BRAHM TO GO | Kelly McCoy

Image credit: Kelly McCoy. Digital photograph by Ashley Warren, 2018. @naturalcraftphotography

Presenting BRAHM TO GO, the podcast that brings art and history to you through artist interviews, oral histories, and scholarly lectures.

Welcome to BRAHM To Go. Your Go-To Source for arts and history. Today we have an interview with Kelly McCoy also known as the River Girl. Kelly McCoy is a marine biologist by training and a fly fishing guide by trade. She has made herself part of the landscape with her business River Girl Fishing Company located in Todd, NC. Kelly along with her wife Renata operate the business out of a historic train depot. They teach fly fishing, lead eco-tours, rent kayaks, innertubes, bikes, and canoes.

Kelly is also an EMT and volunteer firefighter. She said she came and floated the river on vacation from Florida and fell in love, now Kelly is an integral part of the community. This interview was conducted in the River Girl Fishing Company in Todd, NC in January 2018, we were next to a wood stove with two of her dogs so you may hear them barking or snoring during the interview. The interview was part of the exhibit the Way Watauga Works and the questions and responses focus on Kelly’s work history and her journey to becoming the River Girl. Kelly is a character and I hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as I did.

BRAHM To Go is produced by Willard Watson, with support from Maako Shiratori. Music by Melissa Edd. The Way Watauga Works was made possible with support by the Smithsonian Institute’s Traveling Exhibition Service, Museum on Main Street, and NC Humanities.  

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