Bring On the Newbies!

By: Stephanie Zelinsky, Tightline Outdoors

I have always been surrounded by fishing and hunting, but it wasn’t until almost four and a half years ago, I was taken on a first date by Nathan to a duck blind on the shores of Blue Mesa Reservoir on a very cold morning during college and I knew right then I wanted to be more involved in the outdoors. So from there came many fishing trips on Blue Mesa, and a hunter’s education course in the spring. 
Tightline Outfitters had been Nathan’s business for years before I came around, but I wanted to become a part of it and learn how this “fishin’-for-a-livin’” thing worked. Having a background in fishing definitely helped my ability to pick up on new techniques, but I didn’t realize at the time there were so many. I thought everyone did the same thing, put a worm on a hook, or maybe a few salmon eggs and tossed a line in the water and waited for the bobber to sink. Boy, was I way off. There’s casting AND retrieving? Trolling? What is that? Planer boards, bottom bouncers, drop shot rigs, lindy rigs, how do you pronounce Rapala? I didn’t know that fishing from shore and fishing from a boat could be so different, yet have equal payoff. I was an ignorant young woman stepping into a “man’s world” with no intention of stepping out.

Once I entered this so-called “man’s world,” it was fun and satisfying. I caught fish, learned new techniques, and learned there are thousands of different lures and several ways to fish them all. I learned how to troll, the differences in trolling with monofilament vs. Fireline vs. lead core. I learned how to use planer boards and rotate them correctly. I learned that bait cast reels all have this button that creates a bird’s nest, (or maybe I just don’t want to admit to operator error). Nathan was very good about being a teacher in teaching me how to properly tie baits depending on line, and get out my own snags. I was never afraid of putting on my own live bait, just afraid of losing the big one. I started to realize this fishing thing wasn’t so bad and I wasn’t sure why it was ever labeled a man’s sport.
The next step for me was professional tournament angling. THIS was a man’s world. I was one of only a handful of women competing in these tournaments and I was a little more than freaked out. I came in thinking I could take all the concepts I learned over the last few months and kick butt. That was not the case, it was hard work and a difficult concept to grasp. Anyone who has fished a tournament of any sort has had the experience of being out of their element and it’s not comforting. There are so many different types of bodies of water to fish. From the vast, clear waters of the Great Lakes to the murky, strong currents of the various river systems in the mid-west, to reservoirs like we have here in Colorado. But that is what I needed and what we needed. Fishing a professional circuit really brought out the reality that this is not just a guy’s sport, that women need to be involved. There were only a handful of other women on the trail with us, but they were an inspiration to me.  The fishing industry does not oppress women from getting involved, in fact it is a welcoming family. When I stepped foot onto the dock for my first tournament, I was face to face with many men. I was sure I would be laughed at and hear condescending remarks, but instead I heard many warm welcomes and compliments for being there. When I had to back the boat into the water by myself in the dark, I knew there would be guys honking their horns and yelling at me to let someone else put the boat in, and as I saw a man walk toward my truck I rolled my window down to accept my reaming session. I told the man I couldn’t see down the dock, it was too steep with barely any light to see any direction Nathan was giving me. Surprised and relieved I heard, “That’s alright, just take your time and crank your wheel left…” and with the help of another man to release the boat from the trailer, I had a new outlook on this fishing thing. I had worked a little bit on backing the boat in, but obviously after that day, I wasn’t about to let everyone in the tournament think I couldn’t do this. So Nathan had me back the boat down every dock we came to, even if I was so jack-knifed that I took up three docks. I would just pull forward and try again. It took a few times, but I got the hang of it and with my new found confidence from that, I was always in a good mental place on the boat. If any of you have heard our seminars or presentations, you know that we feel the mental game is really what we’re playing when we’re on the water. If you have confidence in yourself, your spot, your bait, your technique, and your equipment, you’ll have a great day of fishing.

I have been fishing seriously for about four years now, have had many great days, plenty of bad days, but each day I learn something new and know that no one else is going to make me better but myself. I have learned so much from fishing with Nathan and have been fortunate to have fished with many greats in the walleye field. I have also learned so much from reading the forum posts by all of the members and get inspired every time I see a new woman join in. The best thing I have learned is that there is no such thing as a stupid question. If I want to know something, I ask someone, I call someone or I look it up online or in a magazine. I learned that if I don’t ask questions, it takes more time and energy to figure it out on my own and we all know that time can be frustrating on the water when I’m not catching fish. So I rely on other anglers and hope that I can be there for others when they seek answers or opinions. The fishing community is like a universal family. We don’t all have the same outlook on fishing, but we all share a common passion.
From my experiences so far, I have learned so much and the few that are the most crucial to me are these: KISS, paying attention to detail and building patterns. KISS breaks down to Keep It Simple Stupid. Not getting caught up in the hype of what everyone else is doing is key in this industry. Making sure to keep things simple and not complicate techniques or theories is the way to produce fish.
Paying attention to detail is something that can help produce more and bigger fish, and being a woman, I pay extreme attention to detail, and in the long run for me, that has made me more successful on the boat. Detail can be the difference between 10 fish days and 50 fish days, it can be the difference between small fish and big fish.

Building a solid pattern is the third key in being successful. We’ve developed a phrase that we live by 100%, that one is a fluke, two is a theory, and three is a pattern. This is what we follow when picking lures, selecting speed, and practically everything else that we try to build a pattern with. This will also produce more fish and help build confidence in a spot, technique, bait, or anything else you apply to fishing. We believe confidence to be a huge factor in patterns and fishing in general, and confidence comes from being successful.
I didn’t want to write this to be an article that was empowering to women only, and I know that I didn’t go into detail about certain tips and tactics for fishing. I just want people, and yes more directly women, to become more involved in fishing and share the wealth of this great sport. It’s no secret that the industry is dying and numbers have been falling by the millions for the past few years. So what happens when the next generation comes around? What will happen to the angling community?  It is not a difficult task to take someone fishing. It’s not an easy task to teach someone how to catch fish, but it is worth the time and effort to save this sport for the new generations. So I say, bring on the newbies!!! Let’s go fishin’!

Stephanie Zelinsky

steph@tightlineoutdoors.com