Becoming a fly-fisher woman...

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angboy

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Jul 29, 2005
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I wanted to share this with my IAP friends- this past week, I got to go to something called Casting For Recovery, which is a retreat for women breast cancer survivors. They teach you to flyfish, but it's so much more than that. Anyway, I had a really good time and it was in a beautiful location- Sorensen's in Hope Valley, CA, just south of Lake Tahoe.

I don't think I'm going to go out and buy a rod or anything, don't see myself becoming an avid flyfisher- I'd much rather put any spare money into my shop and turning activities, but it was still quite enjoyable to do. So I thought I'd share some pix, and also the website. I know that when I shared on here about my diagnosis, many people commented on people they know who've been diagnosed with breast cancer, and since my diagnosis, I've learned that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with it, which is an amazingly high number, so I'm sure everyone already knows or will eventually know someone who's diagnosed.

But if you know anyone who was diagnosed, even if they're not the "fishing" type- which I'm sure not, as any of my friends would confirm, I'd still encourage you to share this link with them and encourage them to consider attending a retreat. Everything is paid for (except for transportation to get to the site and I had to pay $15 to buy my own fishing license, but they provide accommodations, meals, equipment, etc.), which makes it even nicer, and it's really a great thing for survivors to do, in my opinion.

www.castingforrecovery.org

And for the record- I didn't catch anything, but still had a great time!
 

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Thanks for sharing this. It's a rather unexpected activity to involve a bunch of women in, but definitely a worthy cause. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself.
 
That's really great Angela. Organisation like these are fantastic.
I was really proud today as my wife and daughter ran in their first Race For Life mini marathon. It was in aid of breast cancer research and the turnout was unbelievable. They had so many entries that they had to split the race into batches of 2000 runners per heat. All of the runners wore pink and even the male supporters dressed up!!! My youngest son and I sprayed our hair pink and I even sprayed my beard!!!
I kinda like the look!!! I might even go to work in the morning after a bit of touch up with the spray.:tongue:

Go Girls!!!!!!:biggrin:
 
I think it's great! And fly fishing is a great way to relieve stress and meet new people. And by the way, you're supposed to get the waders wet! :P
 
That's great Angela!! I'm glad you shared your experience with us! I plan on sending this along to a few good friends! And what a great way for people to donate to a worthwhile cause!!! Glad to see you are doing well!
:)
 
You couldnt pick a more beautiful place. The entire Tahoe area is absolutely stunning. It's one of those things that as I stood there fishing, I looked around and thought, "WOW, this is a special moment". The scenery and the reason you were there must have made it a fun experience.
 
As an avid fly fisherman, I am very familiar with this organization and the work the do. I'm glad that you got to participate and that enjoyed yourself.

Thanks for sharing both the work that this organization does and the enjoyable time that you had.

Jim Smith
 
Glad that some people found the info useful and will be able to pass it along!

Now as for the fish and the waders... the waders did get a little wet, although the water was pretty deep and swift so they were a little leery of having us newbies out in it too much. I also got stuck up to the top of my boot in some sucker mud, and my river buddy very nicely said he'd bring me lunch back to eat standing up in that... but then graciously helped me out.

I'm also the person who, when we were practicing and pretending to catch "fish", AKA the instructors, and I reeled one in, I then cringed and said "what am I supposed to do with it now?", at which point they reassured me that if I didn't want to touch the fish, the river buddy would handle that part for me too...

And if you'll believe it, as I told everyone when we got back, I actually caught 5 fish, but since no one else caught anything, and since it was catch and release so I couldn't bring the fish back, I didn't want to cause any jealousy or hard feelings, so we skipped even taking pictures. And my river buddy even pointed out that since I'm a psychologist, I was only being attentive to the emotional needs and well-being of the group, by not taking pictures. Do you believe me? :biggrin:
 
Angela, Sounds like a good time was had by all. It is really a beautiful area. thanks for the link I have some friends that I will pass it on to them. Living in the Bay Area, there are even higher numbers here, and several friends are acquaintances have been diagnosed and are either undergoing treatment or have finished. Glad to hear that you are doing well.
 
Angela,
I'm not an avid fly fisherman... I'm pretty good at flipping my line back so quickly that the fly with do just that.... it'll fly (off the line and into God only will know where)... I tried to learn fly fishing up on the San Joaquin just below King's Canyon and Sierra National just south of Yosemite... I finally gave up on the fishing and just went horseback riding..
 
Great story and welcome to the sport. It is really a lot of fun to get out on the water with others and enjoy the outdoors. I have been fly fishing for maybe 15 years or so and go every chance I can. I actually call it going to the doctor's office, because it can be so therapeutic. I actually started making pens after taking up bamboo fly rod building about three years ago. I needed a lathe do to do a few of the steps in rod building and began "practicing" making pens. It is through a rod building forum that I first heard of Casting for Recovery. A lot of the contributors to that forum donate rods they have built and flies that they have tied to the foundation.
 
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