Free Fly Ambassador Jenny Tates is a passionate angler and activist, whose home waters stretch along the striper heavy coast of New England. Jenny is the founder of Fly and Flow, an organization which encourages females anglers to begin, or continue a love of fly fishing through trips around the world. We recently checked in with Jenny and asked her about growing up fishing with her dad, and her journey into Fly Fishing. Scroll on to read more from Jenny.

 

"I’ve been fishing with my dad since I was a little kid. Whether I had a spinning rod in my hand or he had a fly fishing rod in his, we were on the water together. We were a father and daughter duo that couldn’t get enough. There wasn’t much too it at that age. I was completely content being on the boat eagerly waiting for the next catch, snooze, or bribery snack." 

 

"I remember early mornings chasing striper feeds and thinking it looked like rain drops on the water. I would yell…”it’s raining fish!” My imagination was wild when it came to fishing as a kid and still is to this day. There’s nothing like seeing fish slurp bait or tail slap the surface. It gets your blood pumping every. single. time."

 

"I eventually picked up a fly fishing rod in 2009 which was a dream come true for my dad though he never pushed his passion on me. Sharing a love for fly fishing together has completely changed our relationship for the absolute best. We’ve traveled the world in search of bucket list species and are constantly dreaming up the next destination or simply our next time on the water together in our backyard."

 

"My father continues to play a very impactful role in my journey as an angler. I know I make him proud as I work towards opening more doors for women in this industry and following my passion for fly fishing. Cheers to all the Dads out there making it happen."

 

Don't forget Father's Day is June 21st! We've got you covered.