HOOKED ON THE FEELING FOGGIA, STRESS-RIDDEN BY THIS SPORT, LAUNCHES FLY-FISHING CLUB FOR WOMEN.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Who knows where Lyla Foggia's latest crusade to start a women-only fly-fishing club will lead. The former publicist pub·li·cist n. One who publicizes, especially a press or publicity agent. publicist Noun a person, such as a press agent or journalist, who publicizes something publicist gained national acclaim with her 1995 book ``Reel Women: The World of Women Who Fish.'' Considered the standard for the sport, the book was recently selected among the best fishing books in print by Field & Stream magazine. A fly-fishing club in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. appears the next logical step for the North Hollywood resident, who worked on the ``Live with Regis and Kathie Lee'' show and as an independent publicist for the films ``ET,'' ``Raiders of the Lost Ark,'' ``Mr. Mom'' and ``War Games.'' Foggia said although there are clubs with men and women, they are usually dominated by men, who are more concerned with big catches rather than a social gathering. Women, on the other hand, prefer a place where they can spend time with family and friends. ``Being around men can be totally intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. ,'' Foggia said. ``Women, who are learning to fish, need an environment where they can relax and feel safe asking dumb questions. Women connect with the spiritual side of fishing. It is a feeling of almost like a sorority sorority: see fraternity. .'' For Foggia, 53, it was the isolation of Central Florida
Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. which piqued her interest in fishing in 1980 while stationed for six months on the set of the movie ``Cross Creek Cross Creek may refer to:
``There was nothing to do but fish,'' Foggia said. ``Everywhere you looked, there was water. It was bass-fishing paradise.'' Foggia continued angling when she returned to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, at Castaic Lake Castaic Lake is a lake on Castaic Creek formed by Castaic Dam, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, near the town of Castaic. The 323,700 acre foot lake (399,000,000 m³) is the terminus of the West Branch of the California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 mi² and Lake Casitas Lake Casitas is a lake in Ventura County, California. It was formed by Casitas Dam on Coyote Creek, two miles (3 km) before it joins the Ventura River. Santa Ana Creek and North Fork Coyote Creek also flow into the lake. as an outlet to relieve work stress as West Coast publicity vice president of Tri-Star pictures. It was a complete turnabout from her childhood in Oregon, where her family, which camped and fished nearly every weekend, nicknamed her ``Grandma Lyla'' for her dislike of the outdoors. ``What really got me hooked was the tranquility it provides,'' Foggia said. ``There is nothing that takes stress away faster than fishing. It is cheaper than therapy and better for you than pills.'' She persuaded her husband, Kelly Neal, and children Richard, 35, and Cassandra Whittington, 32, and 11-year granddaughter Jordan Whittington to take up fishing, but none in the family is more passionate about it than Foggia. ``I would stuff my husband into the car in the dark and have him drive to Lake Isabella Lake Isabella is a man-made earthen reservoir in Kern County, California that consists of a main and auxiliary dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two forks at Whiskey Flat. ,'' Foggia said. ``I am convinced you have a fishing gene or you don't. You are either super excited or OK, this is fun.'' Foggia moved from the Seattle area to Los Angeles in 1977 as a staff publicist for First Artist. In 1980, she became broadcast publicity manager for 20th Century Fox. Three years later, she joined ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. Motion Pictures and was promoted to publicity director, a post she held in 1985 until heading to Tri-Star. In 1987, overcome by job stress, Foggia quit her position at Tri-Star to move to Welches, Ore., a tiny resort at the base of Mt. Hood. In 1992, Foggia took up fly fishing after watching the movie ``A River Runs Through It'' and began pursuing steelhead See RRAS. on the river in front of her rustic mountain home and the renowned Deshutes River. Foggia stresses the contemporary women profiled in her book, like herself, are conservationists, who release the fish they catch. ``The whole process of casting and trying to make every cast perfect completely clears your mind,'' Foggia said. ``It is like somebody had vacuumed all the stress out of my system.'' In an effort to get women involved in the sport, Foggia set out to write a guidebook. It turned into a 2 1/2-year project that later became ``Reel Women.'' During her first week of research, Foggia discovered an English nun, Dame Juliana Berners, had written the first treatise on fishing, in 1496. Intrigued by that reference to Berners in a fishing encyclopedia, Foggia sent press releases to every major daily newspaper in the U.S. and angling magazines, requesting information from female anglers. Foggia was inundated in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. with responses that provided the foundation for the nearly 100 women she profiled in her book. It also includes the first-ever women's-angling resource directory, with national and state listings of organizations, businesses and services. ``Fly fishing opened up a whole new passion for her writing,'' Neal said about his wife. ``She was at a crossroads and something clicked. The book came out of two forces that had nothing to do with each other.'' Foggia, who embarked on a 13-city tour for the book's release, is hoping to use ``Reel Women'' as the springboard to launch a women-only fly-fishing club in January. ``I really can't believe what I did to find all that information that had never been written before,'' Foggia said. ``It was almost like being a private detective and fitting the pieces of a puzzle together. To relive re·live v. re·lived, re·liv·ing, re·lives v.tr. To undergo or experience again, especially in the imagination. v.intr. To live again. that period was horrendous, but now I have all the contacts. Getting women together for the club should be easy.'' Lyla Foggia can be reached at (818) 764-8397 or via e-mail: LylaFoggia(at)aol.com. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Lyla Foggia, who authored ``Reel Women'' after becoming hooked on the calming effects of fly fishing, plans to launch a women-only fishing club in January. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News (2) no caption (``Reel Women'') |
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