April’s Woman of the Wild~Tish Proffitt

April 20, 2011 by Terri Lee Pocernich
Filed under Women of the Wild

As I ponder my evalution as a Huntress and avid angler, I realize my journey began many years ago growing up in the great state of Virginia, rich with wildlife and abundant with waters! My parents still enjoy sharing stories of me wanting to sleep in but rolling out of bed at the last second when Dad was leaving to go fishing for fear of being left behind! So began my love of the water and fishing! Over the years I’ve had the blessed privilege of fishing in various states on the east coast along with the Gulf Stream and coastal waters. I have been able to supply my family with meals of a variety of fish including everything from Alabama crappie and Virginia bass to Tennessee striper and Gulf Stream yellowfin tuna! Although all meals I place on the table are nice, none compare with dining on freshly caught trout from the stream served on a lap of aluminum foil!!
Another of my outdoor pleasures I only have the chance to engage in once a year and only in a 3 week window, hunting morels!! Affectionately refered to as dry land fish in areas of the south, these small mushrooms have provided many a delicious meal here in my home. Times spent hunting and gathering morels take me back to my roots as supplier for my family. Native Americans shared in this gathering of food and generations later, I love the time spent seeking the forest floor in search of her treasure and passing along this tradition to my two young daughters.
As a huntress, again I started at the tender age of 12 hunting with my dad and distinctly remember my first hunting trip being a dove hunt. I didn’t kill any that day but enjoyed being outdoors and being with my dad. For many years I joined him in the woods and successfully harvested small game but never any large game. I married a hunter at the age of nineteen and for four years I let him enjoy his hunts with his male hunting buddies. Then I realized, this is something I enjoy as well and can share with him the way I did with my dad!! The need and desire to hunt took over and for the last nine years I have joined him in the field hunting with my new hunting partner! Over those nine seasons I have harvested twelve deer, two turkey, more small game than I can count, a Texas Dall Ram and successfully added grouse hunting to my list of feats! Although all my kills were rewarding and very special to me, none of my endeavors came close to sharing the experience of my seven year old daughter’s first kill when she harvested a 225 lb boar in Tennessee!! To know that she carries the same passion, fire and desire that I have is a feeling that words cannot express!!
I consider it an honor to be featured on this site along other strong women in the sport! The last year has been filled with many things I never thought possible. I have my own Signature Series of turkey calls that I sell online and in sporting goods stores in my area, I launched my project Southern Belle Outdoors which supplies ladies with discounts on hunting related products!! Please feel free to add me on Facebook and get to know me!! I love having the opportunity to represent women in this sport and meeting and sharing with other ladies with the same passion as I. To each of you, I wish you the very best of luck and happy hunting!!