As a student, professional fly fisherwoman Jennifer Tatelman ’07 was unaware of the rich network of rivers around her that she could have been angling. A native of Marblehead, Mass., she spent her youth on the ocean, fishing, sailing, and lobstering.
“It’s crazy to me,” she said, “to think that I didn’t fly fish during my boarding time at Williston.” Her company, FlyandFlow, which she founded in 2018, leads trips for women on the Deerfield River, which runs 20 miles north of campus. “I pass the Williston exit all the time now on my way to the Deerfield and laugh that I had no idea at the time.”
FlyandFlow leads six trips per year to destinations in the States—western Massachusetts, Montana—and tropical locales such as Belize and the Bahamas. Tatleman has traveled to New Zealand for elusive brown trout and to the marshes of Charleston, South Carolina, for tailing redfish. She also is the brand manager for Postfly, which sells monthly subscriptions of fishing gear.
In February, she wrote an essay championing the rise of women anglers for On the Water. “Every time I stand on the bow with a fly rod in hand, I feel empowered,” she told The Bulletin. “Fly fishing is so much more than just landing fish. I wanted other women to experience this.”
An advocate for conservation, she practices catch-and-release fishing, which for her doesn’t in the least diminish the enjoyment of the sport. “It’s a great feeling to have the rod and line work together in harmony.”
Her father, Jack Tatelman ’73, taught her to fly fish. She and her dad have shared a number of adventures, from targeting brook trout in Labrador to tarpon stalking in Florida. She said she treasures these times, and the fact that she has someone to share stories with. “He’s the first person I call with whatever fishing tale, good or bad—but really there’s no such thing as a bad day on the water.”