HELEN – This Saturday the second annual “All Girls Fish” fly fishing extravaganza will unfold in the parking lot of Unicoi Outfitters on Main Street in Helen.
Females are now the fastest growing demographic in the fly fishing world according to longtime fly fishing enthusiast Becca Powell, who works as Development Director for the conservation group, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
“Females on the water have grown substantially over the course of the past four or five years,” Powell said.
She credits the Orvis Company in Vermont for the increase in the number of women wading in the river searching for trout. “Orvis has been a leader in the fly fishing industry since the 1800s…so they started a campaign called ‘Fifty-Fifty on the Water’, and their goal is to have diversity in our water ways and in the sport of fly fishing.”
Powell’s group will be joined on scene by members of the Georgia Women Flyfishers, a non-profit organization comprised of Georgia women passionate about the sport of fly fishing.
According to Powell, Saturday’s event is geared towards girls 5 through 18 years of age and will include “…thirty young ladies from across the region…where they will participate in an all-day fly fishing event. The first part of the day will be educational…the second half of the day will be…where all our …participants will be paired with female fly fishing guides…where hopefully they will be able to apply the lessons learned that morning and put some trout in the net.”
During the event the Alex Harris Leadership Award will be presented to Deighan Cherry of Austin, Texas, who attended the All Girls Fish extravaganza in 2019 (due to the pandemic the 2020 event had to be cancelled) and went home so inspired that she organized an online network, known as Fly Girl Global, connecting young women across the world who love fly fishing, fly tying and conservation efforts.
The award's namesake, Alex Harris, lived in nearby Clarkesville and became known as a guru in the fly fishing community. Unfortunately, according to the media release, Harris succumbed to COVID-19 this summer.
Powell says the Chattahoochee River above Helen isn’t the only portion of the river that supports trout fishing. The river below Buford Dam sustains a viable, self-sustaining brown trout population and a strong rainbow trout population which is enhanced by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources several time a year.
“Our mission is to preserve and protect the entire river,” Powell explained. “The Chattahoochee River is (the only river in the United States) that has a thriving trout fishery that runs through a major metropolitan city of a million or more.”
“We have this gem right here in our back yard,” she said enthusiastically.
For more information about the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper click here; for more information about Georgia Women Flyfishers click here.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2021/10/1048286/young-ladies-and-trout-set-to-meet-in-helen