Fishing Ladies
The fishing industry needs more women that fish! Women who fish now are exceptional role models for the next generation women of fishing - and we want to celebrate that! Meet today's fishing ladies as part of the Women In Angling blog series.
Raegan Davis
This weeks Women In Angling feature female angler is Raegan Davis! A multi-species angler and future fisheries biologist! Check out her story below:
"Like many, fishing started for me at a very young age when a family friend invited us up to camp for a weekend. I started out with a pink Barbie rod catching Bluegill and Pumpkinseed from the dock with a worm and bobber. As I got older, I continued fishing with my Dad on the weekends but to be honest we were not very successful at this time. Around high school is when fishing became more serious for me. Any opportunity we got to fish we were fishing and trying out different techniques (this is when I got introduced to soft plastics). The summers during my undergraduate degree I found myself living in Sault Ste. Marie (an outdoor paradise) with no way to get on the water. This led to me purchasing my very own boat, a 15-foot Lowe Skorpion with 50-hp Mercury engine. This boat is not huge but it has allowed me to fish all over the place, make great memories, and catch some giant fish! This is the point in my life where I became obsessed with fishing. When I wasn't fishing, I was thinking about the next time I was going to go fishing. I would spend all weekend fishing and then I would sneak out after work to fish in the evenings whenever I could. The last few years I have increased my fishing knowledge and have become more of a multi-species angler. Fishing for multiple species means that I can find a species to target most times of the year; this means that there are very few weeks that I do not spend with at least one day fishing. Although I target many fish species year-round my favourite fish to catch are still smallmouth bass!
After being encouraged by many people in my life I decided to create my Instagram
account @reelingwithrae this past fall. My goal of this page is to share my fishing adventures
and encourage women to get out on the water! This year I am excited to announce that I will be doing a series titled “25 Techniques to Catch Big Bass in 2025”. In this series, I will break down everything from rod selection to fishing the bait. I hope that this series will help anyone new to angling and push me to have a bigger bass fishing toolbox. I am positive that when my pink Barbie rod was given to me, nobody knew that years later - fishing would become my entire life and biggest passion.
I was a little late to the party when I realized that being a fisheries biologist was a real possibility in Ontario. After my first year of my undergraduate degree I quickly switched from the Medical Sciences program into Environmental Sciences. My first summer in University I was lucky enough to work for Ontario Parks as a Learn to Fish Leader which allowed me to share my passion and knowledge with Ontario park visitors interested in the sport of fishing. The following summer, I was lucky enough to work as a student fisheries research technician with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada in the Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (GLLFAS). This job was a dream! One of my favourite parts of this job was driving across a glassy Lake Superior to tag Lake Sturgeon as part of the juvenile lake sturgeon netting index program. I will forever be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with the team at GLLFAS and for their encouragement to do my Master of Science.
I am currently completing my MSc under the co-supervision of Dr. Karen Smokorowski
and Dr. Steven Cooke at Carleton University in the Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory. I am currently working on hydro rivers that operate on hydropeaking regimes – where dam discharge flows match current energy demands (e.g., discharge flows increase from minimum flow to maximum flow back to minimum flow). This change in dam discharge can lead to the stranding (the trapping of fish in pools or on dry substrate) of fish.
My work includes creating a predictive model for fish stranding on hydropeaking rivers. After, the completion of my MSc, I will continue my studies as I take on my PhD with Dr. Steven Cooke.
I think there are many amazing women involved in the fishing community, and we are
growing in numbers. It is important that we continue to embrace each other in the community
and break stereotypes. I believe that the following actions can help support women in the fishing community:
Working together, fishing together, and supporting each other.
Educational programs that are tailored to women wanting to learn how to fish.
If you want to fish together do not be afraid to send me a DM on my Instagram
(@reelingwithrae) and we will make it happen!
Fishing is more than just catching fish to me! It allows me to challenge myself, spend time in beautiful places, and connect with family and friends. It has guided my education and future career choices. So, I encourage everyone to get out there and make some REEL memories."
We would like to thank Raegan for sharing her story & passion for fishing with us all. Seeing the passion, not only towards fishing, but to the advancements of the industry through science has us excited for the future of our fisheries in Canada!
Women Who Love Fishing
Thank you fishing ladies! All the women of fishing who has participated in the "Women in Angling" blog series as well as everyone who reads, likes, or shares the profiles is contributing to making the sport more inclusive.
If you know women who love fishing, is a great ambassador for Women In Angling, or simply the outdoors lifestyle, that deserves to be recognized please reach out to us on any of our social media platforms so we can get in touch with them.
Women And Fishing Resources
Additional "women and fishing" resources and links for female fishing enthusiasts to connect:
Fishing For Women
New Wave Fishing Academy is an educational platform for the recreational fishing industry that allows everyone to learn how to catch fish; virtually. Not catching fish on outings is a sure way to keep new anglers from coming back to the sport BUT most who go fishing have no idea where to start or how to find success without HOURS of trial and error on the water that nobody has. Before you ever get to the water you can learn how to turn fishing trips into catching trips with our online fishing educational resources.
Click the link to Learn How To Fish!
To experience a day of fishing on the water with us be sure to check out our YouTube channel at the link below.
Women In Angling History
When New Wave Fishing Academy was started it was based around the mission of helping everyone become more successful anglers and especially those who do not have the family, friends, or easily accessible opportunities to push them into the sport! From critics online challenging their skills as anglers, to talking down or belittling their accomplishments, there are a lot of unnecessary hurdles for women and young girls to get into fishing. These hurdles are not set up by those that represent the majority of the members in the industry but unfortunately they are often the loudest voice.
To combat this we started the "Women In Angling" blog series in 2022 to celebrate the women who love fishing, highlight female ambassadors and role models for the sport of fishing, and share their stories for those that just need a little push or someone to look towards to get into this sport we all love!
To read all of the amazing Women In Angling profiles click the link below:
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