FLY CASTING TOURNAMENT AND CONTEST NEWS 2

FLORIDA STATE CASTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

This series of casting games is a part of  the Florida Sportsman Fishing Shows program and features a quicky casting game at each show with the winners eligible for the finals at the Orlando show every November. There are separate divisions for industry and amateur competitiors with merchandise prizes. The events are spinning, revolving spool and fly rod accuracy with two casts in each event. For details and dates click FLORIDA SPORTSMAN SHOWS

RESULTS OF SEPT. 11 BOTHELL CASTING GAMES

This was a handicap event and the demerit handicaps shall remain locked in mystery. The wind was also blowing cross court.

Dry Fly: 1. Caleb Whitmore, 91; 2. Jim De Gouda, 90; 3. Ryan Muscat, 88.

Trout Fly: 1. Jim De Gouda, 93; 2. Caleb Whitmore, 89; Ryan Muscat, 89.

1999 AMERICAN CASTING ASSOCIATION NATIONALS RESULTS

Hosted by Toronto Sportsmen's Association, Humber Bay Park and Centennial Park, Toronto, August 2-7, 1999.

Pete Edwards was under the weather so Charley Phillips, Bill Wattie and Harvey Beck replaced him as tournament chair.

1. 5/8 oz plug distance, singlehanded,

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 484; 2. Chris Korich, 397; 3. Chuck Phillips, 380.

Senior Men:  1. Zack Willson, 426; 2. Gord Deval, 388; 3. Dick Fujita, 381.

2. 5/8 oz. plug distance, doublehanded.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 385: 2. Chris Korich, 379; 3. Harvey Beck, 371.

Senior Men: 1. Gord Deval, 357; 2. Bill Burke, 353; 3. Zack Willson, 347.

Women: 1. Nancy Burke, 267; 2. Alice Gillibert, 189; 3. Peg Van Natter, 185.

3. Fly Distance, Doublehanded.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 290 (new national record); 2. Chris Korich, 252; 3. Andy Statt, 241.

Senior Men: 1. Zack Willson, 236; 2. Gord Deval, 230; 3. Dick Fujita, 204.

4. 1/4 oz. plug Singlehanded.

Men: 1. Chris Korich, 249; 2. Steve Rajeff, 246; 3. Harvey Beck, 242.

Senior Men: 1. Dick Fujita, 235; 2. Zack Willson, 232; 3. Gus Beushausen, 221.

Women: 1. Elaine Gong, 148; 2. Lois Kilburn, 143; 3. Peg Van Natter, 143.

5. Fly Distance Singlehanded.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 207; 2. Chris Korich, 179; 3. Harvey Beck, 171.

Senior Men: 1. Zack Willson, 159; 2 Gord Deval, 155; 3. Dick Fujita, 142.

6. Angler's Fly Distance.

Men:  1. Steve Rajeff, 169; 2. Harvey Beck, 158, 149; 3. Chuck Phillips, 158, 148.

Senior Men: 1. Gord Deval, 153; 2. Zack Willson, 134; 3. Dick Fujita, 133.

Women: 1. Alice Gillibert, 124; 2. Elaine Gong, 114, 113; 3. Peg Van Natter, 114, 109.

7. Dry Fly Accuracy

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 100; 2. Chris Korich, 99; 3. Bill Wattie, 98.

Senior Men: 1. Zack Willson, 97, 99; 2. Bill Burke, 97, 95; 3. Ross MacSporran, 95.

Women: 1. Alice Gillibert, 91, 94; 2. Peg Van Natter, 91, 88; 3. Lois Kilburn, 90.

8. 1/4 oz Accuracy Plug.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 98; 2. Chris Korich, 96, 3. Harvey Beck, 94, 98; 4. Bill Wattie, 94, 90.

Senior Men: 1. Zack Willson, 94 (tied national record); 2. Bobby Spear, 92, 3. Henry Fujita, 90.

Women: 1. Beth Statt, 86; 2. Alla Herzan, 81, 83; 3. Nancy Burke, 81,76.

Intermediate: 1. Tony Statt, 85; 2. Danielle Lanser, 43.

Junior: 1. Becky Statt, 19.

9: Trout Fly Accuracy

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 98; 2. Chris Korich, 97, 97; 3. Chuck Phillips, 97, 93.

Senior Men: 1. Bill Burke, 96; 2. Zack Willson, 95; 3. Dick Fujita, 93.

Women: 1. Brenda Banks, 93; 2. Alice Gillibert, 92,92;  3. Peg Van Natter, 92, 90.

10: Bass Bug Accuracy.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 98; 2. Chris Korich, 97; 3. Floyd Dean, 95.

Senior Men: 1. Billy Peters, 91; 2. Bobby Spear, 89, 89; 3. Bill Van Natter, 89, 82.

Women: 1. Brenda Banks, 92; 2. Lois Kilburn, 87; 3. Alice Gillibert, 82.

11. 3/8 oz. Accuracy Plug.

