Girly-Man Sport?

Fly fishing is a carnal man sport, right guys? It is little more than a refined form of hunting which, at its core, requires overcoming obstacles of environment in order to take a targeted prey with a sharp implement. This means intentional preparation, careful practice, knowledge of the quarry’s habits, stealth, accuracy, etc. So, it comes as no shock that men make up the overwhelming majority of the sport’s advocates. But understanding all this, why is it that women form one of the top growth sectors of the fly fishing industry? How is it possible that our beloved man- sport seems to appeal just as much, if not more, to the opposite sex? What’s the attraction? Could it be the trendy clothing and gear, beautiful venues, creative flies, high levels of patience, delicate presentations, colorful fish, finesse and artistic feel coalesce to make a perfectly suited sport for women?

Well, I’m not sure exactly, but let me tell you—nothing has made me more cognizant of this strange phenomenon than living in a home with all females. Whenever I am asked how being outnumbered in the home makes me feel, I usually just respond with a quip that God knew it would take three women to balance out my manliness. All kidding aside, most of us guys look forward to the days when countless hours will be spent teaching our son the passion and skill of our favorite sport. But when there isn’t a son to teach, what the heck do you do? I’ll tell you what you do: you find yourself faced with a bit of a choice—hoard your passions to yourself and let them die with you, introduce your craft to a neighbors child (a pretty noble idea), or…just maybe…introduce it to the ladies in your life and bet against the odds that they might take an interest in your cherished man-sport.

Here is a quick testimony, from one guy who for better or worse, never got the chance to consider the choices. Instead I was faced with the undeniable reality that women can and do love fly fishing. My oldest daughter, Madelyn, sustained this for me when at the age of only two, she took what initially seemed like a peculiar interest in tying flies. She had observed her daddy at the bench tying away using brightly colored threads, paints, yarns, feathers, and so on and it wasn’t long until she wanted in on the action.

Day after day, without any artificial encouragements, I would find our toddler climbing into my chair to “tie fwies.” When she started making a mess, I attempted to unseat her from her new found perch but she pitched a fit! Ever since then, tying flies during the day for me, means tying with my daughter in my lap. Following bath time only a few days ago, my wife and I both found our daughter sitting at my vise, butt naked, attempting to tie flies. Needless to say, although this presents some pretty frustrating challenges as my tying materials are literally strewn from one end of the house to the other and the constant fear of those tiny hands finding my lazar sharp hooks, the challenges thus far have not come even close to outweighing the immense sense of pride from seeing my baby girl take an interest in one of my favorite pass times. I’ll be encouraging her for as long as she shows interest.

And what about my wife, what does she think of all this? Well, the bug seems to have bitten her too (no pun intended). She has been a little slow to warm since traditional bait fishing never really appealed to her, but to help encourage matters, I purchased a light 3 weight TFO outfit for her to learn with. After a few casting lessons in the front lawn, we took a trip to a cool little trout stream where she could feel safe from snags and enjoy her surrounds, regardless of how the fishing turned out. This was how I got her started and she is now well on her way to becoming a solid little fly caster. I’ve even found her watching instructional casting videos on YouTube!

Now to be clear, I have no delusions about the extreme differences in our passion thus far for the sport. If her passion were a spark, mine would be a freakin’ forest fire. That said, I think what appeals most to her is the fact that she is being welcomed to take part—to share in something her husband is so passionate about. It’s a way we can spend more time together too (oh, and the cool destinations don’t discourage her either). After all, there are few places more picturesque and romantic than the banks of a Smokey Mountain trout stream in East Tennessee or the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast.

So how realistic is all this you wonder, and do I have no sense of man-sport conservation? Well, let me say I couldn’t be more pleased so far and there is no embellishment here. My wife and daughters have accompanied me on several fly fishing excursions and things are going well. Women will take direction unlike most of us men. Admittedly, I am not as patient as I should be with the overall learning curve and general tendency for females to be overly dramatic, but I am trying to work on those things. My daughter loves being out on the water with her daddy and my wife seems to genuinely enjoy the sport with an ever growing appreciation. It has been an unexpected but ideal situation to see my overwhelmingly female family sharing a passion for fly fishing. My advice to all you guys out there with pig-tailed little girls and posh mommies—give yourself a gift that will keep on giving—let the ladies have a chance. Hand them a fly rod and see what happens. They just might make a believer out of you, because fly fishing can be a girly-man sport.

Benjamin Ward is a business professional and fly fishing fanatic in Northern Alabama. Catch up with Ben at Ben81000@yahoo.com or follow him at http://southernrenaissanceman.blogspot.com/