There’s no longer any doubt that women are entering the flyfishing ranks in droves. Most experts believe this has resulted from the increased availability of instructional resources for women these days. So, what is it that makes learning from a woman so different?

I’ve been in the business of teaching and guiding flyfishing trips for women in Alaska for over fifteen years. During all those years I’ve made it a point to ask women that very question and to compile the answers into some coherent body of information. And since those answers have been so strikingly similar, I have come to believe that they are pretty representative of new women flyfishers.

Generally, the women in my classes and on my trips tell me they were, until just recently, under the impression that only men could master the sport. Many say they wanted to learn but preferred not to learn from a man, and some believed men wouldn’t welcome them as flyfishers. Then there have been those women who have tried to learn to flyfish from a man but report being unsuccessful for one reason or another. Let’s take a look at each group.

Women Who Thought They Couldn’t Do It

Women who haven’t even tried to learn because they believed they couldn’t master the art of flyfishing represent one major group of new women flyfishers. Many of these women have fished with a spinning or a bait casting rod for quite some time. They’ve drawn the conclusion that they couldn’t/shouldn’t fly fish from several sources. They tell me that not seeing any women actually flyfishing, never reading any articles about flyfishing written by women, and not seeing any waders or other flyfishing gear made for women convinced them this just wasn’t a women’s sport.

Because there were few role models or examples of female flyfishers, many women concluded that women must just not be able to do it. “I thought that if women could do it, I would have seen a lot more of them on the water,” one woman told her beginning flyfishing class. “I always thought flyfishing was so beautiful,” she added wistfully. “It made me sad that I couldn’t do it.” Needless to say, she was delighted to find she could do it.

Learning From A Man

Certainly, there are many men whom women have found to be excellent flyfishing instructors for them. But for others that experience was not successful. Women who’ve attempted to learn to fly fish from a man often make comments such as, “I just didn’t understand the way he explained things,” or, “Everything he said was too technical,” or, “I felt very intimidated.”

One woman, calling to register for a class, asked if she really had to “learn all that ‘x’ stuff” to be able to fly fish. She’d been overwhelmed by technical information such as tippet diameter formulas and hook shank lengths, when all she really wanted was to start enjoying flyfishing.

A number of the women who have tried out fly fishing under the guidance of a man report other frustrating experiences. They tell of getting on the stream, and, after a very cursory “lesson”, being essentially left to their own devices. “My dad was way down the river when I broke off my fly, and I was totally helpless,” one woman wailed.” Another, who called about a class, asked me to promise not to holler at her if she didn’t cast perfectly. Not understanding her husband’s instructions, she had obviously tried his patience.

Women-led Classes

Women get a different approach from another woman. Many tell me that the reason they preferred a woman-led class was that the way men teach just wasn’t the way they learned. Lots of women didn’t respond well to the technical approach that a male instructor took, and they were reluctant to ask for more straightforward explanations or instructions. They also didn’t like what they perceived to be a more aggressive or competitive approach that based success on catch rate or fish size.

Women say that the most important aspect of a woman-led class for them was that a woman instructor communicated in ways they related to more easily, using analogies that women understand in place of sports or male-oriented examples. They also find the atmosphere to be more relaxed with more time allowed them to master casting or knot-tying. Women said they were less afraid to “look stupid” while learning to flyfish when they did so with other women. They felt more willing to take the risk of making a mistake, not casting perfectly, or having their knots fail while they practiced. And, of course, they liked the opportunity to meet other women to go fishing with.

Conclusion

Each woman must decide for herself how, when, and from whom she wants to learn to flyfish. The important thing is that now she has options so she can choose an instructor that’s right for her. At last, women of all ages can get started without having to face the old stereotypes and frustrations that kept their mothers off the water. It’s about time.

© 2001 Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf, Owner, Women’s Flyfishing®