Paula Shearer lives and guides in Southern Alberta, where she lives a fly fishing dream of frequently accessing the spectacular waters of Alberta and British Columbia. When not chasing trout and steelhead, Paula also explores distant waters and has been taking some great fly fishing trips. Paula recently sat down to answer some questions for The Venturing Angler:
1. Where in the world have you fly fished?
Recently I had the opportunity to fly to Scotland to try my chances at Atlantic salmon and brown trout. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any luck hooking up into any salmon, but I was able to catch plenty of browns. A couple years ago I had the chance to head down to Florida to do some fishing for redfish off of standup paddle board. Most of my fishing has been done between Alberta and British Columbia, and sometimes I head down to the States to fish Montana and Idaho.
2. What is your favorite destination and why?
My favorite destination at the moment is British Columbia. There are so many different river systems to chase their famous steelhead, and each of them create a memorable experience for this fishery.
3. What is the most memorable travel experience you have and why?
My most memorable travel experience would be driving back from Terrace after a steelhead fishing trip. After a long day of fishing we packed up and started the long 18 hour drive back to Calgary, Alberta. Within an hour we had three really close calls with moose running out in front of the truck leaving us all in a state of alertness waiting for the next moose. A few hours into the drive, we were stopped for six hours by a sink hole in the middle of the highway, which finally ended up with them building an off road trail through the trees to detour us around it. It was a very long tiresome drive, but we finally made it home.
4. What has been the best trip so far and why?
My best trip so far would be my trip down to Florida to film a Fly Nation episode for redfish during the flood tide on standup paddle boards. This was such a unique experience for me as it was my first time trying a SUP board and being able to land my first redfish while standing on one!
5. Do you have any travel coming up?
In the next few months I will be heading down to Cuba to do some saltwater fishing! This will be my first time there, and I’m excited to have a chance at catching a few species that I have not had the opportunity to fish for before.
6. Is there a specie that you are dying to catch? What is it about that fish?
The specie that I have been dying to catch is a tarpon. It has always been a goal of mine to land a fish that is as tall as me or weighs as much as I do. I am a pretty small person so this is attainable with quite a few species.
7. When you are not on the water, what do you want the most out of a trip and why?
When I’m away on a trip it is important to me to have good company. A lot of my best memories and best times have been about the great people who shared the experience with me.
8. What is your dream trip and why?
I have so many dream trips that it’s hard to pick. One trip that is on my bucket list would be Iceland for Atlantic salmon. There is something about Iceland that has me wanting to go there to fish. It has some of the most beautiful scenery and being able to land an Atlantic in this area would be an incredible experience.
9. What is the one piece of gear you couldn’t bear to leave at home?
I could not leave home with out my sunglasses! I rely heavily on them to read water and decide where I am going to be fishing.
To check out Paula Shearer’s website, please click here.
And for Paula on Facebook, please click here.
Also, check out great fly fishing photos from Paula Shearer on Instagram here.
Think outside the (North American) box: fly fish for tigerfish in Africa and peacock bass on the Amazon.
Great interview. I answered the last question the same when I was interviewed. I think any serious fisherman would answer the same …sunglasses. a must.
I currently live on the Great Lakes and Guide Steelhead Alley but have been fortunate in my 25 years of fly fishing experience to have chased fish all over the world. The best saltwater destination for me was the Seychelle Islands. A remarkable fishery. Unmatched. Giant Trevally on the fly puts a Tarpon in second place hands down. Great interview Paula. Nice job.