A Fish Story
Kathryn Sheppard Hoar, a 1997 alumna of Washington and Lee, will be among an elite group competing in what is known as either the “Olympics” or the “Super Bowl” of inshore fishing later this month, in the 10th annual Florida Keys Outfitters / IGFA Inshore World Championship in Islamorada, Fla.
Kathy will be competing in the tournament’s fly division. She qualified by winning the grand championship of the Ladies Fly Tournament in Ismoralda in both 2007 and 2009. She was first runner-up in 2008.
The 19 men and seven women qualifiers in the World Championship come from as far away as Sweden and Australia.
According to Kathy’s profile on the tournament website, she was born and raised in Hanover, Pa., where she currently operates the Sheppard Mansion, a full service luxury inn and restaurant, which is also the home where she was born. She began fishing in the lake behind her parent’s house when she was five or six, but got serious about the sport after going to a fly-fishing school in Florida a little more than a decade ago. She and her then boyfriend, Oliver, also Class of 1997, attended the school together. Kathy and Oliver are now married with two young sons, and the whole family fishes.
You can follow Kathy’s progress in the tournament, which will be held July 13-15, with daily coverage on both ESPNOutdoors.com and IGFA.org.
