What 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.
“My son taught my sister and I and my mom how to fly 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 the 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 everyone is welcome to try. No matter what, the sisters will have their back.
“You might not like everyone at first and they might not like you but, eventually, you become great friends and sisters and you take care of each other,” Sussman says. “You hold each other’s hands, jump in to save one another, and do whatever needs to be done.”
Joining Sisters on the Fly is simple — all interested members need to do is sign up on www.sistersonthefly.com and pay $70 annually in dues. Once someone has joined, there are more than 1,000 activities posted all around the country members can take part in, Sussman says.
“You find something you really want to do, or we go out to lunch with the girls or we will go to the movies,” Sussman says. “No matter what we do, it’s always a good time.”
