An occupational therapist turned fly-fisherwoman, Christina Senechal is hoping to turn more women onto the sport by inviting them to join her Thursday evenings at a local fishing pond in Rifle.
With three extra fishing rods on hand, Senechal says she’s gotten a lot of interest from women who said they’d like to try fly-fishing, but so far none have taken the bait.
Senechal, formerly of Buxton, Maine, said she found her way to Garfield County eight years ago after the man she was dating invited her to Carbondale for a friend’s wedding.
After falling in love with the area, and the same man who is now her husband, Senechal found a job in Meeker at the hospital as an occupational therapist at Pioneer Medical Center.
“If you’re going to be here, you might as well learn to fly-fish,” Senechal said.
Senechal said she caught five fish on her very first day of fly-fishing with friends.
“I was hooked,” she said.
That led to watching hundreds of hours of YouTube tutorial videos and a Mother’s Day gift in the form of a fly-fishing guided trip.
“Way too many events where I caught nothing, but then you catch one,” Senechal said of how difficult it was to overcome the “steep learning curve” of mastering the art of a cast.
Right now Senechal is working on creating a Facebook group where women can coordinate with other women, as well as herself, to plan fishing outings, free of charge.
“I would love to be able to have this group so women can come out and give it a shot,:” Senechal said.
So for any women who may be interested in learning how to fly-fish but don’t have the gear or want to ensure there’s someone to provide lessons free of judgment, try visiting Lyon’s Pond — a rest area off Interstate 70 in Rifle — to find Senechal.
She’ll hook you up.
Reporter Shannon Marvel can be reached at 605-350-8355 or smarvel@postindependent.com.
Credit: Source link
