fishing with your significant other

[grassonfly]

I have heard about alot of guys on here fishing with their wives and im wondering how you convinced them to fish or were they already fisherwomen( is that how you say it?). I want to teach my girlfriend to fish so we have something to do.

 

[hunter1]

Well, heres how we got started. My wife loved to fish with reg rod an reels, But didn't like to touch the bait: worm , ect. I've fly fished for 25 yrs. I told her you don't use live bait. Took her home and showed her. took her out to the gunowder in md, for a begginer she did great for the first time. now she is fully outfitted and caint wait to go with me when i go. It's good to have a wife that like to fly fish.

 

[axle27]

I offered to teach my wife to fly fish, but she's not interested at all. I think she'd rather sit by the stream/river, read a book and watch me fail miserably....

Sometimes, fishing, fly or otherwise, is used as a short reprieve from the wife/kids/job/whatever...I know it can be for me...

 

[grassonfly]

idk i can understand it being a break but id rather fish with her than sit and watch tv i hate that

 

[siskiyoublues]

My girlfriend likes coming along but doesn't really have any interest in fishing herself. She also knows that fishing is me time (aka a break from her and reality) and doesn't really impose but she likes tagging along on shorter outings and a diner date.
I always enthusiastically invite her the outing after one with a lot of fish and can never seem to repeat the feat for a real witness. Oh well!
Also she is a great photographer and sometimes makes me look less baffoonish then usual(even if I'm not catching fish)

 

[grassonfly]

ive tried to get her to fish but she tells me she wants to but she doesnt have the same passion i do.

 

[stl_geoff]

Mine likes to come with me just to be out in the woods/country side. if the fish are biting or I can give her a spinning rod and some grubs she will catch bluegill all day long and have a blast. She sees me fly fishing and says "thats too much work just for a fish." If only she knew. haha

 

[grassonfly]

mine just cant commit

 

[jpbfly]

I once fished my significant other who was watching me on the bankdidn't C& R this time

 

[mcnerney]

I'm not as lucky as Fysh or Mojo! My wife never liked to fish, but would come along in the boat, read a book and drink a nice glass of wine. My new girlfriend loves to fish, last summer I started her in fly fishing, but was advised not to try to teach her myself, so I used the local fly shop for casting instruction then took her out on a couple guided float trips where the guide could give her instruction while on the water. So far it is working out great.

 

[littledavid123]

While on the water, fishing with my significant other would mean my fly rod...
Honestly, my wife will go with me only rarely just to humor me. I wish she would take up the sport, but to be fair, she asks me to go shopping or for long walks on the beach while drinking pina coladas and I ain't doing that either.

Dave

 

[jml43]

my wife has a hard enough time going catfishing with me. I know she would never try fly fishing. Sometimes I go just to get away form her. When it gets good and hot she will come with me on the boat and lay out. I do like this. At least if the fish are not biting I got something real good to look at. I will say the most fun I have had fishing was with her. She almost reeled the catfish threw the rod eye, she was so happy that she caught one, I didn't even care if I caught a fish or not.

 

[lightline]

For 10 years, my wife has been going along on the trips, enjoying the camping and travelling, going on some floats, reading the book, taking pictures, etc. She has stood along side me or watched from the boat as fish came up to take a fly for years and years. Last fall, she said she'd like to learn to fly fish herself! So, I got her a rod/reel for Christmas, and am going to pay another guide/instructor to teach her the basics so we don't kill each other right off the bat! I've already spoken to a couple of guides, women, who she said she'd be comfortable with. She's already eyeing waders, vests, wading shoes, fly boxes, etc.

Whether she will "catch" on and become a flyfisherwoman, time will only tell. Some have it, some don't.

Mcnerney, who did you use specifically? I'm in the Flaming Gorge area and was going to use this as an "excuse" for an early-spring trip to Montana so I could fish the spring creeks for a few days while my wife fished with her guide/casting instructor. I found a lady in Bozeman who sounds friendly and competent, but it might be easier for me to keep it closer to home.

I DON'T want her learning from a nymph/lead/bobber person. She can play with those all she wants, and develop her own likes/dislikes, AFTER she learns to cast and present a single fly tied to a tippet! (We won't take this post there, but I just want her to learn to fly cast, not "sling" and "lob", before she worries about all that other junk on the line and the "best" way to catch the "most" fish, and all that other nonsense)

I could set her up with someone on the Green below the dam nearly anytime, but I don't know anyone down there who's a patient casting teacher and not "married" to the bobber.

 

[Sasha]

I have heard (fly fishing is the one thing I do separate from my wife) that one should not try to teach their S.O. how to cast/fish. Now I have never attempted to do so but it seems to make sense. Don't get me wrong I love my wife and spend a lot of time with her doing other things (been married only 9 years as of this week). Fly fishing is something I do with my friends or alone. Just like snowboarding is something she does solo or with her friends.

