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Outdoor education
Clinic teaches women hunting, fishing basics
Herald Staff Writer
Video by Josh Stephenson
Ladie's Cast and Blast Clinic 2009
Click image to enlarge
NICK MANNING/Herald photos
Sarah McDonald, left, gets instruction from Ranger Drayton Harrison of the Colorado Division of Wildlife about firing a shotgun during the Ladies Cast and Blast Clinic at Perins Peak State Wildlife Area on Saturday. The women also received instruction in fly fishing.
NICK MANNING/Herald photos
Sarah McDonald, left, gets instruction from Ranger Drayton Harrison of the Colorado Division of Wildlife about firing a shotgun during the Ladies Cast and Blast Clinic at Perins Peak State Wildlife Area on Saturday. The women also received instruction in fly fishing.
About 24 local women got their sportsman on at the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Ladies Cast and Blast Clinic at the Perins Peak State Wildlife Area. Eight DOW and professional instructors assisted in the daylong event, and the division provided the gear. The free clinic featured basic instruction in the fundamentals of fly fishing and shotgun shooting: safety, equipment, technique and a bit of decorum.
"It's kind of like a spa day but with hooks and bullets," said DOW Education Coordinator Leigh Gillette.
The shotgun-shooting clinic included target practice and culminated with a chance at clay-pigeon shooting. The fly-fishing clinic took place on private property near Lightner Creek. The ponds were stocked, but it was catch and release Saturday.
"These guys are great," said Kim Skinner, a Durango resident by way of Tucson taking the clinic. "I work with kids, and it takes a lot of patience to work with kids. But it takes a whole different kind of patience to work with a bunch of women."
She said she was motivated to sign up for the clinic partially because of the opportunity it would afford her to spend more time outdoors by herself.
Gillette said many other women are looking for an opportunity to better connect with men in their lives who hunt and fish, and relish the chance to learn with other women from patient instructors.
Recently relocated Sheila Burnett, a retired interior designer from Charleston, Miss., has lived in the West for two months. She said she's looking forward to fishing for the first time with her 15-year-old grandson, who enjoys the sport and will be visiting later this month.
"I also just wanted to learn a new skill," she said.
Laura Prendergast no longer is a vegan but said catching her own food might be the next step in living sustainably.
"This is a lot harder than it looks," she said, swinging a rod in tall grassThe day was about fun and education, Gillette said, but it also had a bit to do with "customer relations."
"About 80 percent of our budget comes from hunting and fishing licenses, so if they want to start hunting or fishing, great," said Gillette. "We're really just looking for partners in conservation."
Included in the fly-fishing clinic was a lesson in fly tying. Instructor L. David Grooms showed the ins and outs of tying a good blood knot to the group.
"I don't like tying knots, but I also don't like losing fish, either," he told the group.
Another instructor pointed out later that most fly-fishing shops can tie a knot free of charge that will last several months.
"I can't believe that men came up with this," Skinner whispered during the lesson. "They can't even tie buttons, but they can tie this?"
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