Becoming an Outdoors Woman Returns to the Texas Coast

“The other way! No, the other way! The other, OTHER way!” If you regularly use a boat ramp, you’ve witnessed this scenario at least once; a well-meaning partner with less than clear instructions can make backing a trailer a nightmare for a novice boater. Add the stress of spectators with the fear of jackknifing and a simple task (clockwise steering wheel rotation drives the trailer to the left and vice versa) may become daunting enough to keep some on the sidelines. Fortunately, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) has a solution for women who want to learn new outdoor skills in a low stress environment – Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW).

At the semi-annual, three-day workshop, participants choose four classes to attend out of the 30 to 40 offered. Like BOW programs across the country, Texas BOW follows a standard 1/3 fishing, 1/3 hunting and 1/3 non-consumptive course model. This upcoming April, BOW will be hosted at Camp Aranzazu in Rockport. By hosting the workshop in Rockport, BOW offers a unique experience by immersing participants in all things coastal, with opportunities to learn about the fish and invertebrates that inhabit our bays and, most importantly, how to catch and cook them! In addition to providing courses such as trailering, fishing and filleting, expert instructors spend the weekend sharing their knowledge in fish biology, wetland ecology, and TPWD marine resource sampling methods.

One of the most popular classes, typically led by TPWD staff, is Fishing Basics. After learning about different types of equipment (rods and reels, tackle and bait) and how to decide which to use, it will be time to get casting! Under the guidance of seasoned anglers, the ladies will spend a few hours putting their new skills to the test by fishing Copano Bay.

If participants are looking for something relaxing, they could opt to try out fly fishing, which is rapidly growing in popularity with anglers on the Texas coast. The women are offered two fly fishing courses, basic and advanced, and a full session dedicated solely to fly tying. Armed with their handmade flies and newfound confidence, the ladies will be ready to take on flyfishing in Copano Bay.

Conversely, for some of the more daring participants, bowfishing is a popular choice. In a two-part course, instructor Marty McIntyre (a bowfishing guide with several decades of experience in Texas), walks women through TPWD bowfishing regulations, safety protocols, parts of a bow and an aiming tutorial. Participants practice on land using a pool and decoy gar floats before they are taken on a guided bay trip to put their new bowfishing skills into action.

For a beginner angler, what comes after landing a fish may be just as intimidating as getting started with unfamiliar tackle; filleting a fish is a skill that takes much practice to hone. BOW regularly offers a course that covers how to prepare fish and popular shellfish species commonly harvested in Texas waters. The women are instructed in how to gut, fillet and skin fish, as well as prepare the fillets for transportation and storage. After some careful oyster shucking, it is time for the real fun to begin! The ladies’ hard work is rewarded with a seafood buffet!

Trailering Basics continues to be one of the first classes to fill up, with women searching for pressure-free training. TPWD staff guides women through the parts of a trailer, towing safety, and tips to make working with a partner (or by yourself) easier before getting the ladies behind the wheel to practice backing a trailer down a boat ramp.

Close to half of all the participants are “repeat offenders”, as BOW coordinator Heidi Rao playfully calls them. With so many classes offered and just four sessions per workshop, it is easy to see why one would come back again and again. For 30 years, BOW has been giving women the confidence they need to try new activities and a way to connect with other women in their area who have similar interests. Texas Outdoor Women’s Network (TOWN) groups have formed in cities all over the state and serve as a way for women to learn about (and join!) planned events such as kayaking trips, hikes, and geocaching challenges.

If interested in attending a Texas Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop, please visit the website https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/bow or email [email protected] to join the mailing list so you can join us and learn all about fishing in Texas!