 

[fire instructor]

My wife will occassionally go, sit in a folding chair, and read her book. One time, we had just arrived at the shoreline of a big pool, just upstream from a lock on the Erie Canal, where I was going to work some smallmouths. I handed her my rod, and asked her to "hold this a minute" (it was an ultralight spinning rod, and already had a Rebel Crayfish lure tied-on), while I unfolded her bag-chair for her. Just then, a Department of Environmental Conservation Officer came walking around the point, and asked her for her fishing license! She hasn't TOUCHED a fishing pole since!!!

 

[mcnerney]

For 10 years, my wife has been going along on the trips, enjoying the camping and travelling, going on some floats, reading the book, taking pictures, etc. She has stood along side me or watched from the boat as fish came up to take a fly for years and years. Last fall, she said she'd like to learn to fly fish herself! So, I got her a rod/reel for Christmas, and am going to pay another guide/instructor to teach her the basics so we don't kill each other right off the bat! I've already spoken to a couple of guides, women, who she said she'd be comfortable with. She's already eyeing waders, vests, wading shoes, fly boxes, etc.

Whether she will "catch" on and become a flyfisherwoman, time will only tell. Some have it, some don't.

Mcnerney, who did you use specifically? I'm in the Flaming Gorge area and was going to use this as an "excuse" for an early-spring trip to Montana so I could fish the spring creeks for a few days while my wife fished with her guide/casting instructor. I found a lady in Bozeman who sounds friendly and competent, but it might be easier for me to keep it closer to home.

I DON'T want her learning from a nymph/lead/bobber person. She can play with those all she wants, and develop her own likes/dislikes, AFTER she learns to cast and present a single fly tied to a tippet! (We won't take this post there, but I just want her to learn to fly cast, not "sling" and "lob", before she worries about all that other junk on the line and the "best" way to catch the "most" fish, and all that other nonsense)

I could set her up with someone on the Green below the dam nearly anytime, but I don't know anyone down there who's a patient casting teacher and not "married" to the bobber.

I used James out of Trout Creek Flies. He is an excellent guide, but more importantly he is an outstanding fly cast instructor with loads of patience. I'm planning on doing a two or three day float with him this summer just so he can cement the basics into my girlfriend's casting. She should be set to go after that.

Sasha: I have to agree, when I asked around about teaching my girlfriend how to cast, everyone I talked to said "Don't try to do it yourself" and I'm glad I followed that advice. The first thing I did was buy her a one day casting lesson with the Pinedale fly shop. They did a half day casting lesson followed by lunch and then went out to a local pond to practice what they had taught in the morning. She had a great time. Later, I did make one mistake when I hired a guide (I won't mention names here) and took her out on a float trip. I asked the guide to have her in the front so he could help her with casting as this would be the first time in a drift boat and she is brand new to fly fishing. He insisted on her being in the back, saying he could keep an eye on her casting from there. I should have cancelled the trip right there, but went along with his idea. It turned out he didn't offer her any advice on the trip and half way through it she got frustrated and just set down the remainder of the trip. Needless to say I won't use their services again.

 

[fyshstykr]

I had recently heard a saying that went like this..."If you've seen the person naked that your considering teaching to cast or fly fish.....DON'T DO IT!"

With that said, my wife (Mrs fysh) grew up fishing with her Dad, Mom and brothers, it was a family thing to go camping and fishing on the weekends. Her Dad fly fishes a bit, but she mainly stuck to worms & eggs when fishing for trout, or liver for catfish.

One of the factors in us meeting and eventually dating was that I was a fly fisherman, she wanted to try it and besides that she thought her dad and I would get along well. We do!

It wasn't easy, there have been times of contention (and occasionally there still is if I overcritique), but overall things have gone well and she has progressed nicely. She's my BFF and a great fishing partner.
I just wish she would quit catching more and bigger fish than I do, no, scratch that, I actually like her doing that, maybe, just maybe let me catch em occasionally.

 

[gt05254]

Mine had fished for salmon on the Miramichi before I met her. Hadn't fished in maybe 15 or more years. Asked her if she'd like to go on my fall trip (spring and summer trips are MY time) last September, yup, she would. Spent the summer practice casting on the lawn. Bottom line, I had to drag her kicking and screaming out of the river at the end of the morning and even the evening sessions! And was great to have in camp. Go figure.

[/IMG]
Gary

 

[fyshstykr]

Good for you too Gary! I noticed she's even sportin' yer cap.

 

[troutdoorsman]

I can't for the life of me get my better half out, I don't keep the fish so she won't go. I do get my kids out here and there though.