Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, I had many fishing partners I could always rely on that enjoyed the out of doors just as much as I do.
There was a special one who was very close to my heart — my ex-wife Janie. For the eight or so years that we were together, we fished from the mountains to the keys, and rarely would she ever turn down an opportunity to get on the water.
This lady grew up bait fishing the ponds on her family farm and, with a little bit of instruction from me, she readily took up artificial lure fishing and fly-fishing.
I was amazed one day to look downstream to see Janie casting her fly rod left-handed. Women seem to have a knack for fly-fishing and I think that maybe it’s the gracefulness of the cast and the fact that they don’t have to bait a hook.
I think that many of the male anglers are missing the boat by not taking their wives with them at least some of the time. There are many women anglers in north Georgia, and some of them are accomplished anglers, and some are outstanding fisher-people.
The angler who caught the state record brown trout, Charlie Ford, married a champion bass tournament angler. His wife, Rhonda, fishes the tournament circuit, and has a wall full of trophies.
Roman Rebecca Strain holds a fly rod world record for a bone fish she caught in the Florida Keys. Elizabeth Farquharson is the president of the Kanooka Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and can out-fish many men I know. This young lady was one of the first “trout campers” at the Georgia TU trout camp, and she not only has angling skills, but also the enthusiasm that it takes to be the head of a successful TU chapter.
There are a lot of other women that like fishing in the area. Vickie Hill at Synovus Mortgage Co. and Sonya Blankenship at River City Bank both love fishing. Brenda Horton gets great enjoyment bait fishing for catfish in the Etowah River.
Our TU chapter has a few women who show up fairly regularly at meetings, but I would like to see a lot more females sitting at the meeting table. The state council meetings usually have about 15 percent women attending. Why should guys have all the fun fishing? Take a girl along.
We will have some of the best women fly anglers in the state at our up-coming Trout Expo on Saturday, April 25. The Georgia Women Flyfishers will be there to introduce the area ladies, both young and old, to the sport of fly- fishing.
Strain — who is not only a world record holder but also a certified fly casting instructor — will be showing off her skills and will give basic casting instructions to anyone wishing to learn. Fly-fishing is not an expensive hobby to take up.
In fact, someone wanting to buy the basic tackle can go to Kmart with a $100 bill and leave with line, leader, rod, reel and flies and still have money for a decent meal at a good restaurant. Sure, you can spend nearly a thousand dollars at a high-end fly shop, but that is not necessary.
Ladies of all ages are invited to join us at the Trout Expo to learn about trout, trout fishing whether with a fly rod or a cane pole and to become more familiar with Trout Unlimited. Deborah Scott, the Gold Rush TU chapter president, will be at the Expo with five fly rods and will allow anyone, and everyone a chance, to learn the basics of fly casting.
No bait, no smelly worms, just fur and feathers tied to a hook, a graceful cast to the right location and the resulting fish is what fly-fishing is all about.
TU meeting
The next meeting of the Coosa Valley Chapter will be Thursday, April 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Landmark Restaurant. We will have Gary Beisser and John Damer, both DNR fisheries biologists, speaking about hatchery operations, the trout program and the sturgeon stocking that is occurring in the area rivers.
This is also a final planning session for the Trout Expo to be held at Georgia Highlands College. Members are urged to attend, and the public is invited.
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