CLUB MEETING
KESLEY GALLAGHER’S
ROYAL TROUT SLAM!
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
6:15 - 9:00 PM
Goleta Valley Library
500 North Fairview Avenue
Goleta, CA, 93117 (map)
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | FREE!
THE ROYAL TROUT SLAM with KESLEY GALAGHER
In October we welcome back local angler Kesley Gallagher with a program that may surprise those of you who think of Kesley as a 'saltwater only' enthusiast. Her last tour introduced us to the excitement of flats fishing, and she now shows her versatility with an account of a three year trout odyssey. We all know the grand slam of bonefish, tarpon and permit but the trout equivalent is no less demanding and filled with similarly exotic locations. Needless to say, a few records were broken on this remarkable journey.
Kesley Gallagher recently completed her IGFA Royal Trout Slam on fly. Although she has fly fished for trout since she was 10, Kesley decided to complete IGFA's certification when she landed her first golden trout in the south fork of the Kern River in 2020. Her pursuit took her to the Olympic Peninsula for steelhead on the swing, to Pyramid Lake for giant cutthroat trout, to the Columbia River in British Columbia for bull trout, and finally to the Yukon Territory for lake trout.
The brook trout she landed in 1999, which she submitted to the IGFA, holds a special place as it was her first trophy trout and was caught with her mother on an epic adventure to the wilds of Labrador, Canada. Her presentation will be a photographic essay of each leg of her journeys to complete this rare achievement and obtain six pending IGFA records along the way.
Kesley Gallagher has been fly fishing since she was ten years old. She has traveled throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific in search of everything from trout to tarpon and billfish on the fly.
Kesley has obtained 17 (6 pending) IGFA records on fly thus far and enjoys competing in tournaments such as the Ladies Tarpon Fly Tournament in Islamorada, Florida, which she won in 2018. In 2019, she toured the Fly Fishers International (FFI) affiliated Southern California Clubs and presented "Introduction to Flats Fishing" focusing on tactics and skills for taking redfish, bonefish, permit, and tarpon on fly.
In February 2021, she presented "From Novice to Champion" in a national FFI webinar. She also teaches fly fishing for women every fall with the Southern Sierra Fly Fishers in Kernville, CA, and has been featured in numerous fishing magazines. Kesley is currently Simms and Sage Pro, sits on the Board of Directors for CalTrout, and works for Amgen in Thousand Oaks, CA.