Hannah Myers Overgaard

Fly Fishing Guide | Fly Shop Manager | Headwaters Outfitters

Meet Hannah Myers Overgaard: fly fishing guide, fly shop manager, bowhunter, and lifelong outdoorswoman whose connection to wild places goes well beyond the water. Based in the mountains of western North Carolina, Hannah has built a life around helping others experience the outdoors while continuing to chase adventures of her own.

Whether she is guiding an angler on a trout stream or pursuing big game with a bow, Hannah is drawn to the details. Reading water. Watching the wind. Learning how an animal moves through its environment. For her, success is rarely just about the fish caught or the animal harvested. It is about understanding the pursuit, respecting the resource, and enjoying everything that happens along the way.

You’re also a serious bowhunter. What does bowhunting give you that fly fishing doesn’t?

They are actually very similar in many ways, but one thing that makes me enjoy hunting is that I am IN the animal’s environment.

With fishing, sure, I can read the water and take note of every tiny detail above the surface, but I can only see so much underneath it. That leaves a good bit of the success to a good drift, a hungry fish, and luck.

Hunting is different. I have to pay attention to the wind, every step, other animals and the signals they give within the forest, and so much more. I enjoy the chase, patterning animals, and learning their habits.

Ultimately, I am harvesting an animal. The level of respect I have for any animal, whether that is a home turf whitetail or an exotic species, makes me value the entire pursuit from beginning to end.

Don’t get me wrong, I love every catch and release encounter too, but there is something much different about the pursuit of big and dangerous game.

What is your favorite kind of client to guide?

I love folks who are eager to learn and don’t take themselves too seriously.

My goal is to help people transform from being curious about the sport to becoming comfortable and independent anglers. My idea of a great client is not someone trying to be perfect or catch endless fish. It is someone who can enjoy the process, appreciate the beauty of nature, and realize that a fish is just icing on the cake.

What’s one piece of gear that gets abused all year and somehow never leaves your pack?

My Abel nippers.

They have cut through tens of thousands of pieces of tippet, small twigs, Band Aids, gnarly hangnails, you name it. They have cut through all kinds of crazy stuff over the last 10 years and I haven’t had to sharpen them once.

Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.

Which Williams knife do you carry, and where does it fit into your fishing or hunting kit?

I’ve found that the Glide Folder is a true EDC. Small and light enough to tote around anywhere, but durable enough to do any job.

I also LOVE the Petty Knife for our kitchen.

You’ve turned the woods and water you grew up around into a career. What still makes you feel like a kid out there?

Just the simplicity of being out there makes me smile.

Nothing makes me feel like a kid again more than whittling a stick down to the tiniest twig possible out of pure boredom, or a strawberry Uncrustable followed by a warm pine straw nap in the woods.

Favorite quote or motto?

Mine is simple: “Try your best.”

I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ, and I truly believe that if your life is aligned with His calling for you, and you consistently put your best foot forward, everything will work out just fine.