Wisconsin Life

rrrrr of ATV engine

I remember the first time that I went ice fishing.

high pitch whirl of drilling

My dad took me to a VFW fishery. We were out there on the ice. I caught a little perch and we brought it in. I ended up winning a prize for the smallest fish. And that just kind of stuck with me. My dad was a police officer actually. And women were not in policing then. Once I saw the first female police officer I ever saw, I just knew. If she could do it, I can do it. I still think so highly of him and realize now that I, you know, it's like, I can be someone like my dad. That was cool. I kind of relate it to police work. Because when you're a police officer, you're just kinda going along, but something exciting can happen at any moment. And that's the same thing with fishing. You know sometimes-- here we go. Yeah, yeah, it's a nice crappie. I was a cop for about 15, 16 years total before I got out of it. I broke off a piece of the joint surface on the bottom of my knee. And it ended up never really getting back to where I could run up and down the stairs or kneel down. It was emotionally one of the hardest things that happened to me was having to retire cause I love my job so much. It was tough. In between when I was a child and in my, like say 40, when I was raising my daughter and working three jobs, fishing, kind of, was on the back burner.

whirl of cutting blade on ice

I came back to it more in ice fishing. For me, it was the elusive walleye. I could never catch walleye.

frustrated

Shoot. I remember the first big one I got through the ice. It was 26 inches long and I was by myself. I had it mounted because it was just the first time I was out there doing it myself and I succeeded and I had this huge fish. And when I brought that to the taxidermist, I thought it was, like, 35 inches long. I mean that's how much that fish meant to me. I never saw any other women ice fishing. I'd look around and say, "Where are they? Don't they realize how much fun this is?" And that's really what started me creating opportunities for women to fish. That's a huge walleye. Look at that rod bend. I ended up getting introduced to some other gals who fished. And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, somebody else ice fishes! Another woman that ice fishes!" It's a nice little walleye. We kind of hated to see this fishing thing end. So we said, "Oh, I know. Why don't we get together this spring and go walleye fishing?" From there it was, "I know, let's get together this fall and go camping and fishing!"

splash

And that was the first ever fish/camp. That was 11 years ago now. So now here we are in year number 11. And from there it's just grown into this wonderful thing that it is right now. I gotta say, "Hats off to Ricky."

cheers and applause

I used to say, "It's all about the fishing." And as things evolved, it's become less about the fishing and more about the people. Is this what it's like to be in the army? They have a sorority so to speak and very connected to each other. Once they fish with us, they're like-- they walk out of there two feet taller and they can't wait to come back. Another little walleye.

laughing

That's the number one thing that women get out of this. They get self-confidence. That's why it's so important for me because I flailed for so many years. There's fish to be caught now. You don't have to struggle for five years paying your dues. We want you to catch 'em right now. That's the thing about fishing. It doesn't matter how much you know, there's so much more to learn. It's probably the only time in my life that I'm just present with what I'm doing. Oooh yes!

high pitched whirl of fishing reel being wound

Holy smokes. It's a big fish. This is fun.

chuckles

Hey Sandy! I got a really, big fish on! Was it a Muskie? Yep, it's a big Muskie. Oh shoot. Oh damn. Did you lose it? Yeah, it just bit off.

exhales

So close. People ask why people fish. Right there. That's why people fish. I mean your heart rate gets going. You just have this euphoria. I mean what else gives you that? Oh, this is why we do this! I just love it.

to the fish

Well, you bit the shiner.

chuckes