With Her Classes, She Hooks Women On Fly-Fishing

You’re alone on the river, after choosing and tying on a fly and putting your cast just where you think a fish may be, and then BOOM! The fish hits and you’re hooked on fly-fishing.

That’s the magic moment Faith Holste instills as a goal in her fly-fishing students.

“I remember the first fish I caught by myself,” said Holste, who lives on the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River near Arlington. “At the time, I knew I’d taken that next step; it’s a moment, a point.

“I always encourage people not to give up before they get there. Because once they do, they realize that fly-fishing is something that’s going to be a part of their lives for a long time.”

Holste, 35, particularly likes teaching women.

“I try to gear my teaching to women because there’s no one else (in the state) doing that,” she said. “The learning curve when it’s just women goes way up.”

Holste said women seem to learn differently than men, something she discovered when first exposed to fly-fishing 13 years ago.

She realized that for her, nurturing the skills to a passionate level required a teacher generous with time and knowledge. It seemed to be harder for women to find that someone, so she started teaching by “drawing from the ways I learned the fastest.”

Two elements are key to successful fly-fishing for women, Holste said.

“I was always dressed well and equipped well,” she said. Not fashionably - but warmly dressed - with a good rain parka, extra pairs of dry socks, a hat and good sunglasses.

“I never complain about how I look as long as I’m not cold.”

Good equipment isn’t necessarily expensive, Holste said. She showed the class a teal fly-fishing vest, sized for women, priced $29. Rod and reel sets start at $80, although a set that will serve as your skill grows will probably run about $240.

A rod, reel and line are the only absolute necessities for a beginner. “You can borrow all the clothes,” Holste said.

She is past president of the Seattle-based Northwest Women Flyfishers, which was founded in 1989 and has about 150 members.

She isn’t surprised by the rapidly growing interest of women in fly-fishing. Women have the grace, agility and strength that’s required. Retailers and manufacturers have recognized the market and started to serve it.

“It’s OK to be a woman on the river,” she said. “I can stand and talk to people and have just as much credibility - and ability to catch the fish - as the next guy.”