Fishewear pattern. And my Mt. Cutty pattern buff…. It is hard to choose just one pattern/item. I literally want everything in every collection. 

Dogs or cats? - DOGS. I grew up with Bernese mountain dogs so they have a special place in my heart. The way they can turn your whole day around with just one wag of the tail, they are truly special animals. (no offense to all the cat peeps out there!) 

Can’t survive winter without - coffee, whiskey, and fishing… usually all 3 at the same time.

Basic Facts 

Hometown - I was born and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I fished the Rouge River, Grand River, Au Sable River for amazing dry fly fishing in the summer and steelhead fishing in the winter on the Pere Marquette…but I have been living in Bozeman, Montana for about 11 years now. I consider both to be my home. Favorite river to fish in Montana is the Yellowstone during grasshopper season. Nothing better. 

Years with Fishe - first year and hope to be with Fishe for many, many more! Current base - I live in Bozeman, MT currently but love to travel to fish. 

Day job - I am a child and adolescent therapist and work with kids who have been through extensive trauma. It’s a very emotionally taxing job, which is why fly fishing is so important to me. It is a way for me to recenter after a long, tough week at work. I also volunteer a lot of my time with different organizations/nonprofits in the Bozeman area as a mentor for kids and am excited to get more involved with Casting for Recovery this summer as well. Community is very important to me, especially giving back to my community. 

Interview Qs 

How did you first get into outdoor recreation? Into fishing? 

I’ve always been an outdoors kid - I would be outdoors playing with neighborhood friends from dawn until dusk every day in the summer and usually in the winter as well. I grew up very blessed to be able to fish, ski, camp, mountain bike, and participate in a lot of amazing outdoor activities with friends and family. I grew up conventional fishing with my dad and grandpa in Michigan when I was very little. I still remember catching my first lake perch and getting…well… “hooked” on the sport. I slowly moved into fly fishing and was able to have a few great mentors

in my life back home in Michigan as well. I then moved out to Montana, mecca of fly fishing, and was able to make friends and have relationships with people at MSU and get more involved in fly fishing that way. I remember going to my first fly tying night at a local fly shop called Troutfitters way back in my Montana State college days, and finding everything about fly fishing so intriguing. I’ve met the most amazing people through fly fishing and it seriously has changed my life forever. I have been able to advance and grow my skills and love for fly fishing throughout the years and be able to meet extraordinary people on the way. I worked at a local fly shop called Montana Angler, which was an absolutely amazing experience and where I learned so much about flies, products, rods/reels, guide life, fly fishing in general. I am very thankful for Montana Angler to have given me the chance to work for them, really as the first female fly shop employee. I have traveled to places such as New Zealand, Alaska, Mexico, and Canada to fly fish. Fly fishing has truly taken me to some of the most amazing and incredible places, and I am thankful for that everyday. 

Tell us all about the Women On the River Collective! 

Yea! I honestly started the Women on the River Collective page because I was missing fishing with my friends at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in spring 2020. I wanted to showcase my badass female angler friends and get more female angler content out into the world. It grew into an amazing and beautiful community of supportive women empowering each other to go out on the water and get after it. The page is for any angler really, but more specifically for female anglers to feel inspired, empowered, and to know that they CAN get out there and fish and try something new. It is for new anglers and experienced anglers all alike… just a place to feel safe and heard and a community who has your back. Freshwater, saltwater, ponds, lakes, oceans, rivers… the page is somewhere for people to go and feel inspired and empowered and to ask questions and to feel supported. 

What do you see as your superpower? 

I believe that my superpower is my compassion and empathy… I feel as though I am a nurturer at heart and always wanting to make sure others are happy, healthy, and feeling loved and supported. When I leave a conversation or leave an interaction I always want to make sure that I leave that person feeling better than when I entered the situation. Maya Angelou once said, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I honestly try to live my life by this quote and try to always make people feel heard, included, and accepted as who they are. I also like to think that my other superpower is my dry sense of humor and ridiculous sarcasm… I speak 3 languages fluently… English, Spanish, and sarcasm. If you also speak fluent sarcasm, we are going to get along just fine. 

What is your favorite part of being a Fishe Wear ambassador? 

The community that Fishewear cultivates is beyond compare. It is such a supportive, genuine, creative group of women who are behind the scenes making Fishe thrive and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this team. I feel as though meeting all the other badass ambassadors, developing new friendships, and working with the Fishe team has been my favorite part. Being able to rep Fishewear out on the river and get other female anglers asking, “I love your bag,

where did you get it!?” and having that be the conversation starter between me and other female anglers has been a really cool part of being an ambassador as well. 

Something you may not know about me… 

I grew up playing ice hockey in Michigan and I love ice skating! I am a die hard Detroit Red Wings fan! Miracle is one of my all time favorite movies. 

My best friend back home is about to have a baby this summer and I am going to be the godmother, and I couldn’t be more excited! I will definitely be buying her her first fly rod. I also speak fluent Spanish and have lived in Costa Rica working at a surf hotel and Nicaragua teaching English and working at a local orphanage. I’ve traveled to around 25 different countries and hope to add a few more to that list this year. 

Other than fishing, what are your top three ways to spend your free time? Summer: Mountain biking, camping, stand up paddle boarding. 

Winter: Skiing, bonfires, and cooking dinner with friends. 

Where can we find you?

@womenontherivercollective is my page that I run and work hard at keeping it a safe and positive community! 

#girlgang 

#tightlines 

#womenontherivercollective 

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