#20 Women Learning to Fly Fishing

Women Fly Fishing, and Learning to cast a fly rod.

 Women learning to fly fish is a growing trend that embodies empowerment, skill-building, and a connection to nature. Through patient guidance and perseverance, more women than ever are delving into the world of fly fishing, mastering the art of casting, reading water, and understanding insect patterns. With each cast, they discover the meditative rhythm of the river and the thrill of a strike. More than ever, we are seeing the social norms breaking down as Woman are embracing the sport of fly fishing, as they forge their own path, embracing the freedom and confidence found in this timeless pursuit.

 In the 1990s, an estimation of women as participants in fly fishing were low, less than 5% if my research is correct now, in 2023 this number could be more than 25%, without the spike caused by COVID 19 and variants accounted for.

Women Pioneers in the sport

You cannot talk about Women in the sport of Fly fishing and not speak the name of Joan Wulff. Joan is a woman with a long history in the fly-fishing world and an unmatched contributor, fly casting instructor, manufacturer of fly lines (Royal Wulff Fly Lines), and book author who earned her early recognition by soundly beating men at fly casting tournaments.

Remarkably, early in her casting career, she earned a spot in a prestigious fly-casting tournament. She won soundly, but before the presentation and after a suspicious delay, a board fuddy-duddy announced Joan could not win the championship because she was not a man.

With this being said there a few things that I feel we should chat about when it comes to the subject of Women learning to cast a fly rod. Over the years I have had the pleasure to not only teach Female anglers how to cast a fly rod but guide them on the water as well. The reason I feel this needs its own conversation is the fact the through my experiences I have discovered that Woman learn differently. In a past article, I discussed how I spent my early years doing nothing but teaching beginners both Male and Females how to cast.

It was during this period of time teaching that I noticed that there were subtle differences in the way that Women learned to cast. For example, many Women anglers tended to use the word “feel” more often when talking about the casting feedback. One time I even had a Woman who was casting with her eyes closed so she could have a better feel of the rod and line while casting. This was a first for me, but it was a teaching moment for me as well.

These meetings where very different from the Men I taught, most Men are only focused primarily on throwing that “touchdown pass” while they are learning, as the Women use more of a feedback approach to learning. As a result, the Women anglers tend to learn how to cast much quicker and better than their significant other.

I recently had a conversation with my Friends Wife who was new to the sport and recently had taken some lessons and a guided trip. Her answers were refreshing to listen to as She explained the good points as well as the bad points of Her recent learnings.

Some of the items we disused was Her level of frustration to the amount of things that a person needed know and to do at the same time. She thought that a simpler method of teaching in the beginning would have been better for Her learning experience.

 The next thing we talked about was how the teachings from one instructor to another were very contrasting, and how this caused some confusion, and only magnified her frustration while learning. Ultimately the fishing trip was a success and accordingly to Her the best part was the thrill of catching that first fish on a fly rod. Will She go back and do it again,? The answer is “yes”.

The reason I bring up this point, if you are learning to cast a fly rod for the first time whether you are a Female or Male, you should be able to identify and be taught the basic values of the cast. If these are taught with consistency, the learning curve can become shorter and enjoyable, but if you are learning a different approach every time you practice then confusion and frustration can result.

I believe women learning how to cast a fly rod or learning to fly fish, choosing a mentor is something that can be very helpful. If you are able to choose a female mentor the learning process can be better, in the fact that a female instructors have a better relationship with student in relating their own personal experience while they were learning.

Learning any new skill can be daunting, and having a mentor to teach you in a comfortable and supportive environment could be the difference between picking up a new hobby or finding your passion. That’s not to say you won’t be able to learn on your own. With enough work, anyone can teach themselves a new sport; but it certainly helps to learn from someone you can trust.

For Women Only

Check out some online resources like the Orvis 101 Library, YouTube channels, Facebook or Meetup groups. There are hundreds of pages that provide space for female anglers to talk about fishing, meet friends, and learn from others in the sport.

 I have done some on-line research and was pleasantly surprised at the numbers of Woman only fly-fishing clinics available all across the United States. Orvis Schools, has Women only casting clinics, throughout the U.S. Woman’s Guide training, and Woman’s casting clinics, and fly-tying classes are more available than ever before.

So, approach each day on the water with the hope, rather than expectation, the eagerness to connect with the environment around you, then you’ll never have a bad time. Hang up that “Gone Fishing” sign, grab your fly rod, bring your friends, and start the never-ending journey of learning to fly fish.

Again, it is my hope that some of the information in this post was somewhat helpful. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to give me a shout.

Cheers

Gary