Women and Muskie Fishing

The Muskie Odyssey, a biennial event that attracts esox enthusiasts from all over the province, as well south of the border, had one of their best ever shows last month in Bowmanville, ON. Organized by volunteers from Muskies Canada, the Odyssey offers one-stop shopping for “everything muskie” – from retailers to guest speakers to the independent lure maker.

For a number of years now, women in fishing has been the fastest growing demographic, even more so than children, and more and more of them are stepping up to the challenge of catching the “fish of 10,000 casts”. New this year, the seminar agenda featured an all-women panel in which the speakers fielded questions from the audience and shared their muskie fishing experiences.  Megan McGregor, Jessie Baker, Lauren Kozak, Chelsea Lynn and Ashley Rae provided seminar participants with tips and expertise to help anglers have a more successful day on the water. The seminar was one of the more popular presentations of the event and these young women are evidence that we are breaking away from the old stereotype that muskie fishing is for men only. Given its success, I expect this panel will be featured at Odysseys to come.

A few years ago, I decided to add muskie to my repertoire of species fished and, after an invitation to be a guest speaker at the Kawartha Lakes Chapter, I became a member of Muskies Canada to receive an education in this new frontier. From the start, the members were not only very welcoming, but generous in answering my many questions and enthusiastic in sharing their knowledge with me. As with many Muskies Canada members I have met over the last couple of years, the message of conservation and education is paramount to everyone involved in this organization and vital to the sustainability of the fishery.

In spring 2017, I approached the KLC chapter and asked for their assistance in helping run the first ever “Introduction to Muskie Fishing for Women” event with Ontario Women Anglers, a non-profit organization I started in late 2012. The response was incredibly supportive and, through the collaboration of a small committee, we held the event in September of the same year with 10 boaters and two shifts of 20 women each. Held on Cameron Lake in Fenelon Falls, 40 women received a hands-on education on everything related to muskie fishing. The KLC members mentored the ladies on the water and instructed them on proper fish care and handling, the necessary equipment needed to manage these fish safely, the various baits, rods, reels, line and terminal tackle used in this typing of fishing as well as demonstrating both trolling and casting techniques. The women arrived armed with a myriad of questions in efforts to learn as much as they could about this new facet of fishing. As the outing was meant more to focus on education, I think we were all surprised at the number of muskie the women caught at the event.

Building on the success of our 2017 event, “Introduction to Muskie Fishing for Women” will run again on October 5, 2019 on Cameron Lake in partnership with the Kawartha Lakes Chapter. As with our last outing, a BBQ lunch will be provided and we will have another great draw table which will include a Shimano Tranx 301AHG. Registration will open in August and anyone interested in the event can get more information by contacting me at my e-mail below.

As the number of women involved in muskie fishing continues to grow, partnerships between organizations like Muskies Canada and Ontario Women Anglers become increasingly more important and it is through these combined efforts that the “Introduction to Muskie Fishing for Women” program can be brought to other chapters.

Yvonne Brown
Muskies Canada KLC and Ontario Women Anglers