Syracuse.com - CNY women find friends as they learn to fly fish on the Salmon River

[HuntingNY-News]

It was the annual Salmon River Women’s Fly Fishing Seminar given by the Tug Hill/Black River chapter of Trout Unlimited. Jim Commentucci/The Post-StandardInstructor Kim Goppert, of Webster, helps Linda Burch, of South Sandy Pond, as she fly fishes on the Salmon River in Altmar.It wasn’t about who caught the biggest fish.Last weekend’s two-day Women’s Fly Fishing Seminar was more about two dozen women from around the state gathering on the banks of the Salmon River, learning the basics of fly fishing, bonding with each other and sharing their love for the outdoors.“Everyone was on a high. Afterward, there was lots of stuff posted on Facebook. Lots of photos. It was a riot,” said Lindsay Agness, a veteran fly fishing angler from Honeoye Falls, who organized the seminar, which has been offered for the past six years.The gathering was sponsored by the Tug Hill/Black River chapter of Trout Unlimited. A total of 25 women met for lectures early Saturday and Sunday at the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Salmon River Fish Hatchery in Altmar.During the late morning and afternoon, they went to the nearby Salmon River to apply what they learned, assisted by 24 volunteers.“There were lots of small Atlantic salmon and steelhead in the river and everybody caught fish,” Agness said.She said the women at the seminar had varying levels of angling expertise. She particularly enjoyed helping those who had never donned a pair of waders, tied a fly or handled a fly rod.“Some people have this notion that fly fishing is hard, that you need to be a strong, athletic type,” said Vicky Lane, of LaFayette, one of the instructors. “It’s not that way at all.”Jim Commentucci/The Post-StandardA seven-inch Atlantic salmon, is brought to the net by Martha Paye, of Cleveland, who caught the fish on a fly she tied herself that dayLane said it was quite a sight to see all the women in the water, “catching fish and just having fun and relaxing.”Agness said she’s offering an identical course June 23-24 on the river to accommodate women who couldn’t participate last weekend. However, it’s already filled and there are 50 more women on the waiting list.To help participants connect afterward, Agness said she gives each one a list of everyone’s names, home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.“I made 25 new girlfriends this weekend,” she said. “After this, they don’t need Lindsay there. They can just call each other up and say, ‘Hey, let’s go fishing.’” Jim Commentucci/The Post-StandardVolunteer instructors and students fish the upper fly fishing zone of the Salmon River in Altmar on Saturday during a Salmon River Women’s Fly Fishing Seminar given by the Tug Hill/Black River chapter of Trout Unlim´ited.

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