Crew Profile: Megan Johnson

Sandpoint, Idaho native Megan Johnson grew up spending six months out of the year in Alaska’s backcountry. "I was raised on a family-owned hunting and fly-fishing lodge in Alaska. While most little girls were playing with Barbies, I was playing with fly tying material." Megan says, "I thought salmon-flavored tap water, daily griz sightings and 30" rainbows on the first cast were normal. I’m fairly certain I didn’t even know what a spinning rod was until I was a teenager."

While most kids her age were complaining about taking out the garbage, Megan was hard at work at the lodge. Though it was difficult for Megan to leave her friends in Sandpoint every year, she remembers secretly loving her months in Alaska. Her dad was the bush pilot and guide, her mom was the chef and she and her sister were the waitresses and housekeeping. Not a bad way to grow up.

One of her earliest memories of fishing was of her dad hooking her into a salmon equivalent to Megan’s size at the age of 7. "He handed me the rod and walked away. I was terrified but after landing it, there was no looking back. To this day I prefer fly fishing, but have learned to cultivate a passion for lake/spin fishing after moving back to the lower 48."