June is Women’s Fly-Fishing Month—double exclamation point!!
There are so many great women in fly fishing to celebrate, and somehow I am lucky enough to know quite a few of them across many facets of our awesome sport. From amazing casting instructors and terrific guides to friends on the business side of the sport in gear, conservation, outfitters, apparel, art, and, of course, publishing! I’d be remiss not to include our own California Fly Fisher Publisher, Tracey Diaz, in the mix.
Taking a small step from the biz side of the sport to the women who fly fish ‘cuz the sport’s so awesome, I am, again, somehow lucky enough to know some super fishy women who are a ton of fun to spend a day on the water with. I’ll also acknowledge the friends I have on social media and IRL who still think the sport looks cool even after enduring my fish-obsessed Instagram. Sorry, Lisa, I was only kidding when I said we have three River Runs Through It Brad Pitts in our local club—but you should still come check us out!
Like any angler, these women, fly-fishing friends and acquaintances, came to the sport from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Those backgrounds and experiences are too vast and diverse to cover here, so I’m going to focus on the fly-fishing women who got their start in the sport as fly-fishing kids. It is, after all, the next generation who are going to carry the mantle of our sport when we gray hairs turn wobbly and start fishing the smaller water.
So please let me introduce you to my favorite fishing buddy, who took to fly fishing as a young girl: my fishy daughter, Harper. We caught up at her favorite college hangout, the boba shop, as she gets ready to graduate from the University of Oregon. The interview has been edited for length and to remove the swearing (blessed be, she swears like a European F1 pit mechanic).
CURTIS: Hi Harper. It’s Women’s Fly-Fishing Month, so I was hoping you’d be up for talking about how you got into fly fishing and what you like about it.
HARPER: Sure. Beats when you talk about car insurance or whatever food you ate that’s wrecking your digestive system.
CURTIS: Thanks. No deductibles, no spicy breakfast burritos. Got it. Do you remember how you started fly fishing?
HARPER: Was it when we camped on the Upper Yuba when I was, like, 10? Those fish were TINY! Let’s talk about the time I outfished you on the McCloud, landing 22-inch hogs. Or when I outfished you on the Trinity last summer with that 28-inch steelhead. Uhhh, what?!?!
CURTIS: Yeah, fun times. But the point is, you’ve been fly fishing since you were 11 years old.
HARPER: And now all I do is catch bigger fish than you.
CURTIS: Focus, kid.
HARPER: I also catch more fish than you.
CURTIS: <Sigh> You’re 22 now, so that means you’ve been fly fishing for almost half of your life. What is it about fly fishing that you like the most?
HARPER: I like catching big fish. I also like when you catch little fish—or even NO fish—while I’m catching big fish. How many times have you been skunked, again…?
CURTIS: Geez … Other than outfishing me, what do you like about fly fishing?
HARPER: I like being out in nature. That connection. Rivers might be my favorite place to fish. Lakes are okay, but it’s always rivers for me. Something about walking up to a river and seeing the water, the trees, and the birds… Remember that time a baby duck chased my dry fly on the Truckee?
CURTIS: I’ve never wanted you to miss hooking something as badly as I did then. So, you like the part of fishing that gets you outdoors. What about the people? You’ve had a chance to meet quite a few people while fly fishing.
HARPER: Yeah! I’ve met some really fun people who put me into big fish.
CURTIS: “Put you into”… Do you mean our guide friends?
HARPER: Yeah! And they always put me into bigger fish than you!
CURTIS: And now I’m getting the sense that you need to start doing more DIY fishing.
HARPER: Anything that’s fun costs at least eight dollars, Dad.
CURTIS: Did you just quote Eric Cartman at me?
HARPER: South Park First Law of Physics, bro.
CURTIS: <Ugh> Please don’t call me “bro.” What about other types of fishing? Do you do any other types of fishing besides fly fishing?
HARPER: Aww, hell no! I only fly fish. Oh wait! I tried that other kind of fishing last fall on the Rogue. You know, with the little rod, the really heavy fly, and the weird reel. What was that?
