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Episode Show Notes
Shyanne Orvis is a professional fly fishing guide based in Carbondale, Colorado, near Aspen, where she guides primarily on the Roaring Fork River, Frying Pan River, and Colorado River. What most people don't know is that Shyanne grew up in foster care in North Carolina, moving through five different foster homes from age four until she aged out at eighteen. In this episode, she reveals how she went from that instability to living in the mountains of Colorado as a fishing guide—including the boarding school opportunity that changed everything, the nonprofit that introduced her to fly fishing, and the survivor's mentality that kept her pushing forward when most would have given up. This is a story about manifesting an unlikely life through intentional thoughts, hard work, and refusing to let circumstances define your future.
What rivers does Shyanne Orvis guide on in Colorado?
Shyanne Orvis guides primarily on the Roaring Fork River, the Frying Pan River, and the Colorado River in the Carbondale area near Aspen, Colorado. She is currently in her fourth year guiding and is transitioning from wade trips to float trips, needing to complete twenty more hours on the boat before taking her first solo float trip.
Who is Shyanne Orvis?
Shyanne Orvis is a professional fly fishing guide based in Carbondale, Colorado, who grew up in foster care in North Carolina from age four until eighteen. She moved to Durango, Colorado at fifteen for boarding school at Colorado Timberline Academy, earned a degree in environmental science and ecological restoration, and worked for the nonprofit Rivers of Recovery before becoming a guide.
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From Five Foster Homes to the Mountains of Colorado
The instability was the hardest part. Moving through five different foster homes between the ages of four and eighteen, Shyanne never had a bed that was hers, never had things that belonged to her, and constantly found herself with different people. She was separated from her older brother after the first two homes and spent the rest of her childhood on her own. But somewhere inside, even as a little girl, she had what she calls a survivor's mentality—she knew she was going to be okay, she just didn't know how. The turning point came when a teacher in North Carolina told her about a boarding school in Colorado and helped her apply. Shyanne's first response was dismissive: she didn't even know where Colorado was. But that application changed everything. Hear how she made the decision to leave North Carolina at 01:51.
How Rivers of Recovery Led to a Guiding Career
While studying environmental science and ecological restoration at Colorado Mountain College and Western State Colorado University, Shyanne started volunteering for a nonprofit called Rivers of Recovery. The organization takes veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma on fly fishing trips—not just for the fishing, but for the camaraderie and connection with others who understand their struggles. A professor told her about the organization, and through that volunteer work, she met incredible anglers who took her under their wing. Her first fish on a fly rod was a ten-inch brown trout on the Frying Pan River, and she says it felt like catching a marlin. From there, she fished every chance she got, and people started asking her to take them. The story of how she transitioned from volunteer to guide begins at 10:02.
Hear Shyanne explain how working with veterans helped her understand her own journey
What Manifesting Really Means—and Why It Requires Work
When Shyanne talks about manifesting, she's not talking about wishful thinking. For her, manifesting means being intentional with your thoughts and your actions, believing that what you put out into the universe, you get back. As a child in foster care, she would close her eyes at night and picture herself living in the mountains—she didn't know where, she didn't know how, but she knew it would happen. Now she's in Carbondale, Colorado, surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, working as a fishing guide. That's not something a little girl from foster care in North Carolina would have imagined. But Shyanne is clear: manifesting isn't just about thinking positive thoughts. It's about doing the work, taking that first step even when it's scary, and not giving up when you get stuck in the thought phase. Her full explanation of how she manifested this life starts at 14:31.
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SubscribeThe Reality of Guiding Six Days a Week
Shyanne is up at 4:30 or 5:00 AM, at the shop by 6:00, tying flies and making sure all the gear is ready. She meets clients around 7:00 or 7:30 and they're on the water by 8:00. Half-day trips run about four hours, full-day trips about eight. After getting home around 5:00 or 5:30, she washes the boat, cleans the gear, ties flies for the next day—and then goes fishing for herself. She fishes six days a week. Right now she's throwing dry flies—caddis, PMDs, green drakes—and nymphing with copper johns and pheasant tails. She's been tying her own flies for about three years and calls it therapy. But guiding isn't just fishing all day. It's early mornings, late nights, dealing with all different types of personalities, and keeping people positive when the fishing's slow and conditions aren't right. Her description of what a typical guide day really looks like starts at 17:09.
