POST FALLS - Anne Stephens caught the opportunity to learn more about fly fishing.

In the process, the Post Falls woman opened more outdoor avenues to be with her husband.

Stephens was among those who participated in Ladies Day Out at Cabela's in Post Falls on Saturday.

"My husband has shown me a lot, but I also want to learn without his help," she said, adding that she may want to go on shorter outings on her own. "He likes to go out for long outings on the North Fork (of the Coeur d'Alene River) and the St. Joe."

Ladies Day Out is a free event geared toward introducing women to a variety of activities in a non-intimidating setting as more are becoming involved in outdoor sports.

Activities included archery, introduction to handguns, knife sharpening, cooking and fly fishing.

According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, more than 5 million women participate in shooting sports, an increase of 46.5 percent since 2001.

Stephens said she also wants to learn more about outdoors activities such as fly fishing so she can have a more leisure outing with her husband.

"For us, it's relaxing and fun," she said. "And I want to fish with him and not have to have him stop every five minutes to show me things."

She said the couple has been fishing with regular rods for years and she's catching up with her husband on the fly fishing end.

Linda Bauer of Pomeroy, Wash., made the two-hour trip to Post Falls with her husband Gary to learn more about fly fishing.

"We've fished quite a bit and have decided to look at fly fishing to keep me active," Bauer said. "I'm retired and have more time on my hands."

To Bauer, trying a different outdoors option is not intimidating.

"I was raised around it, so it doesn't bother me at all," she said.

Gary said it helps for newcomers to get tips from different sources and the event offered such instruction.

"This helps us learn how to do it right and get some hands-on experience," he said.

Gary said he watched fly fishing at Yellowstone National Park and he caught the fever.

"It looked like a lot of fun, but it was a lot of work," he said.

Jerry Hunt, a fishing instructor, said a key to improving is to not make work out of it and relax. Some newcomers are tight when they start out.

"This is supposed to be a relaxing sport," he said. "Go out there and have a good time. Don't tense up."

And, like with any sport, it just takes practice.

"Once you've done it awhile, then you get the feel of it," said instructor Rick Cokley.

Post Falls' Brenda Hamilton and her son Luke attended the event to do something together and improve their chances of catching fish.

"We haven't had luck with regular fishing, so we thought we'd give this a whirl," Brenda said. "Hopefully we'll catch something."