‘The tug is the drug’
Indigenous woman who teaches fly fishing is making the sport more welcome to LGBTQ+ folks and women of color
‘Iadmit it,” says Erica Nelson, one of just two female Indigenous fly-fishing guides in Colorado, “I’m awkward.” Raised in Kirtland, New Mexico, by Diné parents (Diné is Navajo for “the people”), Nelson’s upbringing was far from traditional Diné — the result of the conversion of her ancestors by missionaries. “The church we attended, often several times per week, was nondenominational Christian,” she says. “There isn’t a direct path to reconnect with our culture.”
Her childhood didn’t include much gender identity or sexual orientation. fishing either: just two outings with Nelson makes no attempt to separate her father. “I hated it,” she says. Still, politics, socioeconomics, gender learning as an adult, she found fly fishing and race from fishing. “I identify as an inspiring and the necessary skills angler,” she says. “And I’m interested and knowledge — such as entomology; in people whose stories aren’t being rigging and casting techniques; told.” equipment maintenance and care; and This conversation has been edited the multitude of fish species — infinite. for length and clarity. During the pandemic, Nelson began hosting a podcast to cover the less-celebrated sides of fly fishing along with more difficult and potentially uncomfortable topics such as underrepresented demographics and inequities in the sport.
“It wasn’t really a welcoming space initially,” says Nelson of fly fishing. Staff at shops weren’t forthcoming with information, and photos in gear catalogs were mostly of white men. She felt like an outsider in a sport she was coming to love. “Nobody looked like me,” she says. Appropriately, she called her podcast “Awkward Angler.”
A diversity and inclusivity consultant, she is co-founder of REAL Consulting — REAL stands for Reconcile, Evolve, Advance, Lead — and she has partnered with the advocacy organization Brown Folks Fishing to develop an initiative called Angling for All. Anglers, outfitters and organizations who sign the Angling for All pledge commit to examining and challenging ways in which the sport excludes participation based on race,
Q: It’s almost spring. What did you do all winter?
A:
I fly fished. For example, on New Year’s Day, there was a high of 8 degrees Fahrenheit, and Colorado had just received about 100 inches of snow. We climbed through snow, sometimes post-holing up to our waists. At the river, we fished with 5-weight fly-fishing rods, and used small nymph flies like pheasant tails and zebra midges. Fish were rising, and all the pain and numbness from the cold went away. Later, as the sun went down, the temperature dropped and our lines kept freezing and it was too cold to replace any flies. When we couldn’t feel our toes anymore, we retraced our tracks back to the car to pop a bottle of Champagne.
Q: Who taught you fly fishing? A:
I learned by watching YouTube videos. And from Tinder. Seriously, flipping through profiles on Tinder, I noticed lots of guys had pictures of themselves holding fish. So I reached out.
I lived in Wyoming, so anyone I’d meet online would be three hours away. Some men, many of them fishing guides, were open to answering questions (and I had lots). After establishing some trust, I’d visit for a fishing weekend where I learned basic casting, insect hatch patterns, rigging techniques and equipment maintenance. That first fish is so many things: It’s excitement, accomplishment, reinforcement. They say the tug is the drug. It’s like gambling; you just want more.
Q: Your podcast is called “Awkward Angler.” How awkward are you?
A:
When I started fishing, I had these picturesque visions of big, long, dramatic casts like Brad Pitt in “A River Runs Through It.” What I experienced instead was doing a back cast and hooking my fly in overhanging tree branches behind me. I fell on slippery rocks. It turned into a lot of patience, frustration and untangling. I caught more trees than fish. I didn’t know anything about how to handle a fish or properly remove a hook. It’s probably good I didn’t catch anything at first.
On top of this, I’d walk into a fly shop and encounter no one like me. I started the Instagram account Awkward Angler to keep asking for advice, but also to connect with others internationally and across the U.S. Who else out there is fishing and looks and thinks like me? Is there anyone who is not a cisgender, white male? I ended up meeting women of color, nonbinary anglers, transgender anglers, anglers who are neurodivergent or with different physical abilities.
Q: Is there more diversity across the sport now than when you started? A:
When I started fishing in 2016, there may have been brown people fly fishing, but I didn’t know any, and I never saw them. In the entire state of Colorado, there were no women of color guiding. Now there is a woman from outside Colorado Springs and me.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, people have had the realization that racism does happen in this country, and it trickles down to fly fishing. Since the start of the pandemic, lots of new people tried fly fishing for the first time, and we started to see a shift in demographics. I’ve had people with marginalized identities such as LGBTQ+ and unlabeled folks, women, women of color reach out to connect and to express appreciation that I’m not afraid to speak up for us and our voices.
Q: What is the Angling for All pledge? A:
The Angling for All pledge involves a training curriculum in diversity, equity and inclusion and making a commitment to address racism and inequality in fishing.
In 2019, Orvis, the oldest fly-fishing outfitter, invited some ambassadors from Brown Folks Fishing to its annual retreat in Missoula, Montana. We talked to their executive leadership team including their president, Simon Perkins. At first, they just listened. I think many companies want to take immediate action and quickly fix any wrongs with bullet lists and action items without pausing to do the more difficult internal work or reflection.
Orvis was the first outfitter to sign the Angling for All pledge. Other organizations include Patagonia and the nonprofits Casting for Recovery and California Trout. Orvis reviewed their internal culture, catalogs, social media and marketing materials to explore how they might be contributing to the lack of representation in the industry.’