Sandy Sherred of Carrick pulls in a bass while fishing the Shenango Reservior. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Fishing Notebook: Lakes could receive brood stock muskie

When Diana Clark of Bumpus Mills, Tenn., made history last weekend and became the first woman to win Toyota Angler of the Year on the inaugural Women's Bassmaster Tour, Sandy Sherred of Carrick was watching with special interest.

Though she missed the final event of the season on Bull Shoals Lake in Missouri -- where Clark was named -- Sherred had fished the tour's four other events and finished the season 59th out of 100 anglers. Only the top 12 women will head to the Classic, but Sherred considers the season a milestone in her fledgling career.

"I had a blast," said Sherred, who runs an appliance service with her husband Ron and has fished with him in local tournaments for years. "It cost me a ton of money, but it was worth it. I'm already psyched for next year."

Ron Sherred accompanied Sandy to all of her WBT events, and sometimes found himself in the local Laundromat with other husbands. "We're like, 'They took our boats and handed us the dirty clothes,'" he said with a laugh. "What's wrong with this picture?"

He also cooked on tour to save money. Still, the season cost the Sherreds about $10,000 in fees and other expenses.

"When I first thought about signing up a year ago, I told Ron, 'I'm worried about the expense,'" said Sherred, 43, a mother of two who learned to fish from five older brothers and her father, a Pittsburgh fireman. "It wasn't just the cost of fishing the tour. It was the time away from our business. Ron told me, 'Fishing's in your blood. If you want to do this, we'll find a way.'"

Sherred isn't the only local woman who fished the WBT. Sharon McEwen of McKeesport competed as a co-angler, working the schedule around her job as an intensive care nurse at a Pittsburgh hospital. Her best finish was 29th on Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas last month, and she said she is growing as an angler.

"I'd never used a baitcaster before the tour," she said. "But I practiced with my husband on Loyalhanna Lake until I got the hang of it."

As much as the women like their husbands' support, it is the camaraderie of other women that made the tour special, they said. Aside from new friendships, being able to compete against a varied field of anglers has sharpened their skills and bolstered their confidence.

"When I first signed up, I was so nervous," Sherred said. "I didn't know if I'd rate. I found everyone was in the same boat. And that made it easier."

Sherred, one of few women from a northern state on the tour, used ice packs to cope with steamy Southern summers, and fished the entire season without a GPS unit. She suffered a broken fuel pump in the post-Katrina waters of Lewisville Lake in Texas and a broken depth finder in a borrowed boat at Lake Neely Henry, where she still finished 16th.

She watched a pregnant Becky McKinney of Ocala, Fla., fish in 90-degree heat on Lewisville, and Violet Sesco, an 80-year old retired nurse from Citrus Springs, Fla., put a new spin on the term senior citizen.

A number of breast cancer survivors have fished the tour, including one who got paired with Sherred as a co-angler and became a friend. "I've felt connected to so many of the women on the tour. Even when I haven't won, I'm thrilled for the ones who have because I know how much work is involved in coming in first."

According to Bruce Mathis, director of the WBT, information sharing among the women is a big difference from men who compete on the regular Bassmaster tours.

"They're much more open with each other than the men are. The men may be friendly off the water, but that ends when they get in their boats," he said. "But the ladies want to help each other become successful because they want the tour to be successful."

Mathis said BASS is committed to the WBT through next year, and the tour's longevity depends on two things -- fielding 100 boats per event and seeing women secure sponsorships.

Sponsorships also help anglers defray costs. "I have a good job -- I can do this -- but there are women out there who can't take the time or afford it," said McEwen, pointing to one of the reasons women have been long under-represented in professional fishing.

According to pro angler Kathy Majer -- the original force behind the WBT -- it has been difficult for women to develop as full-time anglers because many work and have children. The WBT, she said, provides an opportunity for them to test new waters.

Whether it would open doors to more co-ed fishing on the regular circuit is unknown, but Mathis said the WBT could eventually serve as a qualifying tour for the Classic.

"Some women want to fish with the men and see this as a stepping stone. Others are happy with an all-women's tour because of the intimidation factor of fishing against men, and personal factors," said Mathis, in reference to what is known on tour as "the bathroom issue."

Though BASS allows anglers to go to shore as long as the other angler in the boat knows where they are at all times, "it's still uncomfortable for some," Mathis said. "That isn't saying that women aren't as talented or competitive or can't handle their boats and electronic equipment as well as men. They're just more comfortable with other women."