She weathered sleet and snow in her first FLW Northern Division tournament at Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake in late March, and she is still looking to add more big-time tournament experience. Penn State sophomore Jessica Moldofsky, though, is not your typical college angler. For starters, she is one of only a handful of females to compete in the college ranks. Not to mention, she often fishes in tandem with her boyfriend Grae Buck, one of the club’s top fishermen. “I started when I met him,” Moldofsky says. “But then I started to enjoy it. It takes a lot of patience. I enjoy the skill that comes with it. You’re always learning and I like that.”
While Buck grew up with the sport in Eastern Pennsylvania, for Moldofsky serious fishing only started two-and-a-half years ago when the couple started dating. Much in the same way the two have stayed together over the past couple years, Moldofsky hasn’t lost any interest in her newest passion. “I never really expected her to get so attached to (fishing) and to love to do it,” Buck says. “But now she’s getting a lot better at it and she’s hooked.”
Moldofsky is used to being the only woman out on the lake for the Nittany Lions’ tournaments—she was the only female competitor at last year’s Big Ten Tournament—but she doesn’t see any reason why more girls that grow up fishing don’t get involved at the college level. “I’d definitely recommend it,” Moldofsky says. “It can be a little intimidating at first since it’s a male-dominated sport, but it’s not a strength sport so there’s no reason why women can’t compete. It may be a male-dominated sport, but it shouldn’t be.”
Aside from her fishing efforts, Moldofsky has also helped her team by volunteering to revamp its web presence. We’re hoping to get more web presence to help us recruit and promote our sponsors,” says Moldofsky. “Hopefully, that helps.”
But while she works to improve her fishing craft and, like every member of the Penn State team, tries to do what she can to help the team grow and improve its visibility, Moldofsky says she is enjoying her unique opportunity to showcase herself as a competitive woman in a sport where they are few. “I enjoy being the girl power out there,” Moldofsky says. “Showing we can do just as well, if not better, is important. It’s nice to represent women who fish because there are lots out there; just not at the college level.” And while she continues to compete, expect Buck to remain supportive of his girlfriend and teammate. “It’s fun having her out there,” Buck says. “We get time to spend together.”
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An Earth Sports Women in Fishing Week Article
