The founding Sisters on the Fly reclining next to Lucy, a 1958 Holliday and the original vintage recreational vehicle from the Cowgirl Caravan.

When your organization’s motto is “We have more fun than anyone,” you surely cannot go wrong. Sisters on the Fly is the brainchild of two (biological) sisters. Maurrie Sussman (sister #1) and Becky Clarke (sister #2) had just finished a drift-boat fly-fishing trip with Sussman’s son, Austin Lowder, a Montana outfitter. They agreed it would be fun to bring women together on outdoor adventures and fly-fishing excursions across the country. What began in 1999 with two sisters has now grown to a family of 1,900 sisters.

The women belonging to Sisters on the Fly range in age from twenty-one to ninety-two and truly enjoy the outdoors. Although the ability to fly fish is not a requirement for membership, the sisters vary from no experience to advanced skills. (The original sisters fished during their childhood but did not start fly fishing until later in their adult lives.)

Members meet at regional locations, then plan excursions to freshwater and saltwater destinations for a little angling. When they travel in a group of ten or more, they do it in style: each pulls a restored or new RV trailer with an exterior that is decorated to represent that sister. These Cowgirl Caravans attract a lot of attention on the road and at their campsites. Every region has a special trip theme—such as California Dreamin’, Farm Chicks, and Southern Fried Good Time—and it is important that a common campfire is built at the end of the night. Another popular annual event is Cowgirl College, which takes place in Wyoming.

Sisters on the Fly continues to grow in membership. This diverse group of women continues to travel with their restored RVs while fly fishing some of the most beautiful locations in America. Their organization was celebrated in a book by Irene Rawlings, Sisters on the Fly: Caravans, Campfires, and Tales from the Road (2010). All members are inspired by the fly-fishing skills of Mazie, sister #4, who happens to be the mother of sister #1 and sister #2.

Note: this text was written in 2011.