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September 8, 2012
I love competition fly
fishing. I know many don’t but I’ll be
honest, I think comps are a thrill.
Tournaments are the only times when catching numerous small trout
matter. You actually find yourself
working to catch them and frowning when they free themselves before you touch
your leader. Big trout are superior to
midsize ones and your casting and angling skills must be at their best. Although competing in the Jackson Hole One Fly is not nearly as competitive as the World Championships once were for me, I
still give the two day event my heart and sole.
I am part of a four person
One Fly team, the “Good Times”. My
captain and sponsor, whom you should know by now is Gary Eckman. The other members are famous fly tier Scott Sanchez and owners of the Triangle X Ranch, Don and Ann Turner. Don and Ann each fish one day of the two day
competition. The actual fishing takes
place on Saturday and Sunday. You get one fly each day. Not one pattern, one
single fly. If it sucks or it falls
apart, you won’t score points. The idea
is to catch and measure at least six fish more than 12 inches for bonus points
and as many trout as you can that you don’t measure but each adds two points to
your score. You are judged both as a
team and individually.
Today I competed on the
Pritchard to West Table section of the Snake River downstream of Jackson, Wyoming. My guide/judge and long time friend was Jean Bruun. Jean is married to Paul Bruun who
is frequently on the blog as he and I fish together a bunch when the weather
goes bad in late fall. Jean and I have
been on a few big floats together but this was actually the first time I’ve
been her boat. She’s been a fishing
guide for almost 20 years and has built a name for herself as one of the
best. Although I didn’t consider myself
lucky to draw my stretch, I considered myself extremely fortunate to draw Jean
as my guide.
My boat partner and opponent
was also a treat. I fished against Ray Thurston. I met Ray through my days
running the fly shop in Jackson
and we have gone on to be great friends.
Ray doesn’t get to fish nearly as much as he would like and even though technically
we were competing against one another, Jean and I both assured Ray he was in
excellent hands.
My fly was the honey ant I
planned on using after yesterday. Scott Sanchez tied me the bomb proof fly.
Remember, the fly must last all day even if you catch a ton of
fish. Scott is the only tier I trust to
make me a fly that will not self destruct after more than 50 fish.
I’ll make this short because
I fish tomorrow and I need rest. The
three of us had an incredible day. Ray
fished a Sanchez Double Bunny and although he didn’t fill his six fish card, he
landed a few and one was 19 inches. Ray
scored over 200 points on a day when more than half the contestants didn’t
break 100 points. I had an even more
fortunate day. I filled my card and
measured six cutthroats from 13 inches to 20 inches and landed a total of 43
trout. My 20 incher earned me the day 1
big fish award and my 595 points earned me the top score award for day
one. Best of all the “Good Times” team
is in 4th place and not many points separate us from 1st.
Most the credit should go to
Jean for a superb guiding job. She supported
both Ray and my fly choices and took us to the waters where the two very
different fly patterns could do best.
Jean also had a pet fish or two that she guided us to and luckily we
caught them. She is really
fantastic! I also credit Scott for tying
me a fly that not only fooled some big fish even though it was attached to 1X,
but it still looks new after catching 43 fish!
I’m on the Upper South Fork
tomorrow. Results from there today were
awful. I have my work cut out for me to
help move the team into first place and keep my individual status as well. More important to Granny and me than my
individual placement is that my 20 incher not only won today’s big fish award,
but that the beast wins big fish for the entire contest. Granny and I paid $100 to enter the big fish Calcutta and if the
fantastic fish stands through tomorrow we will win $3900!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess best scenario is I catch a bigger one
on the South Fork tomorrow. I will use
the same exact ant pattern tied up by Scott.
Time for some well needed rest.
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