Story by Jenn Sheridan | Photos by Meghan Kelly ·
SheJumps hosts a fly-fishing clinic at Sawmill Lake. ·
There’s nothing quite like spending a sunny afternoon next to a clear blue lake, watching trout splash the surface of the water as you fool-heartedly try to untangle your fishing gear from the branches of a tree on the shoreline.
“Now, this is fishing,” says Jessica Broyles as she watches me yank just a little too hard, snapping the line and losing my fly. We’re at Sawmill Lake with a group of 11 other women for a fly-fishing clinic sponsored by SheJumps, a nonprofit organization on a mission to increase female participation in outdoor sports and activities.
Amy McCormick helps Kim Brault net her first fish on a fly rod.
Broyles helps me select a new fly and gives me a few pointers on the roll cast, a technique that will help me keep my fly in the water and out of the trees. Before long, I’m able to create a rolling loop in the line and flick the fly more or less where I want it to go.
Victor Babbit led the clinic with the help of Broyles and Amy McCormick. Babbit owns Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters, a retail shop and guide service located in South Lake Tahoe. The group included a range of woman from those who had never fished before to those who fish on a regular basis. I fell somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Many of my childhood summers were spend fishing with bait and lures, but this was my first attempt with a fly rod.
Victor Babbit shows the SheJumps ladies the art of casting.
Babbit starts with explaining the gear: It’s a rod, not a pole. The yellow line is the fly line, which is attached to a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader and a length of thinner lighter tippet. We practice casting without flies, at first learning to be patient and flick the line versus whipping it. We choose flies to mimic the ones seen buzzing around the shoreline and start fishing.
Sawmill Lake is a 10-acre private lake at Northstar California stocked with Rainbow and Brown trout open to customers for catch and release fly-fishing. Soon enough, there are shouts of excitement across the shoreline as a few of the ladies hook their first fish of the day.
We continued working on our technique until the sun dipped below the horizon and the mosquitoes became a nuisance, and then we headed to Rubicon Pizza to relive the afternoon over dinner and drinks.
Kim Brault and Amy McCormick release a good looking trout.
SheJumps empowers women, girls
In addition to hosting “Get the Girls Out” events such as fly-fishing, skiing and bike clinics, SheJumps works with the youth to build opportunities for the young girls to pursue their passions and provides technical skills and outdoor education courses for women to build their confidence in the outdoors. The capstone course, Alpine Finishing School, is a week-long ski mountaineering expedition at the Selkirk Backcountry Lodge in British Colombia.
The program was founded in 2007 by professional freeskiers Lyndsay Dyer, Vanessa Peirce and Claire Smallwood. While these three ladies have each made her own mark on the action sports world, they realized that the lack of positive female influence and wanted to create a community where women were able to mentor each other and foster growth in the outdoors.
The program has grown to include seven regional chapters and is working on building an international component. Meghan Kelley has been volunteering with SheJumps in the Tahoe area since 2011 and is the regional coordinator for California. When she’s not working for SheJumps, Kelley is a ripping telemark skier and Class V kayaker. Professionally, she’s a teacher and an engineer.
Kelley helps organize a wide variety of year-round events in the Tahoe region from ski meet-ups at local resorts to climbing at crags and gyms around the lake. Events are open to women of all ages and abilities.
Check out shejumps.com to find what these ladies are planning next.
Amy McLane catches her first fish.
THE DETAILS
Tahoe Fly Fishing Outfitters
Tahoe-based guide service | tahoeflyfising.com
Sawmill Lake
10-acre catch-and-release private lake | northstarcalifornia.com
SheJumps
Women-centered outdoor courses & outings | shejumps.com