Men: 1. Steve Rajeff, 98; 2. Andy Statt, 97; 3. Chris Korich, 96, 92, 97; 4. Bill Wattie, 96, 92, 90.

Senior Men: 1. Bill Burke, 91; 2. Dick Fujita, 90; 3. Zack Willson, 88.

Women: 1. Brenda Banks, 91; 2. Alla Herzan, 88; Beth Statt, 84.

Intermediate: 1. Toney Statt, 83; 2. Danielle Lanser, 65.

Junior: 1. Becky Statt, 51.

12. 5/8 oz. Accuracy Plug

Men: 1. Harvey Beck, 99, 96;2. Steve Rajeff, 99, 95; 3. Chris Korich, 95.

Senior Men: 1. Zack Willson, 94, 96; 2. Bill Burke, 94,93; 3. Bill Peters 90, 89; 4. Tom Gong, 90, 88.

Women: 1. Brenda Banks, 93, 98; 2. Beth Statt, 93,82; 3, Alla Herzan, 90, 84; 4. Diana Klenk, 90, 83.

Intermediate: 1. Tony Statt, 80; 2. Danielle Lanser, 74; 3. Andrew Cockburn, 73.

Junior: 1. Nick Bicak, 52; 2. Becky Statt, 50. 

BOTHELL CASTING GAMES FIELD DAY

Date:  Saturday, Sept.11, '99  10:00 AM Practice 1:00 Games

Location: Blythe Park, 17000 W. Riverside DR, Bothell, WA.

From 10:00 AM there will be videos, in the large picnic shelter, of accuracy and distance game instruction by national and world champion casters. These videos are courtesy of a regional  American Casting Association casting community and are not for sale anywhere. They feature past and present world and national champion casters giving detailed instruction in ways to cast very accurately and to cast very far.

There will also be real live instructors  in these accuracy  and distance skills.  From 1:00 PM there will be accuracy and distance casting games in classes based on casting experience levels and the equipment used. Certificates will be awarded.

Bring your most accurate dry line fly outfit and your rod or rods that will cast the farthest. - both fly line and shooting head. Don't forget your grass leader if you bring a spey rod. E mail this page to learn how to build your very own grass leader or for more information.

Click here to receive information

REPORT OF SPRING 1999 JIM GREEN CASTING GAMES

Report by Marlow Bumpus:

The Jim Green Spring Casting Games, on April 24, '99  were a success as usual. It was a warm sunny day with a slight breeze until about 1 or 2 PM when it became strong enough to inflate the scores as the casts were all down wind. It was then decided that no distance records could be established. The longest casts were made by some of  the best casters who may have set records even without a wind advantage. Casts were: spey left ; 137' by Scott O'Donnell, spey right 134'9" by Gordon Olson and overhead, 169'9" by Dec Hogan. As is illustrated by my score, the wind didn't put all who cast in it on top even though my score was increased by the wind.

There were 26 spey casters and 17 casters entered the trout fly accuracy game. There was also a single hand overhead distance  game this year which was highlighted by the entry (in both accuracy and distance) of a young gentleman just 9 years old who scored above some veterans. Jim de Goede, of Abbottsford, B C dominated the single hand event  with the highest accuracy score and longest distance cast.

It became evident at this event that some rules will be need to be added to make the event more fair. Suggestions are welcome.  Additional rules are under consideration and will be available at or before the fall games which are to be held in Asotin, WA on Sunday the 17th of  October. The 16th will be a practice day. As a recent high school graduate, Jimmy Green feels he can secure the high school football field again this year.

Bill and Peg Van Natter, Di Mackey and Karen Bumpus kept us supplied with food and drink. Bill Van Natter on the West side and Gordon Olson on the East side did some promotional work, i.e. internet and newspapers. Scott and Sage brought rods for use in the games. Sage supplied the 5 wt outfits for the accuracy games and supplied almost all of the prizes and many volunteers helped make this a successful  event.

Hope to see you in action in the fall. (P.S. the football field has been secured)

RESULTS

Single hand 5 weight

SPEY CASTING

The numbers are for the total of distances for left spey, right spey and overhead.

A finely hand crafted traveling trophy was awarded the victorious west team along with a promise of work on the rules to eliminate any advantage from mere superior numbers of casters on the team. (The home team tends to have more casters present)

A Sage rod was awarded to Leroy Teeple, the caster who came closest to the average of the 25 spey casters scored. The average was 348'7'' and Leroy scored 344'9"

Scientific Angler spey lines were awarded to the first three placers on the East and West teams who had not already won a prize in other events. 

