A couple of centuries before Izaak Walton took his rod and reel to the bank of the Thames and then returned to pen his classic, The Compleat Angler, an English noble woman named Juliana Berners reeled in the concept of fishing writer with a comprehensive how-to tract called Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angel. One of fishing"s best-kept secrets is that women have been avid, expert, and innovative anglers ever since. Reel Women exposes that secret with gusto, casting out entertaining portraits of the many women who"ve dared the rod and taken the lure of flies, big game, and bass. An appendix offers an encyclopedic resource guide of clubs, organizations, businesses, services, and schools for women who might prefer testing a good line to hearing one.