SISTERS ON THE FLY
Shared Experiences Between Women of All Ages
By NICOLE SHAIR
W
hat first began as the desire to go
fly-fishing with a few friends has
since turned into one of the largest and
most wide-spread women’s organizations
in the United States with a focus on
outdoor recreation.
Sisters on the Fly is a women’s
organization founded by real-life sisters,
Becky Clarke and Maurrie Sussman. Back
in 1999, the two sisters and their mother
were taught how to fly-fish with the
help of Sussman’s son, Austin Lowder, in
the Montana mountains. After realizing
how much fun fishing was, the girls
wanted to invite their friends to come
along and share in the fun. This idea
of getting friends together to try new
outdoor activities has shaped what the
organization is today.
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INSITE March 2020
“My son taught my sister and I and my
mom how to f ly fish and so we started
inviting other girls, but then they
didn’t really want to fish,” Sussman
says. “We started picking up other
activities, every conceivable thing you
could do outside.”
The mission of Sisters on the Fly is to
encourage women who might not have
been able to experience as much earlier
in their lives to try new things and do
activities they never had the chance to do
before, Sussman says.
“For example, a lot of girls have never
been horseback riding or they’ve never
been fly fishing or hiking or they have
never driven a trailer across country,”
Sussman says. “So, we go in groups and
teach them along the way.”
From learning how to fly a plane to
movie dates, there is no limit on the
possibilities of things that can be
done with Sisters on the Fly. Members
of the group are even encouraged to
make their own plans and events with
members who are in their area.
“If you want to put on an event for
something you like doing, you post it on
social media and get everyone together
and it’s so much fun,” Sussman says. “We
have no secrets; we want everyone to be
able to do whatever they want.”
Throughout the years, Sussman has
had girls join the group who either don’t
make friends easily or aren’t sure if they
can keep up with the various outdoor
activities the group takes part in. To
that, Sussman insists that anyone and