By Tina Murray / May 2023

Our Wisconsin Women’s Fly Fishing Clinics are again full for 2023 with a few women on a wait list should a spot open up.  These clinics are the largest in the Midwest and the most diverse. SWTU is proud to be offering these clinics for the past 13 years!

We need 20-25 volunteers to take women out on the water to mentor them to advance their skills. The dates are  Wednesday June 14th around 5 pm for the evening and again on Thursday June 15th at 10:00 am until 12:30 and again from 3 pm on. Breakfast 8 – 9 am and lunch 1 pm  are provided on Thursday.  We have campfires each night which we hope mentors will join us. We shoot for a 1:1 ratio on the water. The women look forward to learning new skills from their mentor during these three sessions on the water.   If we get enough guides, for all three sessions, we don’t have to double up women with any one mentor.   IT IS A REALLY FUN TIME, WITH REALLY GREAT PEOPLE!  Please contact Tom Thrall at tpthrall@gmail.com or (608) 219-4249 if you can come lend a hand and take 3 different women out on the streams.

We are short on some flies that we try to put in the beginning women’s boxes so they have a basic set of flies to go fishing with later. We give each beginner a set of hemostats and nippers and a fly box with many fine flies tied by our members and others across the state.

This year we are short on:

• Wooly Buggers
• Pink squirrels
• pheasant tails
• Gold Ribbed Hairs ear
• General wet flies and nymphs

Flies can be given to Tina Murray before June 5th. She can be contacted at swtu.women.diversity@gmail.com

Other ways to support the clinics are to provide lightly used to new items for the Scholarship raffles.  Each year SWTU offers up to 3 scholarships to women who may be held back for financial reasons.  These raffles help cover the program costs inherent in providing the clinics but offer the women a far reduced rate to be able to participate.  Your support is greatly appreciated!