Gender discrimination in Maine’s outdoors: One woman hunter responds

“Did you catch that yourself?”

That was one of the first comments I heard after landing a 36-inch pike on a fly rod. That one question says everything about what it can be like to be a woman in the outdoors.

I had actually caught two pike that day — one 36 inches, the other 30. Earlier, joking with a friend, I told him I needed to catch a big fish to earn some credibility. He chuckled, and asked what I meant. In my experience, to be taken seriously you need “numbers” to back you up.

Point proven.

I’ve also shot a 457-pound black bear and a 986-pound dressed moose. I know how to hunt and fish — and I shouldn’t have to prove it every time.

Women represent one of the fastest-growing demographics in hunting and shooting sports, yet many still face the same skepticism I encounter regularly