Fly Fishing Tournament

[Zach Bearden]

Man, that's shaping up good. It's like nothing I've ever heard of before.

[stlfisher]

That would be a hoot. Canoe race & fishing tourney!

Not sure I like the idea of an assigned beat on the Current because some stretches are allot better than others....Let folks go where the want to go but dont let them camp out on a spot.

I think the idea beyond the beats is everyone fishing the different beats and then rotates on to the next one. That way everyone fishes each section and can't complain they didn't get to fish a certain stretch. Everyone fishes the good water and the bad water. It might be overkill for a friendly type tournament, but probably the fairest way I can think of. Anyway, all sorts of interesting things you could do...you could make all the teams fish with the same 5 flies. Each team member would have there own personal set of said flies. You loose one tough, only 4 left! Might make for some fun, a little challenge, and something different.

[Idylwilde]

I think the idea beyond the beats is everyone fishing the different beats and then rotates on to the next one. That way everyone fishes each section and can't complain they didn't get to fish a certain stretch. Everyone fishes the good water and the bad water. It might be overkill for a friendly type tournament, but probably the fairest way I can think of. Anyway, all sorts of interesting things you could do...you could make all the teams fish with the same 5 flies. Each team member would have there own personal set of said flies. You loose one tough, only 4 left! Might make for some fun, a little challenge, and something different.

I would like the beats Ideas, but what I run into is the logistics of the access points and the need for so much travel and time to change beats also the need to have volunteers to time and mark the beats. Also the limiting the flies is a unique thought, but as we know fly fisher people have their own invention's of fly patterns that they live by. Most of the fly patterns in an anglers box is unique to the individual. Like me I have flies I use on the Current that I live by.

I want to try to get the word out and get a list of folks who would be participants in this event so I have an idea of what to expect the number of anglers to be. I have contacted some of the local clubs and FFF council chapters in the State but Have more work to do on that also.

[stlfisher]

I would like the beats Ideas, but what I run into is the logistics of the access points and the need for so much travel and time to change beats also the need to have volunteers to time and mark the beats. Also the limiting the flies is a unique thought, but as we know fly fisher people have their own invention's of fly patterns that they live by. Most of the fly patterns in an anglers box is unique to the individual. Like me I have flies I use on the Current that I live by.

I want to try to get the word out and get a list of folks who would be participants in this event so I have an idea of what to expect the number of anglers to be. I have contacted some of the local clubs and FFF council chapters in the State but Have more work to do on that also.

Yeah, it would be tough to pull off logistically as you said as that would require some additonal manpower etc. The above ideas were just something I saw on the outdoor channel. It was pretty entertaining to watch and different. By putting everyone on the exact same playing field it tested the anglers skills a little more evenly.

Simple and fun is probaby better and you can always tweak it for following years once you find out what works,what doesn't, and angler input. Hopefully, everyone just has fun with it and enjoys the day whatever the rules.

[Kayser]

One rule that I would like to maybe see added is a limit to the number of flies used at one time, just to keep people from using a 5-fly czech nymph rig or something crazy like that. I like to use dropper rigs, but would almost like to see a single-fly rule.

Rob

[sean c]

Idylwilde it sounds like a neat idea and I wish you luck with it. It does sound though like a little to much handling of fish with pictures and girth measurments. I would strictly stick to just length measurments on some type of board like the bass guys use. I would issue a measuring board and scorecard to each team and stress the importance of getting the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. Your also going to have to deal with the issue of a foul hooked fish and if it counts as a catch or not. If there is any way you can do beats its going to save you alot of frustration. You could always have say a lower section and an upper section and split that up into beats. For example if you had 12 teams you could have 6 beats in the lower section rotating every 1.5 hours and 6 beats in the upper section doing the same. Good luck.

[Idylwilde]

Idylwilde it sounds like a neat idea and I wish you luck with it. It does sound though like a little to much handling of fish with pictures and girth measurments. I would strictly stick to just length measurments on some type of board like the bass guys use. I would issue a measuring board and scorecard to each team and stress the importance of getting the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. Your also going to have to deal with the issue of a foul hooked fish and if it counts as a catch or not. If there is any way you can do beats its going to save you alot of frustration. You could always have say a lower section and an upper section and split that up into beats. For example if you had 12 teams you could have 6 beats in the lower section rotating every 1.5 hours and 6 beats in the upper section doing the same. Good luck.

