Magic and Fun! These are the two words that describe my time spent at the 2008 Erlebniswelt Fliegenfischcen, in Schloss Pertenstein, Germany. Time has a way of slipping by, but my memories are intact. With autumn in the air it is a reminder that life is about change and after reviewing a DVD made of the 2007 fly fair in Germany, it was a nice reflection of changes taking shape.

Text by Kate Blubaugh, pictures by Rudy van Duijnhoven

Women participating in fly fishing, a woman presenting the cast and a group of women surrounding two women one American, Kate Blubaugh and Tina Strixner from Germany are what took place last spring. It has been uncommon to have females hold court on a casting pond in Europe, but the magic that took place was worth the wait. As the Ambassador of IWFF, the International Women of Fly Fishing, it has been my mission to share my passion for the sport of fly fishing primarily with a specific sector of the general public. My goal is always to inspire other women and children to try this fascinating sport. For the past five years I have travelled with author and photographer Rudy van Duijnhoven to various fly and angling fairs. Rudy had encouraged and lead the way in handing me a microphone and fly rod in hand to demonstrate and teach casting. Because of my opportunities to travel and present the fly, I was given the honour of reaching out to others in my role as ambassador.

Why do we like the sport of fly fishing? With the women becoming the largest growing sector of the sport; fly shops, angling shows and angling magazines are spotlighting women in the sport. It is a sport that shares the clichés for women and men alike, "it is a religion that takes us away from our everyday world". For me personally as soon as I have rod and reel in hand and take my first cast to the open water, I transform myself away from what's happening in the outside world. Even if the weather is alarming, there is the taste of nature and the allure of a possible fish that draws me to the waters edge. My senses are honed to feel the different elements that the day can be about, there are times the day can be about processing life events, so it is not always about hooking into fish. But the days it is about the "hunt" here is the adrenaline of connection to the fish on fly that can totally take you into another dimension and for a moment you are transformed. Sharing these moments is becoming a popular trend for women to share with one another, for a certain population of women they like the safety net that being in a women's club can provide. Male and female energy is different; for women they feel the safety of other women providing instruction or the non-competitiveness that women can bring into a club or fish outing. Men by nature are the 'hunters', and women by nature are the 'gatherers', the nurturers and know how to cultivate safety for women.

The International Women of Fly Fishing (IWFF) is an organization that has its origin in the states. The first annual international festival of Women Fly Fishers was held in San Francisco, California in December 1996, with great success. Each year they strive to find a new and exciting location for the festival. IWFF is a fly fishing organization for women that strives to connect women and local clubs worldwide. They have a liaison with the fly fishing industry and provide on going quarterly newsletters. The festivals are designed to gather women and host various aspects of fly fishing including:

• Educational Seminars
• Casting clinics
• Fly Tying
• Environmental issues
• Conservation issues
• Special guests and speakers

The IWFF Mission Statement includes the following:

• Promote awareness of women's participation in the sport.
• Advocate industry recognition of women in the sport.
• Encourage media recognition of women's participation in the sport.
• Serve as a forum on broad critical issues affecting women's status in fly fishing.
• Foster conservation practices and promote the tradition of fly fishing ethics.
• Acts as an ambassador in connecting women's fly fishing organizations in other counties.

My vision in the near future is to have a European chapter of the International Women of Fly Fishing, a chapter that is a gathering of clubs from different countries in Europe. After my time at the Erlebniswelt Fliegenfischen and several other shows and conversation with women, I am sure that this 'door to open' is around the corner. This vision has been held by many women here in Europe. After conversations with women here in Europe, the IWFF brochure will have a new look, it will be translated in the German language for the coming year of 2009.

Women want to come together and fish and learn from one another. Presently, I am working with Milan Wutte of Austria to organize the first fly fishing gathering in Europe for women following the 2009 Erlebniswelt Fliegenfischen fair. With momentum it will be followed with the first International gathering of women in Norway currently in the planning stages the gathering will be held in the summer 2009.

The last of couple year's demonstrations and teaching I have witnessed a huge increase of women gathered around to be a part of this sport. These were women of all ages and nationalities. It does not matter that my spoken language is English. I had willing women around me that translated as needed to the woman that I was giving instruction. We laughed, smiled and all shared what it felt like to be casting together and learning. I loved the energy that surrounded our group. Female energy is "fun and full of magic" and I loved marinating in the support that we each gave to one another.
For the casting demonstrations and lessons I cast with a 'pink' Sage VT2 rod. My VT2 is 4 piece #5 weight and is 8½ feet in length. It is a great conversation piece that produces many smiles from the audience. Some think it is a special gift given to me because I am a female. Well, I am female and it was a gift, but the rod is a limited edition 'Casting for Recovery Rod' made by the Sage Rod Co. This rod is a 'cast of dreams'. Sage donated a certain percentage of the sales to Casting for Recovery (CFR), to benefit the Susan G. Korman Breast Cancer Foundation. The program, based in the states is a national non profit support and education program for women who have or have had breast cancer. It is a program that combines counselling, education and fly fishing to promote both the physical and mental healing. CFR annually offers free fishing retreats for women battling breast cancer. The newly formed club, "Fly Fishing Only Women from the Netherlands" will be hosting the first CRF program in the Netherlands, this club was newly founded May 10, 2008 and have plans to host the event in autumn 2009.

During the fair the conversations I have with the women, a common theme prevails: "I do fish but there are no other women around that will fish with me." These conversations lead to a dialogue about starting a women fly fishing club. I gently asked them to consider that if there were so many women present at this fair, wasn't there a chance that a future fishing partner and club existed? The discovery many found and shared was that they did indeed find another 'close' fly fisher woman. It has been my experience that we have much in common regardless of our different nationalities and we are stronger as a group when we can come together with fly rod in hand.

Fly fairs such as the Erlebniswelt Fliegenfischen, Fly Happening and Fly Fair are excellent venues to meet with other fly fishing anglers whether it is male or female. It is an opportunity to learn more about casting, fly tying, what's new in the market, test cast rods and reels from different manufactures, meeting the artist behind the painting or meeting the builders of bamboo rods or fly reels and vices. These are the men and women who are the current visionaries in the field of fly fishing. It is also a time to reunite with old friends and meet new friends and plan that next adventure with fly vest and rod.

Why do we fish? More than half the intense enjoyment of fly fishing is derived from the beautiful surroundings, the satisfaction felt from being in the open air, the new lease of life secured thereby, and the many pleasant recollections of all one has seen and heard.