Silver Spring, Maryland Project

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Silver Spring, Maryland Project

Project Mentors

MARC HUTZELL, LEAD MENTOR

JASON ROWE, MENTOR

Washington, D.C.

Having grown up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and less than a quarter mile from the South River in Virginia, Jason began fly fishing at twelve years old. His first fly rod, an L.L. Bean First Cast seven-footer, has caught everything from wild brookies in the Appalachian Mountains to rainbow trout in Wyoming. Jason currently lives in the nation’s capital, so he spends a lot of time fishing in his native Virginia, Northern Maryland, and the Potomac River in downtown DC. Apart from fishing, Jason holds a undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia, a Masters from Georgetown, and is currently a Vice President for a global real estate investment firm. 

MOTTI TADMOR, MENTOR

Potomac, Maryland

Motti moved to the US about 13 years ago from Israel. Motti remembers fishing since he was very young, maybe 3-4 years old.
In the US Motti got introduced to fly fishing and never went back 🙂 he fishes around Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia mainly and keeps improving his fly tying and fly fishing skills. Motti lived in Florida for 10 years where he fished some saltwater monsters like Snook, Spotted trout and Barracuda, but it wasn’t until he moved to the DC area that he started fishing for trout and is enjoying it very much. Motti used to be a scoutmaster for a boys scouts troop and enjoys working with youth, helping them and guiding them, giving them tools and shaping their personality gives him great satisfaction, he is very much looking forward to working with TMP’s Maryland chapter he joined a few months ago. Motti is a native from Carroll County, Maryland.

HOWIE FISCHER, MENTOR

Clarksburg, Maryland

Howie grew up across the world as a Navy brat. He enjoys everything outdoors and grew up fishing for bass with his dad using conventional tackle. Howie picked up fly fishing about 5 years ago while living in Washington State. Since then, fly fishing has become his passion, devoting time and energy to learning more about the sport and conservation. He loves taking friends out and teaching them how to fly fish. He has fly fished Washington, Montana, Wisconsin, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. Howie is currently a Special Education Paraeducator and works with children with behavioral struggles. Howie is excited to apply his personal and work experience to helping kiddos learn to fly fish.

KATIE BARTLING, MENTOR

West Chester, Maryland

Katie studied environmental science in her ungrad and has been working in the field for the past ten years. She specializes in projects focusing on ecological restoration and monitoring, wildlife habitat assessments, and wetland science. She is an avid volunteer and enjoys contributing to wildlife research relating to shorebird health, horseshoe crab spawning, and owl migration. Volunteering with the Mayfly Project has helped fulfill her passion for environmental education and engaging others to explore the natural world through fly fishing. To align her interests with her career goals, she is pursuing a Masters degree at Temple University in Landscape Architecture. As part of her work there, she is helping a fisheries group develop a landscape restoration plan to enhance brook trout habitat. In her free time, Katie enjoys kayaking with her dog, Zoey, fly fishing, and gardening.

MIKE MUSCATELL, MENTOR

Laytonsville, Maryland

Mike is a Darnestown, Maryland native that has been fishing all if his life. Mike started fly fishing in his 30’s and never looked back. Most of his experience is in Salt, but he began trout fishing locally when his son became interested in fly fishing.

Mike is a partner in a local accounting firm and currently serves as a trustee at St. John’s Episcopal School in Olney, Maryland. He also enjoys photography.
Mike and his wife Denise have been married for 23 years and have twin seniors in high school that will soon be embarking on a new journey.

KEVIN COSTELLO, MENTOR

Bel Air, Maryland

Born and raised in Maryland, Kevin has always enjoyed spending time outdoors. His love of fishing was cultivated on the Patapsco and Potomac rivers fishing with his uncles for smallmouth bass and sunfish.

CHARLIE LUKACS, MENTOR

Arlington, Virginia

Charlie, born and raised in North Carolina, fell in love with the outdoors at an early age. After many years of trout and bass fishing, he recently became involved in boat restoration and saltwater fly fishing. He now lives in Arlington, VA working as a software engineer and enjoys the simple things in life.. Dogs, barbeque, campfires, and coffee. With a passion for teaching, he’s very excited to get involved with The Mayfly Project and share his love for the sport with others!

BRYANT FOREMAN, MENTOR

Washington Grove, Maryland

Bryant’s grandfather taught him how to cast a fly rod when he was 10 on small lakes and ponds in his home state of Ohio. Several trout fishing trips with family ensued before Bryant turned his focus towards school and sports during his high school and college years. It wasn’t until 2015 that he had rediscovered a passion for the outdoors, exploration, and most importantly, fly angling. Bryant has traveled to target species on several continents and loves to immerse himself in the local culture when given the opportunity. When he’s not planning the next adventure to a destination across the continent or globe, he and his dog Ruadh are exploring the local historic mountain and spring creeks of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

TIM FORTIN, MENTOR

Myersville, Maryland

I don’t remember a time when fishing hasn’t been a part of my life. In central Maryland, where I grew up, we are fortunate to have access to some wonderful opportunities to get out on the water. My parents were avid river people. We went out in the canoes on our local rivers and lakes all the time, and I remember even at a young age having a sense of calm and peace when we were on the water. Fishing was the greatest gift they ever gave me. It has always been my way to step back and alleviate the stresses life can produce. I look forward to passing fishing on to new generations. It is a way for us to stay connected to ourselves, each other, and nature.

SKYLER BLEWITT, MENTOR

Baltimore, Maryland

Born and raised in Maryland, Skyler first discovered fly fishing at the age of 13 while targeting bass and panfish in his best friend’s pond. From that point forward his love of fly fishing and the outdoors has sent him up and down the east coast chasing anything that will take a fly. Skyler looks forward to continuing sharing his passions as a mentor with The Mayfly Project!

KYLE ZIELINSKI, MENTOR

Washington, DC, Maryland

Kyle is from Mount Prospect, Illinois and grew up fishing for walleye in Wisconsin’s Northwoods. After having some beginner’s luck fly fishing during a roadtrip to Montana, he spent the next 3 years chasing trout in the Driftless area of Wisconsin and Minnesota. More recently, Kyle lived in Bend, Oregon where he spent his free time fishing for Redbands on the Lower Deschutes. He moved to Washington, DC in 2022 for medical school and is looking forward to connecting with his mentees through fly fishing!

Questions or Need to Connect?