Women and Fishing
From my perspective, women and fishing are not that big a deal. Most women would rather do something other than go fishing with their free time.

By Captain John Kumiski
Posted Sunday, August 28, 2005

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From my perspective, women and fishing are not that big a deal. Most women would rather do something other than go fishing with their free time. Those women that do fish run the same gamut of competence as men, from casual dabblers who fish only occasionally to hard core anglers who make their living by fishing and whose skill and expertise are second to none.

In the fishing classes I teach at Brevard Community College, most of the students are men, but the most adventurous students are usually women. They're the ones who will tie a fly, throw a cast net, fillet a fish, or whatever other hands-on activity I may have. The men almost never do this. My feeling is that the men don't want to reveal a lack of skill in front of the other men. It doesn't seem to bother the women though, and as a result they make excellent students. I wish there were more women in my classes.

I met Tammy Wilson through the Central Florida Flats Anglers email list. Her fishing reports were the best I've ever read (including my own), full of wit and insight and extremely well written. A superb angler, Tammy has talent for writing as well as fishing. How dedicated is she to the art of angling? She has a tarpon fly tattoo on one of her legs, and a trout fly tattoo on one of her breasts. "Get stimulated," it admonishes.

Tammy often fished the less traveled places of the Indian River Lagoon around the Titusville area. More than once she had to climb a car to escape from a charging alligator. Much of what I know about the nether reaches of the lagoon system she unselfishly showed me.

It was a sad day for the local angling community when Tammy left central Florida. She now lives, and fishes, in California. I miss fishing with her.

Tammy says, "I can't speak for all women, but when I'm on the water, I don't want to be looked upon as a 'woman fishing'.... I wanna be looked at as just another angler. I figure that if I'm out there side by side with the guys, doing just as well if not better than most of the guys I know, I deserve at least that amount of respect. Nothing blows a good fishing mood quicker than some guy walking up to me when I'm fishing to hit on me. I don't bother them while I'm fishing and only ask for the same in return. They wouldn't do that to another guy. I fish for the same reasons that most men fish: the peace, the tranquility, the rush, the thrill of the hunt. I don't see myself as being any different than any other fisherman."

One of the best anglers I know is Captain Marcia Foosaner. Marcia has been fishing since childhood, and is the only person I know who has a flat in the Indian River Lagoon named after her. What's particularly unusual about Marcia's passion is that her husband Aaron has never fished, has never even been in her boat.

Marcia took up fly fishing in 1994. In 1997 she won the Ladies Tarpon Invitational Tournament, an annual fly fishing event held in the Florida Keys. She made a mockery of the learning curve.

Now Marcia guides fly and light tackle anglers for snook, seatrout, tarpon, and other species in the Indian River Lagoon in the Stuart area. I have fished with her many times, and there aren't many people I'd rather share a spot in a boat with.

Marcia says, "I must admit that I have not found many women that are as serious about fishing as I am. The ones who are serious do what I do. They are fishing guides. Amanda Switzer out of Montauk, Merrily Dunn on Florida's west coast, Marla Blair, a fresh water fly guide in the northeast, they all have a passion for fishing.

"My father introduced me to fishing, and I think that's true of these other women. Once I started guiding I learned that there are more women anglers than I thought there were. I find that there are women who absolutely love to fish, want to learn more about fishing, and would fish much more often if they had the time. They have children and jobs (some are the major bread winners of the household) and they just don't have the time to devote to fishing.

"The older women clients that get into my boat say they took up fishing once they got the children out on their own. They just love it even though they are getting started later in life. They tell me it is always something they wanted to pursue, they just never had the time.

"Look at the popularity of the Ladies Let's Go Fishing seminars, run by Betty Bauman and her staff. They are always packed with women wanting to know about fishing. I am involved in the shallow water portion of her program when she comes to Stuart and these gals ask plenty of questions, good questions. If only one-eighth of them venture out on their own.....

"You have plenty of women out there fishing. You might like to look on Betty's web site (http://www.ladiesletsgofishing.com/) for the top ten reasons that women do not or have not fished."

I did go to the Ladies, Let's Go Fishing website, and the reasons more women don't fish are enlightening. Here are the top ten reasons more women don't fish:

1. Don't have a clue about fishing.
2. Don't know how to operate a boat and back a trailer.
3. Stuck with home responsibilities/kids.
4. Feel like an "alien" when entering a tackle shop.
5. Guys won't take them fishing or teach skills.
6. They get stuck driving the boats while everyone else fishes.
7. Too early in the morning
8. Seasickness.
9. Don't like touching slimy bait and fish.
10. Men yell!

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