When you think of fly fishing, what do you think of? Flies? Gear? The big one that got away? Beautiful women? OK, beautiful women don’t usually come to mind, unless you have a women in waders calendar. Twelve stunning ladies in ideal settings fill the pages of the tastefully photographed, collector-quality calendar. Imagine walking to the edge of a river and finding, a beautiful, scantily clad woman in wellington boots instead of a crowd of hairy-knuckled fishermen. I realize you may never come across women dressed like this on your favorite broadcast, but with the Women in Waders calendar on your wall, you can dream about it every day.
In 2001, Reel Fish Calendar Productions (RFCP) of Eugene, Oregon created the first Women in Waders calendar. As you can probably guess, these calendars consist of photos of beautiful women, dressed in bikinis, wearing high boots. These women are usually standing in a stream or lake holding their fish or fishing gear… but who notices that? Good?
What started out as a just-for-fun project has morphed into a lucrative endeavor. RFCP’s Melinda Hoeye says, “Sales are growing a lot each year. It started as a side project, just for fun, and it became our full-time business.” RFCP started with the Women in Waders calendar. That has now expanded to a total of four similar calendars consisting of women in chaps, Beauty and the bass, girls and billiards and weapons and camouflage.
So… where do they get these beautiful girls from? “Models apply online, find us at jock shows, or hear about us from other models,” says Melinda. The number one requirement of hers is that the models have a great attitude. I’m sure having a killer body helps too.
OK guys, wouldn’t you like to attend a photo session? This shouldn’t be difficult to do as RFCP does 50 photo shoots throughout the year for all four calendars. However, I’m sure you would have some trouble getting past the security guards. The photo sessions are very entertaining. RFCP plans to add behind-the-scenes video clips to its website soon. That way, the public can share in the fun of the shoot. Melinda mentioned a funny situation that occurred in a recent session. She tells us: “We recently took our accountant with us on a fishing trip. At the end of the day, a model met us at a river for a shoot. We had our accountant run the video camera behind the scenes. He was so excited that he talked non-stop throughout the whole thing. It was as if he thought he had to be the narrator. We had to remove the sound from the entire video. We really should let him out of the office more often!”
You can even book a date with the girls on the calendar. No, this is not exactly what you may be thinking…sorry guys. Calendar girls can act as official hostesses, help with raffles and giveaways, be a part of fashion shows and entertainment, and help with promotional photos and press interviews. What a great idea for fly fishing clubs, conventions and seminars.
Melinda says, “We’d like to thank our loyal fans who continue to collect and spread the Women in Waders calendars.” She also adds: “Do you have your calendar yet? Your friends? Calendars are a great gift for your friend, relative and yourself.”
What a great job you are doing at RFCP. They offer a refreshing twist to old photos of you standing in a stream holding your catch of the day.