More and more women are learning to enjoy fishing each and every day. And, why not? Fishing is a sport that doesn’t require exceptional strength, stamina or height – quite
contrary, fishing is a sport of agility, finesse and patience, skills many women already possess. So why don’t more women fish?Successful fishing requires knowledge of various types of fishing gear, tackle, and an understanding of
quarry. Fish have a variety of feeding habits, behavioral patterns, etc. and these characteristics influence how to go about fishing for them.
Traditionally, men learned how to fish when they were boys from fathers and grandfathers. Even if this training was lacking, it’s no big deal for a guy to hang out with other guys who enjoy fishing and learn
ropes from them.
For a woman, though,
process is apt to be somewhat more difficult. In my family of all girls, we learned
thrill of fishing as children from our father. Fortunately for us, our dad was an “equal-opportunity” fisherman...and he was a very patient man.
We learned to bait our own hooks, remove fish from
line, and clean
fish as well. We were rewarded with many an enjoyable Sunday on
lake competing for top family fishing honors of who caught
most and
biggest fish.
For women who weren’t brought up fishing as I was, all is certainly not lost. Although learning from a boyfriend or spouse is not out of
question, a significant other may not be
best place to get your first fishing pointers.
Your honey may not have
patience that you will need to learn proper fishing technique and he may be a bit condescending as well…not exactly conducive to an enjoyable learning experience.
Try instead local women’s fishing clubs. Check online for groups in your area that are specifically organized by and for women. Many groups are primarily centered on fly-fishing but not all are.
Also see if your community college or local university offers any fishing courses. Often fishing classes are offered in
adult education, physical education or recreation departments.