About one-third of fly fishers are women. It should be no surprise, then, that two new groups who work with women in fly fishing have emerged in Colorado in the past couple years. Both are fast growing, women-founded, and prioritize education and conservation within the fly fishing community.
First, Artemis—which is part of the Boulder-based National Wildlife Federation—was founded in 2017. The group has chapter leaders scattered throughout the West, and offers women’s-only hunting and angling clinics, and is also on a mission to teach sportswomen and sportsmen how to engage in conservation on every level, from volunteerism to policy change. “Fishing has always been a passion of mine,” says Artemis co-founder Kara Armano. “I’ve done it my whole life. I want to help protect the wild places that I know, and to impress that need on all demographics, whether that’s fishers or elected officials.”
