Ladies, The 2007 IWFF
Festival is a memory now but I think I can speak for
everybody when I say, "it was a blast!" Getting together
sharing, learning and "catching up" was such a
fulfilling and enjoyable time. Speaking of catching I
don't know about you but the Provo River is my new
favorite river to fish!!!!! Kit Mullen and the entire
Board of Directors did a fantastic job putting the
festival together so all of us could have a great
experience. If any of you would like to be a part of
next years festival in Branson, Missouri please let
Fanny our president know. A picture is worth a thousand
words......http://community.webshots.com/album/561408732keXGNV
GWFF members attend the
IWFF Festival in Mid-Way, Utah. October 4-7, 2007
By Susan Baer
This year's International Women's Fly Fishers Festival,
held in Midway, Utah. GWFF was well represented by GWWF
members! Participants included Fanny Krieger, Pat
Magnuson, Judith Brown, Tina Viera, Glenda Smith,
Rebecca Blair and myself. Upon landing at the airport, a
group of us were immediately off to visit the Cabela's
Store in Lehi, about 30 minutes South of SLC. The shear
size of the store was amazing, but the animals and
aquariums full of huge fresh water fish were worth the
trip. Shopping was incidental to the experience of the
store. After a lunch of bison burgers and chicken chili
we were back on the road.
Midway is located about an hour east of Salt Lake City
on the Wasatch Bank, with broad meadows, freshwater
lakes and meandering hillside trails. It is remote, but
very scenic. The aspens were in the midst of turning
shades of yellow, orange and red. The beautiful fall
colors increased every day we were there. Midway was
settled in the 1870s by Swiss immigrants, with the
Wasatch standing in for the Alps; so you see a lot of
chalet style homes that reflect their Alpine heritage.
Our condo, part of the Homestead Resort, was a modern
version of a chalet. But the best part of the Resort was
the Crater and 96-degree swimming pool. The Homestead
Crater is fed by an underground mineral spring. The pool
is 65 feet deep and you enter it through a cave. The
perfect place to soak, snorkel or dive after a hard day
fishing – so, of course we tried it!
This year's Festival was attended by over 70 women from
all over the U.S. The classroom programs were well
prepared, speakers engaging and the visual aids kept all
levels of anglers interested. In the afternoon there
were on-the-water clinics which seemed to be the most
popular. The Provo River provided excellent fishing
opportunities within minutes of the lodge. Kit Mullin
and her crew did a fantastic job of organizing the
event. The banquet, breakfasts, cocktail parties and
auctions were delicious and lots of fun. The
"Connections" theme was perfect and all attendees were
given IWFF calling cards to pass out to help promote new
membership in the organization – a great idea!
Some of us added a few extra days to the trip in order
to fish some of the surrounding waters. We hired local
guides from the Western Rivers fly shop in SLC who took
us to their "holy water" somewhere up the Heber Valley
near Strawberry. The fish were huge and easily spooked;
it was clearly the most technical fishing I have ever
attempted. The results, however, were phenomenal.
Rebecca Blair and Judith Brown hooked beautiful large
browns. Glenda Smith and Tina Vieira fished the Provo,
which produced high numbers of medium to large browns
and rainbows. The Provo is a phenomenal fishery, a real
gem. It may be the best kept fishing secret in the West.
If you haven't ever attended one of the Festivals, I
highly recommend it. It is a great opportunity to spend
time with old friends and make new ones – and maybe
squeeze in a little fishing.
Dear Friends:
The Festival has come and
gone and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
We are hoping that those
of you who took photographs will share them with us.
Tina Vieira and Glenda Smith are assembling all the
photographs. So please send them via email if possible
to Tina at
tvrn59@aol.com
Thank you very much and
we look forward to seeing you again at the next Festival
in Branson in October 2008.
Fanny
