Riley Cotter - Member, Fly Fishing Team USA 2008

Riley Cotter was born and raised in Vail, Colorado. Riley’s dad tells the story of Riley’s introduction to fishing with a stick and a string in various mountain streams on weekend camping trips. However, it was not until high school when a family friend introduced Riley to fly fishing. That friend gave Riley a rod and reel, gave a brief demonstration on how to cast, and let Riley figure the rest out on his own. That next summer, Riley fished every chance he could and spent all his money on new equipment. It has been his passion ever since.

That passion and interest in the sport lead Riley to walk into a local fly shop to ask for a job. To learn all that he could, Riley guided during the day and worked in the shop at night. Riley has been a guide for Gore Creek Flyfisherman for the past eight years. Riley guides both wade and float trips.

Riley’s first competition was ESPN’s fly fishing challenge in 2004. At that competition, he finished 2nd place in casting and finished 5th place overall. The ESPN competition sparked Riley’s interest and he has competed in various competitions since 2004. “It is an honor to be selected to a team of outstanding fisherman whom I respect and look forward to competing with. I am excited to share my knowledge and learn new techniques in order to continue to improve my skills.”

Riley enjoys traveling to fish for various other species. Riley has fished for peacock bass in the Amazon, tarpon in the Florida Keyes, and dolphin in Mexico. He also enjoys fishing for trout all over the United States. It has been Riley’s goal to make the USA team since speaking with Ryan Barnes and Lance Egan at the Teva Mountain Games in 2005. Riley is extremely excited to be a part of this team and he looks forward to fishing competitively in this country and hopefully all over the world.