Wading Women
A safe way to empower & heal through holistic fly fishing.
Thanks for your interest in Wading Women. I’m so excited to launch this program. Men are also welcome…in case you are wondering. We practice holistic fly fishing. What is that?? It’s fly fishing based in a balance of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the experience. It is an approach founded in awareness of the environment and interconnectedness of all life. We base our excursions on compassion and reverence. We invite you to deepen your relationship with Nature and all life, including yourself, by wading and casting with us. (Check out this video on wading safety).
Every year there will be five endowment spots, on different days, available for those wishing to apply. Please complete this form and email it to me. Or snail mail to PO Box 541, Whittier, NC 28789.
Wading Women invites you to explore with mindfulness as we visit mountain creeks and learn the basics of fly fishing. The emphasis is on personal empowerment, not on how many fish are caught. Each experience is customized to what a participant wants to do. We might practice mindfulness meditation beside the creek. We’ll definitely go over wading safety. We might sing to the water, if you’re into that, and we’ll for sure go over basic fly casting. We will practice ‘catch and release’ using barbless hooks and will be gentle with fish that choose to dance with us. For those not wanting to hook fish, but want to learn to cast, we can use flies without hooks. Just let us know. It’s a bit of holistic fly fishing, yoga, mindfulness, and guided nature walk designed to help empower participants to experience Nature in a holistic, nurturing way of their choosing. If you have questions, please Contact Simone. 828-333-3990.
Rates: $200 for 4 hours; $250 for 6 hours. Rates are based on one person. For one additional person, add $50. Limited to two individuals per session.
Gear Included: Rod and reel, flies, and wading staff.
What to Bring: Bring a re-fillable water bottle, snacks, lunch. If you have gear, you can bring that. If not, we can help you with wading boots and neoprene socks for a small rental fee ($15). A hat and polarized sunglasses are helpful as is rain gear. I suggest a small day pack to hold your water and snacks. Wear pants that are quick-dry and light-weight for wet wading. I recommend long pants due to walking through briars or poison ivy. No cotton pants! In colder months, waders are a must…limited sizes available to rent from me…or bring your own. Wear colors that blend in with Nature…subdued tones. A fishing license is required! You can purchase this online before coming. Visit North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission online or look for the app Go Outdoors North Carolina and download it and do everything from there.
Acknowledgement of Risk Form: Insurance requires all participants to read and sign this form. Please download, print, sign, and bring with you. Click below to access the form. If you don’t have access to a printer, please let me know and I’ll bring a copy for you to sign.
Booking & Payment: A 50% deposit is required at time of booking. Once your date is confirmed, the deposit must be received within 3 business days. Deposits are refundable until 14 days before the experience date. After that, deposits can carry over to another date but are non-refundable. Payment can be made using PayPal (Click here).
Tipping: A great explanation of tipping a fly fishing guide can be found in this Midcurrent article. Click here for info.
Meet Your Guide: Simone Lipscomb has been an outdoors woman her entire life. From childhood and through careers of state park naturalist, scuba instructor, nature and underwater photographer, and adventure guide, she’s been guiding people in outdoor activities for over forty years.
Her life’s work is to help people deepen their connection with Nature through outdoor experiences and producing books. Her books are written to help kids and adults connect deeper with the outdoors and help heal the Earth and each other.
As a holistic fly fishing guide, she combines her skills of fly angler, yoga instructor, counselor, naturalist, photographer, and compassionate lover of life, to create an experience that expands mindfulness and personal empowerment.
It’s not about how many fish are caught. It’s about the quality of the relationship with Nature.
Her undergraduate degree is in Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management from Auburn University. Her graduate degree is in Counseling from Auburn University at Montgomery.
Below is a free guide on women’s fly fishing…for those just starting out or wanting to explore on their own. Read it here or download it to your device.