My personal opinion is anyone who can learn about ecology, fish habits, etc. you can fish. There is nothing else you do that cant be easily learned and the proof is all of the 8yr olds out casting me on youtube. It's honestly amazing there havent been more  prominent women in fishing. Its even more amazing that given todays climate of empowering women, no organization has spotlighted any women that I've seen. You'd think they want the "brownie points" for doing that. Leaving personal opinions out about that strategy, I'd have thought that would have happened by now. 

 

@WaskaCrank12 had no idea she does freshwater tournaments! I've been following her on IG for a long time and have seen maybe a handful of bass from her. She definitely earns the recognition, pretty unique what she does, her outlook and the fact shes a Captain at such a young age. If I'm not mistaken I think she JUST finished college?

34 minutes ago, Functional said:

My personal opinion is anyone who can learn about ecology, fish habits, etc. you can fish.

My opinion too.  As long as you buy a license and follow the game/fish laws, have at it.  I don't care what the gender of the person is.

Worms for your second question--who fishes with them anymore? Not many that I know of. Fake worms do so well that the live stuff is no longer necessary. I catch more bass on fake worms that I've ever caught on the live nightcrawlers. Even still, the live stuff certainly has its merits. Most of the bait shops that I walk into down here in south Florida never carry live worms. They have shrimp, shiners, or frozen bait. The worm racks are long gone. 

There is nothing holding a woman back in the sport these days except their desire to do it. The vast majority of women simply don't want to go on the road or fish 300 days a year or deal with less than ideal conditions most days. I believe most sponsors would jump at the chance to gain a new demographic. 

I’ve removed a couple posts that were going to send this thread down a political rabbit hole that we wouldn’t recover from and would ultimately get it locked. Let’s get it back on track. 
 

Carry on!

You know, I see a lot of women fishing.  But they all either young enough to be there with their parents, or old enough to be there with their kids or grandkids.  Now, I don't see a ton of men in their teens to twenties fishing by themselves, but there are a few.  Enough that I pay it no mind.  And knowing what I do about some of the lakes I regularly fish, I wouldn't think most of them would be safe for a young lady to be out there on her own.  And it's really in those early adulthood years that we define who we are what we like. 

 

So I'm beginning think that might play a role in why we don't see as many women anglers out there.  Maybe it's just not a safe hobby for most of them to pursue, so most lose interest.  I know as a young man, I loved getting up early or staying out late to fish all by myself.  It was not only connecting with nature but connecting with yourself and learning to be totally self-reliant.  And if you always need someone else to be there with you, then I don't see how you develop that.  At least not easily.  

 

One thing's for sure, talking to my mom, grandmother (when she was alive) cousins, and aunts, they all definitely enjoyed fishing and have fond memories of fishing when they were young.  And in most cases, fond memories of fishing with their kids and grandkids.  So I don't think it's the act of fishing itself that's pushing them away.  

I met a woman once who used to fish tournaments and had lived at Clewiston on the Okeechobee. She said she was friends with Roland, and had a couple big mounts on her wall. She still had her boat in the garage. 

Wish I could remember her name , very interesting conversation!

9 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

Amen, brother.

 

 

This is what I tell other women, when I try to convince them to fish. Sure, men are stronger, but unless you're wrestling giant hammerhead sharks in the surf at night like the mighty Zcoker, men's strength advantage doesn't matter.

 

Women have enough strength to land big bass. And for the kind of fishing I do, which is paddling quietly in shallow water, men and women are straight up equals. In my case, having paddled thousands of miles, I have an advantage over 99.9999999999999999% of men. When I take my young buddy fishing, I don't even permit him to paddle. I don't want him to bang the paddle against the canoe like so many do.

With your fishing skills I think you have an advantage over 99% of men....and when you add in your skill at handling a canoe you are head and heels over most anyone out there.