Our Team

JENNIFER BIRD

Publisher

Jennifer Bird is the heart of the Fly Fusion franchise and the driving spirit behind the magazine. She has worked with Fly Fusion since its inception and has played an integral role in establishing the magazine’s unique vision. Along with overseeing all staff and facets of production for the magazine, she also oversees planning for the International Fly Fishing Film Festival, which includes over 160 dates around the globe. She does all of this between 9am and 3pm weekly. Before and after you can find her anywhere where her boys are, which in the summer and fall months is deep in the backcountry or in a drift boat fishing for bass.

DEREK BIRD

Editor Emeritus / Producer 

Derek Bird is the Founding Editor of Fly Fusion Magazine. He’s worked with Fly Fusion since its inception and played an integral role in establishing the magazine’s unique vision. On a practical level, he writes the “Stream Lines” column for each issue and oversees acquisition of editorial content. Along with writing and editing, he is host of the popular Fly Fusion Series, and is a founding Producer for the International Fly Fishing Film Festival. Although he juggles a hectic schedule, he still finds time to do what he enjoys more than anything else in life: spending time with his wife and two sons exploring the secluded streams of Vancouver Island.

Chris Bird

Executive Producer (Fly Fusion Series)

Chris Bird is a Founder of the Fly Fusion brand and the Editor of Fly Fusion Magazine. He’s worked with Fly Fusion since its inception and played an integral role in establishing the magazine’s unique vision. He is an Executive Producer of the popular Fly Fusion Series, and is an Executive Producer for the world’s leading fly-fishing film event, the International Fly Fishing Film Festival. Although he juggles a hectic schedule, he still finds time to do what he enjoys more than anything else in life: spending time with his wife and two sons exploring the secluded backcountry, lakes and streams nestled within the Rocky Mountains.

BOB COVEY

Associate Editor

Journalist, editor and photographer Bob Covey grew up near the tannic tributaries of the Red Deer River, but it wasn’t until he moved to the Rockies that he picked up a fly rod. Of course he was never the same. When he’s not stepping on lego or white-knuckling deadlines for the independent newspaper he founded in 2013, he’s dowsing for trout and dreaming of powder days in Jasper National Park.

JIM MCLENNAN

Field Editor

A long-time fly fisher and outdoor writer, Jim McLennan was one of the first fly-fishing guides on Alberta’s legendary Bow River.  Today he and his wife Lynda operate McLennan Fly Fishing, a business dedicated to fly-fishing instruction. Jim is the author of four books about fly fishing, the the Managing Editor for Fly Fusion and has written for the magazine since its inception. Along with the fly-fishing arts, Jim’s other passions are hunting upland birds and playing music.  His first solo music CD, Six-String Gumbo, was released in 2011 and was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award.

JEFF WAGNER

Field Editor

Kastine Coleman

Field Editor

Kastine Coleman is a Fly Fishers International casting instructor, a two-time IGFA world record holder for Atlantic salmon, fishing guide and co-owner of Tight Loops Tight Lines with her partner Terry Byrne. She is a director with FFI and the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation and a SPAWN board member. She resides in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

DEREK OLTHUIS

Field Editor

Derek Olthuis recently joined the Fly Fusion team as the travel and destination field editor. As a fly-fishing photographer, cinematographer, and writer who’s always seeking to inspire audiences with huge fish in untouched and remote landscapes, Olthuis brings a wealth of experience to the position. He was born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in Bigfork, Montana, where he learned to fly fish on the small streams and backcountry lakes around the Glacier area. As a kid he was constantly searching out new water and willing cutthroat off the beaten path of the West’s renowned rivers. This desire has expanded over the years to seek out exotic locations and remote fisheries around the globe. Coupled with his desire to explore the world’s fishing opportunities, Derek finds joy in capturing and sharing his experiences with others to help fuel their own fishing passion.

BRIAN CHAN

Field Editor

Brian Chan is a respected stillwater guru who’s lifelong passion for fly fishing has resulted in his spending literally thousands of angling days on world class stillwaters. He has shared his extensive knowledge of aquatic biology, trout ecology, entomology, and lake fly-fishing tactics with others through a number of magazine articles, books, and instructional DVDs on fly fishing. Brian has been featured on numerous television shows and is a much sought after presenter throughout North America. Brian enjoys introducing new fly fishers to this sport, getting them “hooked” on his lifelong passion, as much as he enjoys helping to refine the skills of even the most advanced stillwater anglers.

Frank Brassard

Field Editor

Frank Brassard is a fly tyer and angler based in the Rocky Mountains.  When he isn’t chasing trout in cold, glacier fed streams, he enjoys taking traditional nymph and dry patterns and giving them his own twist.

RA Beattie

Producer / Cinematographer  (Fly Fusion Series)

Beattie was born, quite literally, into the entertainment business. His grandfather, Bob Beattie, coached the U.S. Ski Team, and his name has been synonymous with skiing since the 1960s. After coaching, Bob commentated the Olympics and Wide World of Sports, and ended his career with his own show, Ski World, on ESPN. RA grew up playing in production trailers at ski races, hanging out with camera crews, and watching B-roll with his father and grandfather. He developed a passion for TV at a young age, but ski racing wasn’t in his blood. He was a fisherman at heart, growing up in Aspen, Colorado and fishing on Woody Creek, which ran through his family’s property, right next door to American legend Hunter S. Thompson.

Beattie was mentored in business by his stepfather, Tom Bedell, who created the largest fishing company in the world, Pure Fishing. RA worked as a guide apprentice at 14. By 18, he ran the guide program at a fly shop in Aspen, Colorado. His guide career spanned a decade and took him around the American West. He also started the first U.S. fly fishing guide operation in Slovenia, in Eastern Europe. RA studied creative writing and film at the University of Puget Sound and produced fly fishing films starting in his early 20s. He then attended Full Sail University and mastered the technical side of film and TV production. He became obsessed with filmmaking and traveled the world through his late 20s. He was on the ground floor during the conception and development of the fly fishing film industry.

Beattie has produced some of the most successful fly fishing media of all time. His team has been honored with over a dozen industry awards. His films perform at the top of the sales charts year after year. RA Beattie has been shooting award-winning fly fishing media for over two decades, operating on every continent and documenting the vast majority of popular sportfish species targeted by anglers.