Spring may be in the air, but newly minted fly fishers are in the water in Southern California. The last weekend of May hosted the Santa Barbara Flyfisher’s first-ever Santa Barbara Women on the Fly weekend, a two-day event that offered everything a beginner fly-fisher could hope for in their first foray into the sport. Forty-eight women secured spots in the waitlist for the event, with some driving from several counties away to attend.
Over the years, women have been increasingly drawn to the sport, and the popularity of the women’s weekend suggests that many more are curious to learn. “An important aspect of the club’s mission is education,” said Lindsay McTavish, one of the club’s Directors and an integral organizer of the event. “Historically, the club and the sport have been dominated by men. Providing a safe, stress-free environment for women to learn seemed like the right thing to do.”
Saturday began with yoga, unifying and centering the group before they split into smaller breakout groups to cycle through instructional stations staffed by experienced club members. The stations included instruction on equipment, knots, fly tying, casting, etiquette, safety, conservation, and entomology. Instructors came from clubs across the state, including the Pasadena Casting Club, Santa Barbara Flyfishers, Sespe Fly Fishers, The Mayfly Project, SoCal Women on the Fly, San Diego Fly Fishers, and Southern Sierra Flyfishers.
The time at the educational stations was broken up by lunch, during which club members shared additional conservation information before the women resumed their classes. Day one ended on an exciting note with a raffle featuring prizes ranging from local restaurant gift cards to full rod-and-reel setups.
Sunday, the previous day’s learning was put to the test with a trip to the Santa Ynez River, the closest and most accessible freshwater in Santa Barbara County. Small groups of about five women were taken to different parts of the river to put their newfound skills to use, and many caught fish. The groups were guided by experienced club members and shown firsthand how to read the river, look for and identify bugs that the fish might be eating, and everything in between. After a few hours on the water, the weekend came to a close with a barbecue lunch on the riverbank, with club volunteers manning the grill while attendees shared stories and hamburgers.
The weekend was about more than the quantifiables of how many women signed up and how many fish were caught. It was in the little moments of seeing women connect with one another and with new skills they might never have thought were in their tool belt. It was in the excitement in their voices when they shared that they had just caught a fish, their first ever, on a fly they had tied themselves. It was in the positivity that bubbled over when they shamelessly celebrated little wins, like the chorus of cheers from the breakout groups when someone announced they had tied a knot properly, all on their own.
These moments are both minuscule and mammoth, and are what create and bind a community.
The final bonus of the weekend was that all of the attendees received a one-year membership to the club, laying the groundwork for more time on the water in the future. “Part of my personal desire for this event was creating a community of women who want to go fishing together to improve our skills,” said McTavish, who shared that the next challenge will be to keep these new members involved. The Santa Barbara Flyfishers club already has some ideas for future events and activities, some of which were developed by the weekend attendees.
The Women on the Fly weekend may have been a first of its kind for the club, but it certainly won’t be the last.
