All in the fishing family
Susan Houk took over the Frisky Jenny fly tying business from her mother-in-law, Virginia Sturgis — the original Frisky Jenny — more than 20 years ago. The brand of streamers and tube flies has been a consistent catcher of derby winning fish in the region. “People just like them,” Houk said.
Ralph Bartholdt/Press
Fishing guide Don Houk, checks out a Knotty Scotty pike spinner that his wife, Susan, holds. The lures, named after their son, Scott, who developed them, have also become regional favorites. They are made in the Houks’ Kidd Island Bay tying room, and are often pieced together in the couple’s living room.
Ralph Bartholdt/Press
A variety of Frisky Jenny and Knotty Scotty flies and spinners on the Houk's kitchen table. The Pacific Northwest favorite flies and lures are packaged and sold online, or in-person, to local tackle and fly shops, and to lure outlets from New York to California. Ralph Bartholdt
Tying flies, North Idaho guide business is backbone of Kidd Island Bay enterprise
When visitors check on Susan Houk, the maker of Frisky Jenny Flies, they expect to see a shop or warehouse where her flies — 6,000 annually — are produced, packaged and shipped, possibly on a fleet of trucks with a fly pattern painted on the side....
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