We will be supplying all the entries with a cloth sewing tape measure that attaches to a vest so it will be quick and easy to get to and easy use in the water. To the beat thing again I wish the river had the access to be able to do this but the Current River is a river that it would be a hardship to move people here and there. That is the reason I placed the rule for Canoes and wading through fishing areas and ethics in. I have fished the Current from the Spring to the Black River and have found Trout ( Nice Trout ) all the way to Welch Spring above Akers, depending on stocking times. The folks that chose to fish below Cedar Grove in the any bait area will still have a great chance of catching some big trout this time of year. Knowing how to read the river and the hatch and fly pattens will do good. This will be a test of fly fishing knowledge and skill along with enjoyment of meeting new friends, being outdoors, and learning from fellow anglers.And helping the American Lung Association. I would love to see 25 teams show up for this, I know we can do it I just want to get a date nailed down so people can plan for it. I have PDF Flyer's read to send out if you request one. I will not spam people to get the word out.

[Al Agnew]

Maybe I missed it, but are you going to count all trout caught, or have a minimum length, or a maximum number? The beauty of a catch, measure, and release tournament is that you CAN count all trout caught, instead of going by limits. I always thought that was the best measure of fishing "prowess"...with bass tournaments, one guy might catch the limit of five bass, and another guy might catch 25 over the minimum length, but the first guy lucks out with one big fish while otherwise the sizes of both anglers' catch is pretty close, so the guy who only caught five wins. I'd submit that the other guy that caught 25 "keepers" was the better angler that day.

Anyway, I'm not too sure about the cloth measuring tape idea. It's pretty difficult to get accurate, consistent measurements with a cloth tape. The boards like the bass guys use with a "lip" to butt the fish's nose up against is a whole lot better measuring system. I guess you could supply both the cloth tape and the board, and they could only use the cloth tape for girth measurements on the fish they thought might qualify for biggest trout.

I've also been thinking about the logistics of measuring, scoring, and photographing fish. Most places along the river it would be pretty easy to work the fish over to a gravel bar or shallow bank, lay a measuring board down on the bank (after wetting it and making sure it's cool), you lay the fish on the board with two hands to measure it, partner scores it and snaps a photo. But in a few places there may not be a convenient place to lay a board OR stretch out a tape if you go that way, and then the partner would have to be holding the board or tape, and then how is he (or you) going to have a free hand to snap the photo?

Maybe there's a reason why most fishing tournaments are done from boats...

[Zach Bearden]

I agree with Al on the better angler. In FIPS Mouche style events we score all fish over 20cm (~8") and they give 100 points. For each centimeter over the given length, the person is given an extra amount of points. In 2007 (I think) the world event was held in Wyoming. While most people went down the river and tried catching big fish out of the heavy water, the French team went to marginal water and caught a bunch of "dinks". The French did quite well with this style.

I'll be honest, I don't like the idea of snapping a photo, I realize it's the best way to verify something but not all people have a digital camera to do this and it would take forever to verify 50 peoples score sheets. Especially if they caught a large amount of fish. The best thing I can think of to score a fish out of is what we use in comps. Take a large piece of PVC pipe, cut it in half, put a cap on one end, sponge on the cap to place the nose of the fish on and a tape measure at the bottom of the trough. I can give you a picture if you'd like.

Here is an electronic copy of all the rules we have.

http://teamstonefly.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/competitionrules2009-english.pdf

If I were you I would look at Article 9. There is a lot there, but it's the best thing I can think of.

I think I found the best thing to describe what I'm talking about.

http://www.theamericacup.com/info.measuring.html

Very informative.

[Brian Sloss]

I am personally not big on fishing competitions, but it seems to me there would be an easier way to do this if you want to. Have you considered doing it anytime beside the summer when there is bound to be a lot of non-tournament traffic interfering. You could break up into beats much easier inside the trout parks during catch and release season and there won't be much else going on then. You may even be able to work something out with the park service to reserve it, since it is for charity and you could bring in extra revenue to the park and area vendors. Maybe for a day that it normally isn't open. It will make for easy access and easily defined beats that can be rotated easily.