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My siblings and I had this rite of passage when we were growing up.
My dad, himself an avid fly fisher, would gather us together and pop in the household copy of the Joan Wulff DVD, a “Dynamics of Fly Casting” series she recorded way back in 2001. Then, post-viewing (for some, a multi-repeat viewing), he’d send us out with a yard of yarn to practice what we supposedly learned from Joan. I didn’t take to it, as desperately as my dad wanted me to — the closest I’ve gotten to a good catch is snapping photos of his.
Still, the ritual soothed me. And I didn’t know it when I watched Joan Wulff explain her “screen door” casting, but the history of fly fishing is much more ancient — and female! — than some of you might think.
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In 1496, a prioress named Juliana Berners published quite the comprehensive manuscript. She titled it A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle, and in its hundreds of pages, she detailed everything from her preferred fly tying methods and rod constructions to the importance of fly fishing etiquette and environmental protections in the sport. As writer Robert Lee Petri wrote,
These concepts would not come to be commonly accepted and advocated in the angling world until 400 years after the publication of the Treatyse, yet today they embody the ethical bedrock of sport fishing.
Historians don’t know much about Juliana and why she was so knowledgeable about outdoor sports. She lived the rest of her life in a convent in rural England, continuing to write about fishing, hunting and conservation.
As Juliana wrote, fly fishing isn’t only concerned with catching fish and bringing them home; for many anglers, casting and reeling is instead merely their chosen path to spending time on the river.
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Cornelia “Fly Rod” Crosby knew this all too well. After a sickly childhood in 19th century Maine, Cornelia found solace on the water. She cut quite the figure; according to historians, she stood nearly six feet tall and continued to wear the Gilded Age costume of corsets and full skirts as she fished, even when wading deep into the river. She became such a fixture on the scene that other fishers gave her the nickname “Fly Rod Crosby.”
By 1886, the local newspaper asked her to write a regular fishing column under the name: “Fly Rod’s Notebook.” Within these editions, “Fly Rod” didn’t just chronicle the flies and rods she used. She also wrote of streams and creeks she found on her fishing trips, interesting people she met and hijinks that happened along the way. She remained a huge proponent of stream conservation and “catch and release” programs, two topics about which she wrote passionately and frequently.
As “Fly Rod” herself once wrote,
Why should a woman not do her fair share of tramping, hunting and fishing and ask no odds of the men? The time is past, I thank Providence, when it was thought unladylike … I would rather fish any day than go to heaven.
By 1897, the state of Maine recognized her skill with an official designation as a Maine Guide. They awarded “Fly Rod” the ultra-special license number: No. 1.
More from me:
I wrote a story for The Wall Street Journal about some of the lessons I’ve learned in my first few months of freelancing! I hesitated as to whether or not I wanted to come clean about the overdrafting — tell me I’m not the only one who feels like a little kid when they do that?!
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Today’s newsletter was inspired by my spending a week with my fly fishing father, who himself actually pays to subscribe to this newsletter. Be like my dad! Pay for my writing! I promise — I’ll make it worth your while.
More on 🎣:
Important women in the history of fly fishing, Fly Magazine
Little Rivers: Tales of a Woman Angler, by Margot Page
The Editor of the First Women’s Fly-Fishing Magazine, Outside Magazine
Carrie Stevens: Maker of Rangeley Favorite Trout and Salmon Flies, by Graydon R. Hilyard and Leslie K. Hilyard
I want to hear from you! Get in touch with possible story assignments, share opportunities to collaborate or send your own recommendations for women to know. All you have to do is reply to this newsletter to get the convo started. 💌
I'm also a daughter who went fly-fishing with my dad (and never caught anything). Can't believe I didn't know about Juliana Berners.