Women and fishing...

Women and fishing is nothing new... Miss Geraldine Ballantine caught the British record salmon in 1922 on the River Tay in Scotland; the salmon measured 54 inches and weighed in at 64lbs.

So out of 4 million people that fish in Britain a mere 2% are women!

I have been privileged to sail with some of the best sailors in the world and fortunately women count in that number. In addition to excelling in their own right the fairer sex do bring a pleasant balance to any sport. Fishing may not appear at first sight to be a sport for women...

Perhaps (for women) there is a general misunderstanding of what it (fishing) is all about and that it is seen as a male dominated sport? Fishing takes various forms and I am perhaps "multi-discipline" in that I will use natural baits (for example whole or cut fish, worms and maggots) and also man made baits (spinners, plugs, jerkbaits and the fly). Man made baits may offer a best option to most people (depending on quarry) as there isn't anything to go off! It therefore becomes a "clean" sport... I've had a major change in direction in my fishing and find that by fishing with the fly I have become more mobile and rely more on watercraft skills. Fly-fishing is also a gentler sport, requiring more finesse and perhaps it is more of an art form and an appreciation... who knows?

Anyway I am trying to entice Janet, my wife to have a go at fly fishing in the spring (she has promised) and hopefully we can tie in walks in the hills to small mountain lakes or along meandering rivers in search of fish together! In my search for inspiration I found a blog called Rogue Angels... a blog by a couple of very accomplished female fishermen. The young lady in the photo is K8, one of the two contributors to the blog (listed in my Fishy sites of interest!). She's with a first rainbow caught on a split cane rod... and what a smile! (K8, thanks for allowing me to publish it here).

At a dinner this weekend I discussed with the lady sat next to me, why I thought women had the edge fly fishing... pheromones... perhaps. I actually think it is the softer touch, the ability to beguile and not rely on brute strength that males generally using in hunting to survive. Like the pool that the big fish lives in... that's DEEP!