Women Listen Fly Fish Retreat

The weekend of August 19-21, I was asked to be a staff member at a fly fishing weekend for a women's cancer support group. It was held at LaVerne Griffith Camp in Wasilla. The weather forecast was rain, but fortunately, It did not rain as much as predicted.

There were about 11 women participants and 8-10 staff members, including Jan Schnorr and Cindy Crawford. They are the two women teaching me to fly fish. Throughout the weekend we helped the women learn how to make knots and when to use them. The perfection knot is used to connect leader and line. The improved clinch knot is used to put a fly on. We fished from float tubes which are small individual seats that you sit in while wearing chest waders and cast from them. Fun and tricky at first.

Wet flys sink and dry fly float. You try to match the fly to the insects the fish are feeding on.

We stayed in cabins with heat and had a separate shower building. All of the meals were provided. The staff was able to fish when the ladies were having meetings.

It was a fun weekend and I also learned about fishing and caught a large rainbow trout.