author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
and
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, also known as the "First Lady of Fly Fishing." In 1951, she won the national fly-casting distance title by winning the all-male competition and was a National Casting Champion from 1943-1960. She started the Wulff School of Fly Fishing along with her husband, Lee Wulff, in 1978, along the
Beaverkill River
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York. The kill drains a Baldigo, Barr ...
mechanics
Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...
.
Early life and angling career
Joan Wulff was born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.outfitting shop, Paterson Rod & Gun. Her long-standing passion for angling is said to have originated from her exposure to fishing at a young age.
In her book, ''Joan Wulff's New Fly Casting Techniques'', she describes her early exposure to fishing and how it sparked her interest in the sport: "I became hooked on fishing at the age of five or six, accompanying my parents one bass-fishing evening. Dad fished with a
fly rod
A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with a ...
; mother rowed the boat. Things came together and a bass exploded from under the lily pads to take Dad's bass bug. The bass and I got hooked at the same time."
At age 10, Wulff asked her mother if she could borrow a
bamboo fly rod
A bamboo fly rod or a split cane rod is a fly fishing rod that is made from bamboo. The British generally use the term "split cane." In the U.S., most use the term "bamboo." The "heyday" of bamboo fly rod production and use was an approximately ...
belonging to her father, whom she claimed she admired. After a few attempts at casting, the
rod
Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to:
Devices
* Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment
* Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority
* Connecting rod, main, coupling, ...
came apart at the
ferrule
A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...
, and the top section slid into the water. Fearing her father's reaction, she and her mother summoned a neighbor to retrieve it with a rake. When Wulff’s father found out what had happened, far from being angry, he bought Joan a rod of her own, and showed her how to use it.
After her first fly-casting lessons from her father, she further developed her technique under the guidance of mentor William Taylor and instructors at the Paterson New Jersey Casting Club. Within two years, Wulff was the New Jersey Sub-Junior All Around Casting Champion. It was claimed that even with her 5-foot stature, she could cast a 5-weight fly rod single-handedly, hitting targets 50 feet away. Wulff enjoyed testing her mettle against male contestants, and used strategies such as shifting her weight and lengthening strokes with her body to improve her cast. Al Ristori, a New Jersey outdoor writer who frequented Paterson Rod & Gun during his childhood, remarked that “she could outcast just about any man." In the 1930s, distance and accuracy casting was a popular sport, and her father Jimmy Salvato — a New Jersey game and fish commissioner and outdoors writer — was one of the best. At 16, Joan was crowned New Jersey State Champion, and competed in her first national championship, in Chicago. With her Scottish-born mother, Alexina Sampson Salvato, providing emotional support, Wulff won the first of what became 17 national titles from 1943 to 1960.
Between 1943 and 1960, Wulff traveled the country, driving to casting competitions and outdoors shows, while achieving milestones and popularity. In 1945, '' American Magazine'' published a story about her, “No Flies on Joanie,” and she was featured on the cover of ''
Pennsylvania Angler
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
''. In 1947, she scored 99 out of 100 points at a national accuracy championship. That year, she achieved a personal best with a 120-foot cast in one of her first distance-casting contests. Four years later, she gathered further interest from the sporting community when she took the National Fisherman’s Distance Fly title with a 9-weight rod against an all-male field with a record (for a woman) cast of 131 feet. World champion fly caster Steve Rajeff provided insight on the event, stating that, “any time a female can achieve the record distance of a man takes tremendous skill...Joan was fantastic. Her records inspired this generation of women casters.”
Wulff's road trips continued. In addition to competitive distance casting (
spinning
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
and
plug
Plug, PLUG, plugs, or plugged may refer to:
* Plug (accounting), an unsupported adjustment to an accounting record
* Plug (fishing), a family of fishing lures
* Plug (horticulture), a planting technique
* Plug (jewellery), a type of jewellery wor ...
, as well as
fly
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
), she was known for trick casting. With a fly rod, she sliced bananas, broke balloons, even snapped a cigarette from the mouth of emcee
Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...
on the television game show ''
Who Do You Trust?
''Who Do You Trust?'' (originally titled ''Do You Trust Your Wife?'' until July 1958) is an American television game show. The show aired from September 30, 1957 to November 15, 1957, at 4:30 pm Eastern on ABC, and from November 18, 1957 t ...
'' In the 1960 New Jersey State Casting Championship, Wulff performed a 161-foot cast that would have been a record for women if this cast was a Championship category.
Joan first interacted with Lee Wulff, a famous angler and cinematographer, filming together. Later, the two were married in 1967, traveling and fishing across the world together. This period of time included both Joan's introduction to salmon fishing, but also her extensive promotion of women's fishing clothing and equipment.
Wulff School of Fly Fishing
In 1978, Joan and her husband Lee Wulff, moved to
Lew Beach, New York
Lew Beach is a hamlet in the town of Rockland, New York, United States. It is at the northernmost corner of the town and thus also of Sullivan County, near the tripoint with Delaware and Ulster counties, within the Catskill Park. Its ZIP code, ...
