How Musky and Fly Tying Led Me to a Sisterhood

Despite receiving my first vise and fly tying set for Christmas when I was just 12 years old, fly tying didn’t hold my interest until almost 20 years later. Similarly, my curiosity for musky has grown a lot, targeting them more and in new, exciting places. And lately, fishing has been taking me to far-out destinations on the salt. Regardless of where I go, I’m still deeply connected to my roots where I started with my Dad, on tiny, quiet trout streams scattered throughout Upstate New York. I spent two decades of my life fishing for trout, targeting wild brookies and browns, while my Dad taught me to hone my skills and encouraged my growing interest. Life then took me out West, landing me in Colorado and Wyoming’s high desert landscapes while I attended Veterinary School. 

Moving West opened a huge door to fly fishing, and I grew my confidence to fish solo. I dove deep into entomology, trout behavior, tracing over maps nights before a trip, chatted with shop bros when I could, and soaked up anything I could to better my angling skills. It helped me stay connected when I felt buried by a demanding veterinary curriculum. I also found myself untroubled by the fact that I fly fished solo, as a woman, in so many remote places. I felt empowered by it. But I still felt lonely in my adventures and I craved meeting other people who approached fishing with the same ferocity. A few years later I was lucky to have met and become friends with Brita Fordice while living in Washington. I still idolize her brazen self-confidence, especially being an immensely talented angler and skilled fly tyer in a male-dominated industry. It set the tone for what I wanted for myself in the future and who I wanted to be.

A few years ago, I moved back to NY and my Dad had me fixated on pike fly fishing videos. Naturally, I zeroed in on all things pike. It made me realize I felt strongly about two things - that pike were badass and so were the flies. I jumped into tying pike fly patterns from videos made by Sweden hailing Niklaus Bauer. After making a handful of flies, I caught my first pike while kayaking on a lazy river in the Adirondacks and was absolutely awestruck. A month later, my pike flies were becoming more intricate in bucktail work, and it led me further down a rabbit hole of fly fishing for musky. 

Luckily, there were several lakes in the area that held tiger musky, and I began dragging my kayak all over. Nearly two months after my first pike, I landed two tiger musky within the last hour of a late afternoon major on flies I had tied the night before. After managing to net the first, I was cheered on by two passerby fishermen in their bass boat who happened to witness me landing it from my kayak. The obsession grew deeper, and I needed to go after the ‘final boss’. The Esox masquinongy. That late fall, I trekked out to Wisconsin with my Dad to fish with Nick Gellerstedt. He showed me a whole new level of fly fishing for musky and astounded me at the purest level of curiosity the guy has for muskellunge. Within the last 2 hours of daylight on the final fishing day, Nick and I shared tears, hugging after I released my first musky back to the depths of the river. She was nearly 44 inches of pure muscle, and it felt so unbelievably momentous when I held her - this was it. 

They are incredibly challenging, ferocious when hungry, and the possibility that they choose to reveal their shadowy presence is unlike anything I have experienced in fishing. Their mystifying behavior often keeps me up at night and constantly absorbed, tweaking fly patterns to trigger them to eat and being responsive to what I see on the water. 

Fishing for musky also introduced me to people, women especially, who were just as crazy as I was about finding them. I recognized that in Brita and found it again in close friends Jessica Suvak, Michala Hendrick, Sara George, and Chris Willen, amongst many other accomplished anglers. I also get to share the world of musky on the fly with my partner, who’s taken it up with the same level of intense curiosity and passion. I no longer feel alone. Fly fishing for musky introduced me to a tribe of people who bring the same level of tenacity to the water as in their personal lives. It has truly changed my life, and it continues to open up new doors for me.