Where are the flyfisherwomen on this board?

[WinterrunRon]

Where are the flyfisherwomen on this board? Only one I've ever seen post is Ann V.

Are there any more? Are they shy? Do we smell bad? What?

Don't get me wrong, you guys are great. But hey, a little perspective and reporting from the female fisherwomen would be a welcomed change.

Bill, is this a boy's-only club you've got set up here?

Ron

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I had a nice gal in the shop who was buying some waders.

I told her we just did not get the women in the sport like you think we would.

She told me it was because women have to work outside the home and raise the kids too so they just don't have time.

I have some friends of mine who did take their wife and kids with them fly fishing on weekends and vacation with other couples who did the same thing. They had tent trailers. Funny, they are almost my only friends who never go divorced?

We would love to see more women and youngsters in the sport but it seems to be mostly men.

Here is another funny one. Nancy Siegler has a very active fly club up in El Dorado Hills called the "Lady Bugs". I think she was serious when she told me her club has evolved to more men than women now. Go figure...?

[peterkoistinen]

Here's the reason:

Women, in general, on average, aren't interested in fishing.

Fact of life, oh well.

Pete

[WinterrunRon]

Dr. Bill,

There you have it. Go fishing-save a marriage! I'm letting my high school sweetheart wife of 20 years this April know that steelhead have played a more important role in our relationship than previously thought! Gotta go. Heading down to the river this morning to work on our, ummm, relationship!

Pete,

So, what you're saying is women are different than men, they just want equal treatment? Oh, boy, I hate to see where this is going to lead...

[peterkoistinen]

Yeah, they're different. No better or worse, just different, with different interests.

As for wanting equal treatment, I'm sure they do. Doesn't every person want to be treated equally?

Pete

[Anne Vitale]

Well, I guess it is time for me to wade into this stream and cast a line or two

As president of the Golden West Women Fly Fishers, I can tell you that there are a whole lot of women who take flyfishing seriously. A lot more then half the men who post here. Several, such as myself actually arrange our lives' around getting out to fish. For example, I am a psychotherapist in private practice. When I started flyfishing 6 years ago, I quickly realized that if I saw all my clients on Mon, Tues., and Wed., I would have 52, four day weekends a year. That is plenty of time to run up to Fall, the Rogue or the Umpqua. ...and I do just that. More often then not, I go with a friend from my club.

As much as I am into this, I am just a piker compared to those in our club who spent several weeks a year fishing in New Zealand, Argentina, Venezuela, Belize, Mexico, British Columbia and Alaska. Not to mention Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. All of this in addition to our club sponsored outings to the Mc Cloud (three a year), the Fall R. (four a year), Pyramid Lake, the Yuba (No Fork and main stem), the No Fork and the Middle Fork of the Feather, Kelsey Bass Ranch, Manzanita Lake, the Upper Sac, the Truckee and others I can’t remember off hand. Of course, not every member goes on every outing but we have never had to cancel an outing for lack of interest.

Along with raising our families, keeping our men fed and happy, and fishing our brains out, members of the GWWF meet once a month, have an active conservation program, run a fisheries scholarship program, have a trout in the class room program and throw in a monthly fly tying sessions now and again. \/ \/

But that begs the question as to why women don't participate more on this board. I got involved in it because I was interested in learning more about the American River. I live two hours away and consider it my home waters, especially for shad and half pounders. No one in the club knew much about the American so I decided to check it out the internet. So here I am.

In essence there is more to flyfishing in a lot of women’s lives then simply going along for the ride. And, oh, like Cid Cherese. we do it all in high heels and backwards.

Anne

Where are the flyfisherwomen on this board? Only one I've ever seen post is Ann V.

Are there any more? Are they shy? Do we smell bad? What?

Don't get me wrong, you guys are great. But hey, a little perspective and reporting from the female fisherwomen would be a welcomed change.

Ron

Hi Ron and Anne,

I have been on some group board fishing excursions with Anne and lots of other guys and can vouch that you are a very successful lady fly fishermen who does more than hold your own with all the guys.

My best catch ever is my lovely wife Dana who just so happens to be one of those special ladies that love to fly fish as well . Not quite as much as myself but we have a ball together fishing and she is pretty good at it as well. She doesn’t really do much on the fly fishing boards as she is just to busy with everything else she does. I thought I would share just a few shots of her on the water enjoying either fishing or one of her other favorite things to do Photography!



Here are a few Alaska shots she put together from our 2005 trip to Alaska .



Here she is with an Alaskan Rainbow on the end of her line. Look at the Smile !



Our last day in Alaska keeping some Silvers to bring home .



Fishing on East Lake in Oregon from her Kayak



In her kayak with her camera instead of fly rod



From these pictures I am sure you can tell that I am certainly one lucky guy !

[gryhackl]

Marilyn Kiene is a pretty good fly fisher person!!

[WinterrunRon]

Well, I guess my line about equal treatment disguised as bait to get the flyfisherwomen to bite worked, kinda. It's official. Ann is perhaps the only flyfisherwoman aboard.

Bill, nice to see you and your wife enjoying fishing together. Mine enjoys me getting a thrill from it but her interest ends there. She has, however, gone on a steelhead float trip with me down the Smith in March and duck hunted with me once 15 years ago just to see what I found so damn fascinating about it (I no longer hunt).

Interestingly, after both, (we landed 11 steelhead and had a good duck hunt as well), which, in the moment she found very exciting, stated she understood my passion but expressed her life had now come full circle... and needed not to go again... and hasn't! But has never insisted I not go... not once in nearly 25 years!

Ron

[mike-n]

Anne,

I guess we don't see too many women posting becuase they are too busy fishing!

MN