, and the upper
Beaverkill River
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary of the East Branch Delaware River, a main tributary of the Delaware River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of New York. The kill drains a Baldigo, Barr ...
, where Joan carried out her plan of opening a fly-fishing school. Teaching was a shared passion for the Wulffs, something they had done sporadically before opening the school. Joan created a curriculum and terms that broke the cast into parts. A distinguished fly instructor, Brandt, explained that “she coined the term ‘power snap’ as a description for ending the stroke to form the loop and ‘drift’ to describe the follow-through of the back cast and repositioning of the rod between the back and forward strokes. Technically, she’s the most proficient caster I’ve ever seen. And a master teacher." Miami-based master instructor Chico Fernandez similarly mentioned that, “she can correct casting subtleties in people at the highest level, and with the same focus and contribution, help beginners.”
After the death of Lee Wulff in April 1991, Joan was grief-stricken and concerned about the future of the school in Lee's absence. Wulff remained adamant that her school would remain. At this time, friends were providing support, including one of Lee’s closest, lawyer
Ted Rogowski
TED may refer to:
Economics and finance
* TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar
Education
* ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association
** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey
** Transvaal Education Depart ...
of the
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
.
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
’s film '' A River Runs Through It'' was released the year after Lee’s death, and its impact on the school was profound. Numbers of women filled all 10 sessions, with a newfound interest in fly-fishing. Many students seemed to hold Wulff and her instructional skills in high regard. One former student and professional guide, Lori Ann Murphy, admiringly referred to Wulff as "grace, beauty and intelligence all in motion."
With this increase in female students, Wulff hired protégé and nurse practitioner
Sheila Hassan
Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, meani ...
of Boston to instruct alongside her. Hassan joined the school in 2003 and became chief instructor in 2008. Hassan additionally commented that "when it comes to the mechanics of the cast, no one has risen to Joan’s level of detail", and that “at a time when so many people are retiring, it’s inspiring to see Joan teaching at such a high level... The way she can look at someone’s cast and identify how to improve, it is amazing. She’s a one-in-a-million teacher.”
Editorial and publishing career
In the 1980s, Wulff took the opportunity to begin a casting column in ''Fly Rod & Reel'' magazine that ran for 22 years. After encouragement from Lee Wulff and publisher Nick Lyons, Wulff also wrote a book on fly-casting. When writing this new book, Wulff's goal was to explain the cast in terms that a novice could grasp.
During one off-season in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, Wulff increased her focus on an explicit, stepwise method for fly-casting that would be appropriate for readers. Apparently, Lee would constantly challenge her for better explanations. Wulff's book took two years to complete with these goals in mind, including coining terms that described the cast. “Loading move,” for example, describes the first part of the stroke and “power snap” refers to the end of it. In this writing she wanted to address the physicality of casting, describing muscle movements as well. Finally, Joan Wulff’s ''Fly-Casting Techniques'', was first published in 1987. With its pioneering casting mechanics, the book was received positively by magazine editors, students and professionals as a classic that made fly-casting accessible to everyone. It has been acclaimed as one of the best fly-casting instructional books ever written. Joan Wulff’s ''New Fly-Casting Techniques'' was published in 2012, subsequently followed by a second edition in 2016. Her instructional video, ''Dynamics of Fly Casting'', accompanies Wulff's books in appraisal.
Royal Wulff Products
Wulff co-founded Royal Wulff Products in the 1980s with husband Lee Wulff. As an avid fisherman and inventor, Lee had previously pioneered many firsts in the world of angling, including the invention of the pocketed fly-fishing vest in 1931, and the use of long-lasting animal hair (rather than chicken feathers) in heavier-bodied
dry fly Dry fly fishing is an angling technique in which the lure is an artificial fly which floats on the surface of the water and does not sink below it. Developed originally for trout fly fishing.
The fish and the dry fly
Fly fishing for trout can be ...
patterns such as the Royal Wulff. Lee Wulff also pioneered hook-embedded
polystyrene
Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
fly
Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...
bodies. With these Form-A-Lure flies, traditional feathers and hair were embedded in the plastic, simplifying conventional fly making.
Presently, Royal Wulff Products specializes in offering innovative products for angling including unique tackle,
fly lines
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...
, backing,
fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...
leaders and tippet material, fly line dressing, instructional materials, casting aids, and limited-quantity custom-made bamboo fly rods.
Present day
Wulff continues to operate the Wulff School of Fly Fishing as both a mentor and teacher. When not traveling, Wulff offers personal instruction to students at the school, located in the
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
(the purported birthplace of dry-fly fishing in America on the Beaverkill River). The Wulff School resides on 100 acres in the upper Beaverkill Valley with an adjoining private stretch of the Beaver Kill used to teach wading, stream craft, and obstacle casting.
Royal Wulff Products, which Wulff co-founded, is now run by her son,
Douglas Cummings
Douglas Cummings (1946 – May 14, 2014) was a British cellist. His father was the Perth-born violist .
Cummings studied at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM), and was also a student of Gregor Piatigorsky. He became principal cellist of the Lon ...