Spydeyrch said:
Sounds very cool. I think I would like to go just to observe the meeting and see how it is that they teach casting differently. I think it would be a great knowledge set to have to be able to teach a female caster. I tried teaching my sister .... she did ok but I think the error was in my teaching methods. Sometimes it just needs that woman's touch and perspective for another woman to understand.
Sounds like you had a great time. :clap:
-Spydey
It was a great time. The instruction was truly fantastic, with key motions taught step-by-step and in such a way that the repetition became muscle memory, and with practice, it all came intuitively. Really, no one was left behind as we advanced through the day, and while some advanced more quickly than others (I had the "thrill" of being positioned near someone who quite unintentionally fished both sides of the dock--with her forward cast and back cast), toward the end, participants who had caught on quite quickly were helping others out, and never a negative word was uttered.
It was great. After such a long hiatus from the sport, I had forgotten how beautiful it is to see you line fly out above the water.
lilsalmon said:
I actually looked into the Stonefly Maidens a couple years ago. Being that I am a distance away it wasn't really convenient for me. I was taught to fly fish by a man (Thank you Dave for your patience) and he was and is a great teacher. It has been approximately 4 years and I still flail about sometimes but it is not because of lack of good teaching. In my flailings I have caught 100's of fishes. There really are not enough of us women out there and as jrbecca said there are a lot of women afraid to jump in and give it a try. I think it is awesome what the Stonefly Maidens do to get more women interested.
I, personally, and no offense to anyone here, prefer to fish with men. They just want to fish and they hate drama, as do I....just my observation. Course, that doesn't mean I never fish with women. We had a little gal gathering quite a while ago and it was a blast...even tho only 3 of us showed up.....hehe
As I mentioned in my PM, I've only ever fished with a man, so this was my first time getting out in the water with women, although we weren't technically fishing. We did have a rather large fish jump just off the dock, which caught very experienced angler's attention, while those who had never held a rod before were largely unaware of the tease. But yes, men are more focused on fishing than chit chat. And if that's what you're after, I can definitely see the drawbacks of fishing with a group of women.
It's great that you had such a phenomenal instructor (go, Dave!). I've often wondered how to make the sport less intimidating for other women. I have a group of fellow stay-at-home mom friends who are fascinated by the experiences on the water I share with them, but are reluctant to join me, although they are eager to see where I fish---conveniently, there's a Frisbee golf course near my preferred casting grounds, so taking them out there isn't a complete loss.
And yes, flailing can be quite effective. We do have that in common.
troutdude said:
Spydey; I'll be happy to fill in for ya!
But seriously folx...this is a great idea. Kudos to you jrbecca, for posting this thread! I hope that many ladies, will take advantage of such an opportunity.
Thank you! And if you know of any potential speakers who might be willing to share their experiences and expertise, please let me know!
Spydeyrch said:
Ah yes, the famous April Vokey. She puts on a fantastic casting class for the gals. :clap:
-Spydey
P.S. Y'all should listen to the pod casts where she is the invited guest. Very interesting information about how and why she started her fly fishing service and shop. Very cool!
I know you love pod casts. Hehe. How do you have time to listen to so many with work and four kids at home?
MattZ said:
I suppose its cool that there is a club so women will not be intimidated, but fly fishing is just kind of intimidating for everyone, not just women...
In terms of casting, it makes no difference, man or woman, who teaches you if they are a good teacher and you a good student. I have taught men and women alike. I have even successfully taught my wife to fish. I teach at least 2 or 3 women every year. They are no different than the men I teach save for genitalia. the experience is the same, man or woman. If they listen, they learn. If they think they know better, they don't.
I feel like maybe there was a bad experience here that has left a bad taste in your mouth about a man teaching a woman to fish.
Women, (and men), there is nothing intimidating about catching fish and having fun. What is intimidating, is as adults, we get embarrassed when we are not good at things. Kids have no such filter, they just learn. No reason for embarrassment, get out and do it. Casting is really quite easy... now fishing, thats another story.
I agree. How much you get out of instruction depends a lot on the teacher, but also in part on the student's willingness to learn, try, fail, and try again. I've previously taken a fly fishing class taught by a woman who was clearly passionatr anout the sport, but for whom fly fishing and all its nuances had become so intuitive that stopping to think about how to explain it to others wasn't her strong suit.
I wouldn't say that there is anything wrong about a woman learning to fly fish from a man, but there are some drawbacks. For starters, there is the male-female dynamic that can be distracting to the task at hand depending on the match between the two. When I learned last summer, it was admittedly a bit distracting to have a man's hand over mine, his body pressed up against me to guide me through casting. But there's also the reality that women's bodies move differently than men's. Our communication styles are often different. There were a lot of domestic-related references to help participants understand the timing of casting last Saturday. There was a certain comfort level in asking questions of each other that a man just might not get.
I don't know. I don't regret learning from a man last summer, but I appreciated being a part of an all-female group who could fill in the gaps of what didn't click last summer.
