Free women’s fly-fishing clinic on Saturday

A free fly-fishing clinic for women and girls will be held April 2 at the Great Plains Nature Center.

Rick Brown, Flatland Fly Fishers education director, said his group will furnish all equipment, and drinks, at the 9 a.m.-3 p.m. school. Bringing a sack lunch is suggested.

“We teach fly casting and fly tying,” Brown said. “We’ll go over all of the equipment they’ll need to get into fly-fishing. For those who have a Kansas fishing license, we’ll probably go down to Island Pond and help them catch some bluegill.”

Brown estimated this is at least the 12th year for the event, and hopes word spreads better than in recent years.

“The first year we had 14 students and last year I think we had three,” he said. “Ideally, we’d like to get enough women or girls taught that someday these classes could be taught by women. That would be really neat.”

Pre-registration is recommended. For information, contact brown at rickbrown@msn.com or go to flatlandflyfishers.org.

Arkansas River float trip – The Arkansas River Coalition will host a 9 1/2-mile float trip on the Arkansas River, near the Oklahoma border, on March 19. Launch will be at the Grouse Creek boat ramp in the Kaw Wildlife Area at 8:30 a.m.. Shuttles will bring floaters back to the ramp after the float.

Some will camp Saturday night, then float a five-mile stretch of Beaver Creek the next morning. Food and drinks will not be provided.

The Coalition can furnish kayaks, personal floatation devices and other floating equipment with proper notice. The float is free, but the club recommends a $15 donation for those wanting to borrow gear. This section of the Arkansas River is wide, straight and slow enough that no kayaking experience is required.

To request loaner gear or to get information, call 316-684-0730 or wallyseibel@aol.com.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Free women’s fly-fishing clinic on Saturday."