If you haven鈥檛 been paying close attention, you may not have noticed that fishing is becoming more diverse than ever. It鈥檚 becoming especially popular among women. From professional bass anglers to ice fisherwomen, there are more women than ever out there winning tournaments, hunting down huge stripers, or teaching their kids how to fly-fish. Here are five ladies actively working to change the face of the sport.
Melinda Mize Hays
Bass Community Leader for Costa Sunglasses
Hometown: Sheridan, Arkansas
Her Fish Story: If bass fishing has royalty,聽Hays is it. Her parents both fished professionally, and she first started competing in tournaments at age seven. After graduating from college in 2011 she became the first woman to win a coed Bassmaster fishing tournament, a multi-day contest in which the person who catches the most fish, in total pounds, wins. After fishing on the tour for several years, and also in team events, Hays started doing marketing for fishing gear companies, which led to her current job as the Bass Community Leader for Costa Sunglasses. She also served聽on the Collegiate Bass Fishing advisory board, where she was聽instrumental in developing what is now the College Fishing Program, which allows students to compete and win scholarship money. This past year, she helped set up a summer camp for high schoolers that is basically Professional Fishing 101. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l learn everything from boating safety to ethics on the water to r茅sum茅 building to social media鈥攁ll paired, of course, with fishing skills,鈥 says Hays. In between all that, she鈥檚 already getting out on the water with the next generation of Hays anglers: three-year-old Henley and 22-month-old Harbor.
Her advice: 聽If you have kids of any age who want to fish,聽鈥媢rge them to see if their school would be willing to start a club. Or head over to聽聽to learn more.听
Kelly Bastone
Outdoor journalist, freshwater and saltwater angler
Hometown: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Her Fish Story: When she鈥檚 not traveling the world writing and fishing, Bastone is often on the river with her seven-year-old daughter, Simone, casting for browns and rainbows. The Yampa River runs through the center of their town, just a half mile from their house. Kelly watched her husband, Ben, fish for 15 years鈥攕he was 鈥渁lways that girl knitting or reading a book on the riverbank鈥濃攂efore deciding she wanted to fish, too. She quickly became hooked鈥攂uying her own gear and watching videos on how to cast. Ten years later, 鈥渇ishing is what I want to do in my free time,鈥 she says, 鈥渁nd a great way to spend quality time with Simone.鈥 Of course, it鈥檚 about more than just fishing. While wading or casting, she teaches Simone about conservation. 鈥淔ishing teaches us to understand and care about our rivers and water sources, and I can already tell that Simone is going to be passionate about protecting the environment.鈥
Her advice: Bring friends. 鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting, because kids either need to be catching fish or playing burglar鈥攖hey鈥檙e not that patient if there鈥檚 a lull in action.鈥 Find more .听
Kimberly C. Lee
Manhattan president of the Brooklyn Fishing Club
Hometown: New York, New York
Her Fish Story: How does someone living in a city of 8.5 million people fish? Lee loves to explain. 鈥淚 say, 'Let me tell you. We live on an island. We鈥檙e surrounded by water.' I鈥檓 always happy to talk people鈥檚 ears off about it,鈥 she says with a laugh. On any given day, you can find her either on a pier, fishing for striped bass, or in Central Park, lake-fishing for big mouths And when she wants to go big, for a photo-worthy fish, she takes a charter out into the Atlantic or one of New York鈥檚 harbors or bays for more bass. 鈥淚 mean, who doesn't want to catch a huge-ass striped bass?鈥 she asks.
It鈥檚 a hobby that pairs well with her other passion: cooking. 鈥淚 caught a 38-inch striped bass once, and I had friends from my fishing club over. I made homemade ramen with broth in which I cooked down the head and bones. I seared the fillet and served that over made-from-scratch noodles.鈥 Lee also likes to make ceviche, roast fish whole, or bread them with panko. But the best part, she says, is telling her friends the story of how she actually caught the fish.
Her Advice: If you live in New York and want to fish, the has chapters in each of the city鈥檚 five boroughs. 鈥淐ome on out,鈥 says Lee. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking for new people.鈥 Or head to for more places to fish around the country.
Ruth Sims
Avid fly fisher
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Her Fish Story:聽Fishing is a central part of many Native American cultures, especially in the Northwest. As a Navajo woman, Sims, who's聽also known as ,聽grew up fishing the waters of Puget Sound with her dad and three sisters. But she didn't fall in love with fly-fishing until college, when a friend introduced her to the sport. She immediately started scouting all the rivers within a two-hour radius of her Seattle home. She started tying her own flies and catching fish, but there was just one problem: she had no fishing buddies. Instagram provided the fix. She found a women鈥檚 fly-fishing retreat in eastern Washington and now spends nearly all of her free time fishing with a wide network of friends.
Two years ago, she also became foster mom to her nephew Niko, 10. 鈥淲hen he came to live with me, I was like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e gonna fish, kid鈥攈ere are some waders.鈥欌 They hit a local stocked pond and he netted a 12-pound trout, which Sims says is key. 鈥淕ive kids a winning first fishing experience and they鈥檙e way more likely to want to go again.鈥 So far it鈥檚 worked: Since Niko鈥檚 first catch, he鈥檚 learned to tie flies, just like Sims did.
Her advice: Use fishing to see the world. When Sims has time off, she takes fishing vacations to remote places like the Amazon jungle and Kiritimati Island (south of Hawaii, in the middle of the South Pacific), and she just attained her first sponsored trip to South America. And use social media. 鈥淟et it be known if you鈥檙e looking for fishing partners. You鈥檒l be surprised how many women anglers are out there, probably in your area.鈥
Barb Carey
Professional ice angler, founder of Wisconsin Women Fish and the Women Ice Angler Project
Hometown: Oxford, Wisconsin
Her Fish Story: Carey entered her first contest at age six,聽but she didn't get back into the sport until an injury allowed her to retire early, after decades as a nurse and police officer. 鈥淚 couldn't believe I never saw any women out there,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t was so much fun that I thought they must not know about it.鈥 So she made it her mission to introduce more women to the sport. She held her first all-female fishing camp in 2006; today her club, Wisconsin Women Fish, has some 300 members in seven states and Canada.
One of the things Carey loves about ice fishing is that, contrary to the stereotype, it鈥檚 actually an adventurous sport. Avid anglers move around, drill multiple holes in the ice with lightweight augers, and use pull-behind shacks. It鈥檚 perfect for families with children, too, because 鈥渘ow the gear is so good. You can pitch a six-person tent that stays warm with a little heater. Everyone camps out in there, and the kids make snow forts or fly kites on the ice.鈥
Her advice: Carey takes a 鈥渢op-down鈥 family approach to teaching kids to fish. 鈥淵ou can hand a kid a rod and reel, but if Mom isn鈥檛 taking them fishing, they鈥檙e not going. My theory is you get the moms and grandmas involved, they鈥檒l take the kids.鈥 Moms can find more information on keeping kids warm and happy during here.听
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