Maryann Townsend, a business professor at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., also teaches classes on fly tying, casting, and rod building in Missouri.
“I teach this both at Lindenwood and in my own time to anyone who would be interested in learning,” said Townsend. 
For her classes at Lindenwood, she teaches how to build a rod, tie a fly on it, and how to cast it.
“I also teach an advanced fly rod building class and in that class they can build any kind of rod they want,” said Townsend.
Growing up, Townsend was surrounded by fishing. Her parents even spent their honeymoon fishing.
“One year my uncle bought me stuff for fly fishing and it just started rolling from there,” said Townsend.
Townsend first learned how to fly fish, then took a class on how to build her own fly rod and has been enjoying it ever since.
“I also took a two-day class building a bamboo fly rod in 2008 and I enjoyed it, but not enough to do it on a daily basis,” said Townsend.
Townsend became a certified fly casting instructor in 2008 and a certified rod builder in 2013. She is also a member of the International Federation of Fly Fishers as a Certified Casting Instructor.
“I do private lessons for fly tying, casting, and rod building as well as group lessons. I try to do as much as I can in the spring and fall,” said Townsend.
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