Accuracy scores were low and the distances recorded in the distance event looked more like a final exam for a beginning fly casting school rather than the Great Outdoor Games. No one in the competition broke 100 feet in the distance portion of the event. These short distances are very surprising as the competition included Steve Rajeff the 24 time World Casting Champion as well as other anglers very capable of throwing a lot of line.

In my own practice before the games, I cast in a series of 3 casts with my friend Greg Allen in Key West. We would cast 3 times each and then switch. In over 65 series of three casts, I threw at least one cast over 110 feet in all but 14 sessions. My longest cast was measured at 1217 inches with a Scott 905/5 Alpha and a Cortland 444 Lazer line, the same gear used in the event.

On game day, the conditions were tough. A head wind kept all competitors from performing to their potential and frustrated even veteran casters like Rajeff.

Salvaging 3rd place, I was able to choose what I felt was a decent beat on the river (choice was given by your place in the casting competition) and readied myself for fishing the next morning.
The rules of the competition state that anglers will fish until they catch a fish that they want to measure as their official fish for the tournament. Once the fish is selected, anglers are to cease fishing and leave the river. We were given 3 hours in either a morning or afternoon flight and were able to select time and beat based upon the finish in the casting competition. Longest fish wins the tournament and any tie would be resolved by a girth measurement.

The weather was cold and wet for many days leading up to the event and lead me to believe that a very large fish for the river would be caught. Last year, I developed my strategy based upon what I thought the river could produce. I decided that a fish of 18 inches or better would be enough to win the tournament. My estimation was correct as two 18.5-inch fish were caught. My fish beat Doug Swisher’s fish by a half an inch of girth to give me the title.

This year, every competitor knew that 2 fish of 18.5 inches were caught last year so I thought that I needed to raise my expectations and go for a 19-inch fish or better. I felt that a 20-inch fish would not be out of the question but I would measure a 19 for my official entry.

I entered the water and began fishing some prime dry fly water. After 30 minutes, I had not turned a fish except for one that slashed the fly as I let it go under on the swing. I switched to my nymph rod and again fished for 30 minutes with no action except for one fish that tried to take it on the swing.
I reluctantly grabbed my streamer rod and began fishing the water. Even though I consider streamer fishing to be my great strength in trout fishing, I was reluctant to use streamers in a competition such as this because often trout will short strike or miss a streamer and be hesitant to try to eat the same streamer again. We were restricted to a very small piece of water and I felt as though I needed to fish as effectively as possible. Spooking fish would lower my chances of catching a 19-inch fish.

On the first cast, I hooked a fish and the action only heated up from there. On each cast I was getting a bite, a hooked fish or a flash at the fly. Many fish were caught in a short period of time and I had not gotten close to where I felt the largest fish would lie. I caught several 16 + inch fish, a 17.5 and a 17.75 inch fish which I measured on the board unofficially. The action increased after I released these fish and I did not even think twice about letting them go. Confident that a larger fish was there and based upon the fish behavior and the way that I was fishing, I felt absolutely sure that a 19-inch fish and contest winner was in my future.

After being asked what the secret to my success was last year, I had stated repeatedly that I had made a plan and stuck to it. I decided not to measure a fish less than 18 inches and that was the secret to the success. Last year, I caught a 17.5-inch fish and continued fishing to catch the winning fish (barely).
This year, I felt that my strategy was sound and fished with confidence. It is wonderful when a plan comes together and tough to swallow when it doesn’t. Hindsight is 20/20 as everyone knows and in hindsight I should have kept the 17.75-inch fish and taken the win.
Many scenarios have run through my head including how I would have felt if I had kept that fish and still come in 3rd place. I would have felt a lot worse if I had stopped fishing and settled for a fish I thought would have gotten me a place on the podium than I do right now.
I learned a lot about the strategy of an event like this and feel like I made a sound strategic decision and stuck to it. It just did not come together like last year.

I am feeling great about the event, the format, the rules and the way that I performed in this year’s event. I knew exactly what the rules were going into the event and made a strategy designed to end up with a gold medal not just to finish respectfully. I still think that my strategy was sound. Where I could have made an alteration to my strategy would have been after the first 30 minutes of fishing. Upon seeing no action on the dry fly and no action on a nymph, I should have stepped back and reconsidered how the river was fishing that day. If I was having tough fishing, chances are that everyone was struggling a bit and that would have been a good time to lower my expectations slightly. If at that time I had estimated that a 19-inch fish might be tough to come by and maybe a 17.5 might be a little more realistic, I would be sitting here with a gold medal as the 2 time ESPN Great Outdoor Games Champion. That was not what I did and I ended up scratching on the tournament day because my goals were slightly over inflated.

The format is great. It works and is very conducive to a trout-fishing tournament. There are countless fishing tournaments where the largest or most fish will win but ESPN has offered a unique format that requires that you not only fish well, but that you out think your competitors. Flyfishing is a thinking man’s game and this is a very suitable format.

My congratulations go out to the winner, Chuck Farneth from Arkansas. Chuck drew a very tough stretch of water and accomplished a huge task by catching any fish in that water. He also knew this and measured the first and only fish he caught, a very respectable 16-inch brown trout. Second place went to a terrific angler from England, Charles Jardine who I used to fish with in Jackson, WY. Charles drew an even tougher section of water and managed an even bigger feat of catching a 15-inch fish out of that lifeless water. Third went to Carter Andrews who caught a 14.75-inch fish in a very good stretch of water. Carter also caught larger fish than the one he measured but had the ability to know when to stop fishing.

Congratulations to all the competitors! This was a great event and I am simply honored to have been a part of them again this year. I do not know where they will be held next year, but I plan on being there and taking what I learned this year and applying it to a win at the 2002 Great Outdoor Games.
I hope that you enjoy watching. Remember they will air on ESPN on Friday, July 27, 2001. Check your local listings.