Key Takeaways
- Shyanne grew up in five different foster homes in North Carolina from age four to eighteen, experiencing constant instability but maintaining what she calls a survivor's mentality that told her she'd be okay even when she didn't know how
- A teacher helped her apply to Colorado Timberline Academy boarding school in Durango when she was fifteen, a move that opened her eyes to hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and eventually fly fishing
- While studying environmental science, she volunteered for Rivers of Recovery, a nonprofit that takes veterans with PTSD and trauma on fly fishing trips, where she met anglers who taught her to fish and saw herself in the veterans' stories of feeling lost
- Her first fish on a fly was a ten-inch brown trout on the Frying Pan River that felt like catching a marlin, and she's now in her fourth year guiding in the Roaring Fork Valley
- Manifesting for Shyanne means being intentional with thoughts AND actions—as a child she pictured living in the mountains without knowing how, and now she's a guide in Carbondale, but it required doing the work and taking scary first steps
- She's working toward having her own outfitting business and wants to start a nonprofit that takes kids from foster care and introduces them to the outdoors
- Therapy has been huge for working through childhood trauma, but the outdoors—especially being on the river—is her biggest form of therapy because it forces her to be present instead of thinking about the past or future
Final Thoughts from Tom
Sometimes you have conversations that remind you what's really important in life, and this was one of those. Shyanne's story hits hard because she's living proof that your circumstances don't define you. Five foster homes, separated from her siblings, no stability—and now she's guiding in one of the most beautiful places in the world, living the life she pictured as a kid.
What I love about her approach to manifesting is that she's honest about the work part. It's not just closing your eyes and wishing. It's taking that first scary step, doing the work, surrounding yourself with good people, and refusing to give up. And her goal to start a nonprofit for foster kids in the outdoors—man, I hope she does it. That would change lives.
This one's worth your time. Listen to the whole thing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Shyanne Orvis become a fly fishing guide?
Shyanne became a guide after volunteering for Rivers of Recovery, a nonprofit that takes veterans fly fishing, where experienced anglers taught her the sport. After fishing every chance she got and people asking her to take them, she reached out to a local outfitter who gave her a shot, starting with shuttle runs and working around the shop before eventually guiding trips.
What is Rivers of Recovery?
Rivers of Recovery is a nonprofit organization that takes veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma on fly fishing trips. The program focuses on camaraderie and connecting veterans with others who understand their struggles, with Shyanne witnessing firsthand how participants arrive broken but leave smiling, laughing, and connecting with others.
Where does Shyanne Orvis guide fly fishing trips?
Shyanne guides on the Roaring Fork River, Frying Pan River, and Colorado River in the Carbondale area near Aspen, Colorado. She primarily does wade trips and is in the process of completing her float guiding hours to transition to running float trips on these rivers.
What does Shyanne Orvis mean by manifesting?
For Shyanne, manifesting means being intentional with your thoughts and actions, believing what you put out into the universe you get back, but crucially also doing the actual work to make it happen. She pictured living in the mountains as a child in foster care and took concrete steps like applying to boarding school and moving to Colorado, demonstrating that manifesting requires action beyond just positive thinking.
How many foster homes was Shyanne Orvis in?
Shyanne was placed in five different foster homes between age four and aging out of the system at eighteen. She was with her older brother in the first two homes before they were separated, after which she spent the rest of her childhood on her own in the foster care system.
Related Episodes
Like Shyanne's approach to manifesting with action, this episode explores the mental disciplines that help anglers and outdoor enthusiasts achieve their goals
Shyanne discusses being a female guide in a male-dominated industry and the growing women in fly fishing movement
Deep dive into the Roaring Fork, Frying Pan, and Colorado River systems where Shyanne guides daily
The therapeutic power of fly fishing for trauma recovery, the core mission of Rivers of Recovery where Shyanne worked
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Shyanne Orvis (Professional Fly Fishing Guide, Carbondale, Colorado)
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About this Guest
Shyanne Orvis
Shyanne Orvis is a professional fly fishing guide based in Carbondale, Colorado, near Aspen. She guides primarily on the Roaring Fork River, Frying Pan River, and Colorado River. Having grown up in foster homes in North Carolina from age four to eighteen, she moved to Durango, Colorado at fifteen to attend Colorado Timberline Academy. She earned a degree in environmental science and ecological restoration from Western State Colorado University and worked for the nonprofit Rivers of Recovery, which takes veterans with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma on fly fishing trips. She is in her fourth year guiding and is transitioning from wade trips to float trips. Follow her on Instagram: @shyanneorvis
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