Women and Fishing -- Not Just a Man's Sport

More and more women are learning to enjoy fishing each and every day. And, why not? Fishing is a sport that doesn't require exceptional strength, stamina or height - quite the contrary, fishing is a sport of agility, finesse and patience, skills many women already possess. So why don't more women fish? Successful fishing requires knowledge of various types of fishing gear, tackle, and an understanding of the quarry. Fish have a variety of feeding habits, behavioral patterns, etc. and these characteristics influence how to go about fishing for them. Traditionally, men learned how to fish when they were boys from fathers and grandfathers. Even if this training was lacking, it's no big deal for a guy to hang out with other guys who enjoy fishing and learn the ropes from them. For a woman, though, the process is apt to be somewhat more difficult. In my family of all girls, we learned the thrill of fishing as children from our father. Fortunately for us, our dad was an "equal-opportunity" fisherman...and he was a very patient man. We learned to bait our own hooks, remove fish from the line, and clean the fish as well. We were rewarded with many an enjoyable Sunday on the lake competing for top family fishing honors of who caught the most and the biggest fish. For women who weren't brought up fishing as I was, all is certainly not lost. Although learning from a boyfriend or spouse is not out of the question, a significant other may not be the best place to get your first fishing pointers. Your honey may not have the patience that you will need to learn proper fishing technique and he may be a bit condescending as well