<\/p>\n
COLORADO SPRINGS \u2013 From Skaguay Reservoir, the women with fly rods hike about 2 miles through the valley, following upstream to find their very own place.<\/p>\n
Meet the Pikes Peak Women Anglers, the Colorado Springs group representing fly fishing\u2019s under-represented gender.<\/p>\n
Among American practitioners of the most specialized form of angling, nearly 70 percent are men, says the latest recreation participation study from the Outdoor Foundation. Women\u2019s participation has remained stagnant over the past five years.<\/p>\n
Local enthusiasts sense there\u2019s a long way to go before reaching \u201c50\/50 on the water\u201d by 2020 \u2013 a goal announced by Orvis, fly fishing\u2019s leading retailer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not close,\u201d says Sharon Wright, known as the Fly Fishing Cowgirl at Angler\u2019s Covey, where she works.<\/p>\n
\u201cA long ways away,\u201d adds fellow guide Kristina Dougherty on the way to the stream.<\/p>\n
If they sound hopeless, they\u2019re not. On the contrary, they see progress; at least they\u2019re not wearing men\u2019s waders and boots as they did decades ago when they were teenagers growing interested in fly fishing at a time when the industry didn\u2019t even make gear for them.<\/p>\n
And at least today they have seven others with them \u2013 among the most dedicated Pikes Peak Women Anglers making these monthly trips. By organizing the group, Wright and Dougherty hope they\u2019re advancing interest in the technical activity that they describe as therapeutic, an escape from the real world that women struggle in every day.<\/p>\n
To them, it\u2019s no wonder that Casting for Recovery, the Western-based nonprofit that introduces fly fishing to women with breast cancer, has grown. Another nonprofit, the Denver-based Colorado Woman Flyfishers, is celebrating 20 years of building camaraderie on the river.<\/p>\n
That camaraderie is what the Springs\u2019 Joan Bennett was searching for a few years ago after her husband died. She wanted to keep fishing, \u201cbut I wasn\u2019t crazy about fishing alone,\u201d she says. \u201cI think a lot of women aren\u2019t crazy about fishing by themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
She found a local co-ed group but worried about the competition that men might bring. She found the Pikes Peak Women Anglers to be \u201cextremely friendly and supportive,\u201d she says as she rigs her line by the stream. \u201cEverybody wants to help everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this group, no one keeps secrets about the flies they use. No spot is reserved, though it can be annoying when a man so casually enters their space.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen them kind of butt in because they feel like you\u2019re just a woman, you\u2019re not gonna catch that fish anyway,\u201d says Deb Wetherbee, among those introduced to fly fishing through the group. \u201cSo they try to squeeze you out. Try to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other men express how impressed they are \u2013 reactions that Wright and Dougherty don\u2019t remember much from years ago. Still, those are surprised responses, and they are problematic.<\/p>\n
However much it seemed the sport wasn\u2019t meant for them, the two guides persisted on their career paths. The \u201cintimidation factor\u201d was there, Wright says. \u201cThe good ol\u2019 boy mentality\u201d was apparent to Dougherty, who would go into fly fishing shops with her dad and ask questions, only for the answers to be returned to her dad, as if she were invisible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t really care that it was male-dominated,\u201d she says. \u201cI was proud of that ponytail sticking out of my hat.\u201d<\/p>\n
She started going to Denver\u2019s Fly Fishing Show and felt more inspired: \u201cI\u2019d look around, and there wasn\u2019t a lot of women around, so I thought I could throw my hat in the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s seen more women attend over the years, with the introduction of the women\u2019s showcase. Still, she goes and wishes for more technical presentations. \u201cIt\u2019s all still about being a woman in fly fishing or being safe on the river, which is good, but \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
But she wants to be taken seriously. As does Jen Lofgren, who manages an Orvis store in Denver with 30 years as a guide and retailer. While the industry clearly is trying to draw women to fly fishing, she\u2019s worried that the focus is on fashion more than function, perpetuating a stereotype.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want a pink vest; I don\u2019t want pink waders; I don\u2019t need pink,\u201d Lofgren says. \u201cThat to me sends a message that you don\u2019t think I\u2019m serious about what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
She recalls taking \u201clumps\u201d on her climb through the guiding ranks. She was the only woman in her training class, and once hired, she saw more trips doled out to men \u2013 perhaps due to some perception that she wasn\u2019t strong enough for the physical rigors of the backcountry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t mean to sound like a victim or something,\u201d Lofgren says. \u201cIt\u2019s just something that, for some women, it\u2019s taken time. I think that\u2019s changed a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, Wright and Dougherty at Angler\u2019s Covey meet male clients who appear crestfallen at the sight of them. Wright repeats the questions she\u2019s heard: \u201cDo you really know what you\u2019re doing? Can you really get me onto a fish?\u201d<\/p>\n
And often the guides meet women who seek their tutelage because their husband, or boyfriend, does not fly fish \u2013 as if a man is the one to teach them. Wright and Dougherty are happy to do so, and they tell them to tag along with the Pikes Peak Women Anglers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so great to see people become independent,\u201d Wright says. \u201cTo see that light go on: \u2018I can do it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
After a long wait at the stream, she hooks a brown trout \u2013 maybe 6 inches. \u201cNeeds to grow is all,\u201d she says as she releases it. \u201cA future champion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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