Female champions of fly fishing

The late Jim Chapralis was serious when he informed me that women are taking to fly fishing as seriously as shopping for shoes.

He joked that, in his opinion, female fly fishers had proven to him that they had been able to grasp the basic as well as the advanced elements of the sport a tad better than their male counterparts.

Chapralis was fly fishing's bon vivant when he traveled and promoted the more exotic fly angling around the world. Wherever there was a chance at catching big fish, in both salt and fresh water, Jim made it a point to pencil in a trip to some far-away locale so he could unlimber his fly rods.

So when I stood of to the side and watched Leann Kercheval go through the actual motions of fly casting, I suspected she was dedicated to a level of excellence I've rarely seen with male fishermen.

Leann calls Antioch her home base, and like quite a few other women I've encountered in this sport, Leann moved the fly rod as if it was a magic wand.

Kercheval was in the practice arena at last weekend's Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo in Schaumburg. This was the proving ground for anglers to test their skills and techniques.

To some, my comments may sound a bit chauvinistic, but they're based on years of observation and experience.

It had been my opinion that even though many women liked to fish they avoided fly fishing because they perceived it was too difficult for them to master. And then I gave my wife a few lessons with a lightweight rod I use for trout, and while practicing on the front lawn, in just a matter of an hour, she made casts as long as 60 and 70 feet.

And when she stepped into a world-famous trout stream on New Zealand's North Island, the only hesitation I noticed was a slight reluctance to inch her way across a slippery, rock strewn bottom so she could make her casts. On her third cast she hooked a huge rainbow that triggered excitement and shouts from this new convert.

Leann Kercheval told me she enjoys trout fishing as well. Her adventures have led her to streams in Wisconsin and Iowa. And like many trout fishers, she played it close to the vest when I asked to zero-in on the Wisconsin streams.

"Let's just say I work the southwest areas for trout," she noted.

Enough said.

Wendy Gunn is another champion of fly fishing. Wendy and her husband operate a lodge and guide service on Lake Powell in northern Arizona, right on an area teaming with big trout. Wendy Williamson is another spokesperson for the female point of view.

Williamson and husband Larry also operate the Hayward Fly Fishing Company out of Hayward, Wis. Their specialty is leading anglers to the hot spots on Hayward-area rivers in specially made wooden drift boats.

"You make sure you fish with me for muskies in the fall," she said, "and hopefully you'll nail a big one on a fly."

And I will. Fish, with her, that is.