The Invercargill angler swooped three of the five prizes at the Southland Fly Fishing Club’s annual awards, winning trophies for her 4.5lb rainbow trout, 6lb trout and best condition brown trout.
"Traditionally it’s a male-dominated sport and [it’s] sort of encouraging a lot more women to get involved."
Despite coming close in past years, she believed it was the first time a female angler had won any of the Southland Fly Fishing Club’s trophies.
"That felt positive for the women that will follow me who are interested in fly fishing."
The trout caught in the Mavora region had really caught her eye — it was short and fat, and a perfect candidate for the best condition category.
"It was a beautiful looking fish."
Without giving away her secret spots, she said her other award-winners, a large rainbow was also caught in the Mavora region while Waituna presented her with her winning largest brown trout entry.
She loved the serenity the Southland rivers offered.
"That’s the thing about fishing, you do get to some beautiful places.
"Throwing a line is a perfect antidote for when life gets busy," she said.
She remembers trotting out with her dad as a 4-year-old to go fishing.
She became a member of the Southland Fly Fishing Club about eight years ago, after helping a terminally ill family member from overseas fulfil a dream of catching a trout from a Southland river.
"He lived another year or two after that — the fishing gave him a whole new lease of life."
Most of her catches were released, but she confessed to being partial to smoked trout.
Perfecting fishing skills took a lifetime, but mastering the art of the cast was about practice, she said.
Catching fish relied heavily on knowing good fishing spots and the ability to "match the hatch" — knowing the insects the fish were eating.
Mastering the art of making flies meant she could create something the fish would be interested in striking.
International Women’s Fly Fishing Day is on September 13.
While Southland had quite a few capable fisherwomen, she hoped more would join the sport in the future.
"There’s camaraderie among fishing ... women [tended] to take a lunch or a picnic or have coffee on the side and then eat it."
But for additional safety, most of the sports participants also carried personal locator beacons when they were venturing out alone, she said.
President Dave Harris said the club ran an annual fly fishing course for women ahead of the season’s opening day on October 1.
