Reader's Digest - USA (2019-06)

The

FLYCASTING

Wo r l d

Championship

maxine mccormick,

age 15,

Portland, Oregon

hit targets or throw the

fly as far as you can.

You’re competing

against much older peo-

ple. What’s that like?

It’s definitely nerve-

racking because they

are stronger than me.

But I’m also pretty

confident.

What do your

classmates think?

For the Estonia World

Championships in

2016, I had to miss the

first week of school.

Everybody knew I’d

won gold because my

What’s your longest

cast? It’s 189 feet in

salmon fly distance.

How did you get so good

at such a young age?

When I was eight, my

dad brought me on

a few fishing trips,

but it was frustrating

because my line would

get tangled and I

wouldn’t catch any-

thing. So I didn’t start

liking fishing till I

was nine and I learned

how to cast. Now I

do fly-fishing without

the fish.

So you’re not actually

trying to catch anything?

Nope. You’re trying to

PE teacher was really

excited about it and

she showed videos of

me on the news to my

whole grade.

What’s it like to have

fans around the world?

It’s really cool, and I

hope it inspires other

young women to try

this sport!

McCormick defended

her world title for accu-

racy in the women’s di-

vision at the Flycasting

World Championship

in 2018.

14 june 2019 | rd.com illustration by John Cuneo

Reader’s Digest

I WON!