CURTIS: You mean spin casting?
HARPER: Sure. That. I did that once.
CURTIS: I never thought about you being a pure fly fisher until I handed you that spinning rod and realized you’d never fished with one before. You did pretty well with it after a quick lesson, though.
HARPER: Yeah. That’s ‘cuz I’m a natural, you know.
Photos by Curtis Fong
CURTIS: <Dad eye roll> You threw your first spin cast deep into the trees on the bank! It was like you were trying to throw the runner out at second base.
HARPER: I didn’t know it would go that far! I’m used to casting flies and maybe an indicator rig with, what, one, two split shots? That lure had to have weighed at least a pound.
CURTIS: It was not quite an ounce. But yeah, it weighed more than a couple of half-gram ABs that you’re used to. So, as a fly-fishing purist, do you have any favorite places to fish?
HARPER: The McCloud.
CURTIS: Care to elaborate?
HARPER: No. If you know the McCloud, you know why. If you don’t know the McCloud, let’s try to keep it that way.
CURTIS: Rough—but fair. As a young woman fly fisher, is there anything you’d like to see more of in fly fishing?
I know a bunch of girls who fly fish,
– Harper Fong
so that’s pretty cool.
HARPER: Hmm … I don’t think there’s anything I’d like to see just because I’m a girl. I know a bunch of girls who fly fish, so that’s pretty cool. Maybe what I’d like is for people not to assume I don’t know how to fish when they first meet me? I’ve been doing it a while.
CURTIS: And you’ve gotten pretty good at it lately.
HARPER: Thanks. <Puts an admonishing finger up> Don’t interrupt. So I’ve been fly fishing for a while now, and I guess I don’t like it when people think I don’t know how to fly fish.
CURTIS: But it must be cool when someone realizes you know what you’re doing, right? I know that’s happened on some of our trips over the past few years, when a guide’s game plan flips like a switch when they see you fish.
HARPER: Yeah, that’s alright. I guess I don’t like how sometimes I feel I need to prove myself first.
CURTIS: I totally get that. And you’re right. Thanks for that. Seeing your fishing improve has been really great. I totally remember the trip when it all clicked for–
HARPER: I’m a natural, remember?
CURTIS: …And watching your confidence grow leaves me without words. Anything else?
HARPER: You know … I’m not so sure about this whole “Women’s Fly-Fishing Month” thing. Why is it just a month? Like Mom says, “Every day is Mother’s Day,” right? So, what are the other 11 months of the year “Men’s Fly-Fishing Months”?
CURTIS: This feels like a trap if you’re looking for an answer from me. This is what I get for raising you using sarcasm as a parenting tool, isn’t it? You grow up having things like confidence—and opinions.
HARPER: <With expertly veiled sarcasm> No, no. You go ahead and mansplain Women’s Fly-Fishing Month. But I’m going to go get a cookie, so you’re going to be sitting here talking to yourself, okay?
CURTIS: Sure. Hang on. <Already sitting across from an empty seat> Oh well. Here goes. I think Women’s Fly-Fishing Month is dedicated to celebrating women in the sport and to building community through camaraderie and mentorship, while also encouraging more women to get into this awesome sport.
HARPER: I’m back! Psych! That was really sad watching you sitting here talking to no one. What were you saying?
CURTIS: Ohhh, no. I’m not falling for that again. Your whole “Women’s Fly-Fishing Month thing,” as you call it. I’ll just say I’m 100% behind having a month dedicated to women in fly fishing. But what if it turns out the whole year is devoted to women in fly fishing and the women are just letting us fellas think that women get only a month of dedication? I—why are you looking at me like I just gave up your secret arrowhead hunting spot…? Aw geez… Oswald wasn’t working alone!
HARPER: Yeah, you just keep talking… How’s your tea…?
CURTIS: This seems like a good time to wrap things up. Thanks for sitting down with me, Harper. This has been fun in its own discomfiting sort of way. Enjoy Women’s Fly-Fishing Year and “Let ‘em run! Let ‘em run!”
HARPER: Death grip it, Dad!
