On the White River, Wis. ? Two unlikely phenomena have occurred simultaneously on this quiet stretch of river, and they have combined to make Jan Kacvinsky’s day.

The first is a modest hatch of Hexagenia mayflies is coming off this northern Wisconsin trout stream in broad daylight, an event so rare that most fly fishers are lucky to witness it once or twice in their lifetimes. The Hex hatch, as it’s called, almost always happens at night.

The second phenomenon is a result of the first: A reasonably large brown trout has inhaled the mayfly nymph pattern that Kacvinsky has tossed toward a tangle of roots along the shore.

Kacvinsky plays the fish — a 16-incher — to the canoe, where Tami DeGrosky nets it deftly.

But the most remarkable aspect of this unfolding scenario is that just six years ago, Kacvinsky knew almost nothing about fishing. Not just trout fishing, but fishing in general.

Now she is not only an accomplished trout angler — day or night — she is also the founder of a group dedicated to teaching women how to fish. These anglers call themselves Superior’s Reel Women.

The group meets monthly, holds quarterly fishing workshops and maintains a Web site with a monthly newsletter. About 10 women are part of Superior’s Reel Women, which began in August of 2001.

“Our goal is to demystify and simplify the sport of fishing for area women,” says Kacvinsky.

Superior’s Reel Women evolved from Kacvinsky’s quest to become an angler herself. She remembers fishing off the city dock at Bayfield — not a place known for its fishing — and was “quite embarrassed a few times by passers-by.”

“I hadn’t a clue where to go or what to fish for,” says Kacvinsky, 50. “I was left in the dark. I gave it up for a while.”

As fate would have it, she decided to attend a fly-fishing seminar offered by Anglers All, a tackle shop across Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay in Ashland, Mich. Steve Kacvinsky, an accomplished river angler and Lake Superior troller, also attended the workshop.

“A couple of weeks later, he asked me to go fly fishing on the White River in the mayfly hatch,” Jan Kacvinsky says. “We ended up fishing together that whole summer.”

They were married last Feb. 28.