Local woman finds passion as fly fishing guide

Cynthia Harkness has always loved the outdoors and being near the water. As a child she fished in the Merrimack River and at Hampton and Salisbury beaches, doing a lot of spin fishing. When her now grown sons were younger, she wanted them to enjoy the outdoors and the water just as she did. Harkness started fly fishing with her sons, which ultimately led her to found Fearless Fly Fishing in 2019. The Canton business owner provides guided fly fishing for striped bass, hosts travel for anglers and those who want to be anglers, and teaches classes about the basics of the sport.

Cynthia Harkness

“It was a natural fit and it just kept evolving to where I saw a real niche in the marketplace for women to get educated about fly fishing,” Harkness said.

Fly fishing is a sport in which someone who is fishing, or an angler, uses artificial lures called flies to catch fish in either fresh or saltwater. The angler casts the fly into the water using a fly rod, reel, and a weighted line.

Harkness had worked as a trader for about 20 years when she wrote a business plan and started Fearless Fly Fishing. She named it after Fearless Girl, the sculpture in the Financial District of Manhattan. A plaque on the statue reads “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”

Harkness now spends her working hours guiding clients, mostly on the Brewster Flats on Cape Cod; taking clients on retreats and adventure travel on both rivers and the ocean; doing presentations for organizations about fly fishing; and teaching private classes.

She said that fly fishing was a perfect choice for her because she didn’t need a boat and could simply walk into the water. The fly rod was easy to use and the sport was fun.

“I saw it as a really nice step for the boys to get involved,” she said. “And then I started really, really enjoying it, because it’s fun. It makes you feel good. You can kind of lose yourself when you’re out there.” Her sons continue to fish with her.

Harkness leads ladies-only fishing trips, father-son or mother-daughter trips, and group experiences for anglers of all abilities. This year she has planned trips to Montana, Canada, Wisconsin, and Tennessee, as well as to western Massachusetts. From May through October, she will be on the Cape.

She fishes locally as well and is knowledgeable about the fish in local ponds. Houghton’s Pond in Milton was recently stocked with both brown and brook trout, while Buckmaster Pond in Westwood is now stocked with rainbow trout.

“We have a tremendous supply of stocked fisheries in and around all of our communities in Massachusetts,” she said.

Harkness often teaches her local private lessons at Houghton’s Pond, since she finds the parking lot and beach to be good spaces for the initial training. She sends a list of needed items to students beforehand and starts her lesson by having them dress for the water. It’s shoes off and footed one-piece waders — which Harkness can provide — over their clothing. That’s followed by a hat, sunglasses, a buff, and sunscreen.

The next task is learning how to correctly hold a rod and cast a line. Harkness uses a separate rod with a bright green line to have students get used to the rod and practice casting back and forth. The line on the rod used in the water is of a much more subtle color. When she feels they are ready for the water, she shows her students how to attach a fly to the end of the line and how to safely carry it to the pond.

At the water’s edge, she explains where the pair will start fishing and points out any rocks or any other obstacles under the water. Then it’s into the pond to use the skills she has taught.

She stands a safe distance from her students and casts her own line, but she always keeps her eye on the new angler, praising, gently correctly, and encouraging them. Even though she is working, she is clearly enjoying the outdoors, the water, and the fishing. “This is so relaxing,” she says.

Harkness does what she calls due diligence on any fisheries, waters, and lodging before deciding if the locations are where she could create an adventure around fly fishing for both men and women. Some of her trips, such as the ones to Brewster Flats, are a walk and wade fly fishing experience. For others, such as a full-day float on the Deerfield River, a guide will row an Aire boat, similar to rubber or Zodiac boats, and anglers will fish from seats in the front and back.

Harkness calls herself an ambassador for fly fishing, because of the attention she receives when she is out in her waders and for the opportunity to spread the word about the sport she loves. People often ask her questions about fly fishing, and she patiently answers any and every one, telling others what kind of fish are stocked in Houghton’s Pond and that waders are indeed water-proof. It is clear that she loves what she does.

“I really like the sport and I like getting people into it as much as I can,” she said, “to get out, to spend four or five hours outdoors. It’s just great. What I like about it is it crosses all ages; it could be men or women. I work with kids who are in their teens and I work with people in their 70s or 80s.”

Harkness will speak at the Canton Public Library on “Women in Fly Fishing” on June 10 at 6:30 p.m. On June 15, she will serve as the lead instructor at the Greater Boston Trout Unlimited Ladies Fly Casting Clinic. The event is free and open to the public. Details and signups will be available soon. For more information about Fearless Fly Fishing, go to fearlessflyfishing.com.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Apr 26 2024. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.