Page 40 - Nov/Dec 2021 Outdoor Oklahoma

ridget Norris Kirk loved to fish from the time she was a little girl.
But fly-fishing was not on her radar.
“That was something other people did,” she said. “People in
B Colorado do that, right?”
But through chance, a determined nature, and strong influence from her
grandfather “Papa” — who was always ready drop everything to help a little girl
take a catfish off a hook — this woman from a little town north of Duncan found
new life in fly-fishing in the space of only about 18 months.
“My Papa had the greatest influence on me of anyone,” she said. “I still catch
a good fish sometimes and say, ‘Papa would be proud.’ “
Kirk is one of a growing number of fly-fishing anglers in the United States,
which still is a small demographic. A Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation
report on 2020 notes that anglers seeking new challenges during the COVID-19
pandemic spurred an increase of more than 100,000 new fly-fishing anglers,
pushing participation to a record 7 million nationwide. Still, it is the least popular
of fishing endeavors. And with men making up 70 percent of the crowd, it is the
most male-dominated of fishing pursuits.
About 30 million people bought a fishing license in 2020, and close to 40 per-
cent of those were women, according to the report.
With her fondest memories of being a little Texas girl who jumped off Papa’s
tractor to spend the day at a “tank,” to catch a grasshopper in order to catch a
“perch” in order to catch a catfish, Kirk was a prime candidate to get bitten by
the fly-fishing bug.
In September 2020, she took home the champion’s trophy in the All Fish All
Oklahoma Fly Fishing Challenge organized by Oklahoma Trout Unlimited Chapter
420. Dubbed “The 15-by-15,” it’s a challenge to catch 15 different Oklahoma fish

Kelly Bostian

“ I used to think making a

roll cast was so hard. I
just didn’t get it. Now it’s

the most natural thing.”

38 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA