Our project supports and introduces our local young people to the joys of fishing and the value of our natural resources.
Silver Spring, Maryland Project
Lead Mentor: Sklyer Blewitt
Project Location: Silver Spring, Maryland Project
Year project founded: 2017, by Rachel Dagovitz
Mentors on this team: 14
Children mentored to date: 40
Children to be mentored in 2024: 8-10

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Silver Spring, Maryland Project
Project Mentors

SKYLER BLEWITT, LEAD 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!

MARC HUTZELL, LEAD MENTOR
Olney, Maryland
Marc is originally from Carlisle Pennsylvania, home of the famous LeTort spring creek. He grew up spending time outdoors camping, hunting, and fishing. He is a past Board member for the Potomac-Patuxent Trout Unlimited Chapter and the Mid-Atlantic Council of Trout Unlimited.
Marc, his wife, and sixteen-year-old son, and their dog, Boomer reside in Maryland and he runs the IT department for a Non-Profit that builds playgrounds for young people in underserved communities.
Marc believes that there is real value in getting kids outside and learning a new skill that may push them a little out of their comfort zone. Seeing a young person succeed in something that they may have never even knew about is really great to be a part of.

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.

KYLE ZIELINSKI, MENTOR
Washington, DC
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!
News & Events
It’s Giving Tuesday, 2023!!
November 28th, 2023 is Giving Tuesday, an important day for TMP where we work together to raise funds for 2024 Projects! If you cannot donate, please share our fundraisers with your friends and family. It takes a village!!! More Exciting News:We have a donor that will...
We’re Thankful for YOU!
As the founders of The Mayfly Project, our belief in the power of fly fishing and mentorship grows exponentially every season because of the wonderful leads and mentors joining our teams. The village of TMP is held together by our leads and mentors who make the time...
Virginia Department of Wildlife Services Support!
Our Virginia Projects were thrilled to receive grant support from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources this season! Because of their generosity, we were able to introduce fly fishing, teach our conservation initiative, and make the outdoors more accessible...
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Silver Spring, Maryland Project
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