River and Stream Fishing for Women
with Sabrina Stratford
Look carefully, my bias is showing. If fishing opportunities were kids and I were “Sophie”, that would have been a short movie; river
fishing for women is my favorite! I think it’s because I grew up in the Panhandle of Texas where the water is sparse and the scenery
is pretty predictable. Like most good Texans, we drove to New Mexico and Colorado for skiing and vacation – and that’s where I fell
in love with rivers.
I love the oceans, I love lakes. But women fishing streams and rivers enjoy constant change – the water
you stand in is never at rest, perpetually rushing on to new surroundings. In a world where we are the ones constantly moving, for
once we get to stand still and have the world move around us. Fish a river on Saturday morning – introduce yourself to the flow and
adjust to its moods. Then rest assured that on Sunday it will be as if the two of you never met and the introduction begins anew.
The
most common way to catch fish in a stream or river is to pick up a fly rod and try fly fishing. There’s nothing wrong with using worms
or salmon eggs, especially when women fishing streams take their kids along, but rivers go with fly rods like chocolate goes with
days that end in “y”. (I need to work on that simile but you get the drift.) If you go with a spin-rod go with ultra-light and fighting
your catch will be a lot more fun.
Fish living in rivers are usually tired and hungry. They are constantly battling the current
to rest or to eat so they are getting their cardio 24 hours a day. I know that would make me hungry. If you find a stream that doesn’t
get much pressure from anglers, you’ll find that the fish are pretty forgiving when it comes to lure choice and presentation. Just
remember that the fish are facing upstream waiting on their food to float by so most of the time you’ll cast upstream and let your
fly float down to your target.
Women fishing streams need to know how to “read the water”. This just means that if you sit for
a moment and observe what’s going on you’ll notice things like eddies or water flows pooling up foam and bugs in one place – a target
rich environment. A rock in the river produces a small eddy behind it and fish will rest behind it just to take a break and feed opportunistically.
Any structure in the water is a good place to examine for feeding fish.
Some rivers are big enough to brave with a boat but at
the very least, get ready to wade. It’s very frustrating for your cast to be just long enough to land two feet this side of the log
when you can see the fish moving directly under the log. You can strap on sandals that won’t come off when they get wet and “wet wade”
– especially good for summer months and warmer climates. You can wear hip waders and stand knee deep, or go with full-on chest waders
for full contact fishing. Your local fishing shop will be happy to outfit you any way you go.
Check out your local streams and
see why river fishing for women is my all time favorite!
Copyright © 2010 Women Fishing
Website Design by Advantage Website Designs