( Editor's note: This little field day of casting and hot stove fishing is an example of  having fun with a fly rod without getting cold, wet or sunburned. There was a prize for the caster closest to the average and for the youngest caster. If there had been prizes for the ones who came the farthest Nelson Ishiyama of Carmel, California and Per Brandon, who builds custom cane fly rods for the world   in El Cerrito California, would have been about a dead heat. They were fishing the Skagit for steelhead and could not resist the lure of these country casting games. You will note that the prizes did not all go to the swift or the strong but were spread out among those who participated because they  enjoy playing games with a fly rod. Reserving a prize for Mr. Average - the closest to the average score - is something like a custom followed by the Tampa Bay Fly Casters of Tampa Florida. They have accuracy casting games using   nine weight rods used for fishing the salt with prizes for the highest score in an accuracy game,  for the person coming closest under a ninety score and for the person coming closest under an eighty score etc..These systems can be altered to put the prize into any cluster of casting game scores and are sometimes easier to administer than trying to sort out classes of casters.

If anyone wants to see and hear Jim Green in person he will be a featured speaker and presenter at a weekend symposium of  past and current rod designers at the Golden Gate Park casting ponds Saturday and Sunday May 22 and 23 under the auspices of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club of San Francisco CA. Anyone casting a modern graphite rod is using an instrument whose design has been affected by   Jim Green's work)

1999 CASTING GAME SCHEDULE

June 5, 1999, St Catharines, Ontario, ACA

June 12 & 13, Toronto Open, Toronto Sportsmen's Association

June 19 & 20, Scarborough Championships Scarborough Fly & Bait Casting Club

June 26 & 27, Great Lakes  Casting Ass'n. ACA, Columbus Ohio

July 10 & ll, Canadian Championships, ACA Toronto

July 17 & 18, Lancaster N.Y. ACA.

August 3 to 7, North American Championships, ACA, Toronto this year.

September date TBA, Cincinnati

October  date TBA,  Northwestern, Western Tournament Casting Assn. San Francisco

October date TBA Year Ender, Lancaster NY. ACA

For details contact your faithful web scrivener.

THIRD ANNUAL JIM GREEN CASTING GAMES SCHEDULED FOR STEELHEAD PARK IN ROCKPORT, WASHINGTON WHERE THE SKAGIT MEETS THE SAUK

Hardship of  hardships. Jim Green's casting extravaganza has been scheduled at the mouth of the Sauk river at the West picnic shelter in Howard Miller (Steelhead) Park.(The catch and release steelhead season on the Sauk and the Skagit is in full swing)

The dates are Friday, April 23, 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. for practice   and Saturday April 24  from 10 to 4 for the games.

Jim Green will run the Spey casting game and Carol Green will be in charge of the single handed accuracy event. Casting instructors will be on hand for both single and 2 handed rods. Rod company representatives will bring their latest designs for try outs.

There will be prizes for best and average scores for anglers, with pros in a separate class. Events will be Spey Left, Spey Right and Overhead.

Overnight camping in the park is available. Advance reservations are recommended through the park at 1 360 853 8808.

For more information call Marlow Bumpus at 360 826 5221 or 360 652 9751 or, on the East side of the state, Jim Green at 509 243 1105.

The park is accessable on a day trip basis from most of the Puget Sound country north of Tacoma and of course there may be fishing in the area, weather and the Department of Wildlife willing. We don't know what sort of season on these two premier rivers will be in effect then but your friendly sporting goods merchant will have that answer.

This is the third Jim Green tournament, following the first in Asotin County, Washington in 1997 and the second at Sylvana on the Stillaquamish in 1998. Scores from those events are posted farther down in the contests section of  Fly Casting Forum along with information about Jim Green and his contributions to our sport. 

  The tournament is fun and the people there will help all comers with their casting. There is a store at Rockport and even an establishment serving food and drink. This is the easiest way you will ever find to observe and participate in interesting casting games with a group of helpful casting enthusiasts. Bring your tackle and try the tackle available there as well. No telling how much you can learn.

ANOTHER CASTING CONTEST

CYPRESS GARDENS FLORIDA

MARCH 19 - 21, 1999

A new casting contest tradition will be inaugurated at Cypress Gardens March 19-21.  at the Outdoor Adventure Show, a massive display of outdoors equipment,   displays and personages. For the Fly  fishers there will be  first of all some of the leading fly fishing personages, including Lefty Kreh and Flip Pallot, among others. The feature of interest to people who come to this page will be the two fly casting contests, the Fun Course and the Big Gun Shoot Out Course. These two events are   conducted by the Tampa Bay Fly Fishers, Inc. of (you guessed it ) Tampa Bay, Florida and they emphasize the salt water fly casting skills that pay off in the southern seas (and the northern seas too). The tools will be nine foot nine weight rods supplied by Sage, Scott, Thomas and Thomas and Loomis, at last count, throwing weight forward nine weight lines with a three foot leader. These games will run every day of the Outdoor Adventure Show with winners for each day. Here is how they go.

Check in at the registration table.

There are two courses: The Fun Course and the Big Gun Course.

THE FUN COURSE

1. Cost is two dollars. 2. Time is limited to allow others to play also. 3. Prizes are complimentary, as long as they last.

4. There are four stations:

       A. Hanson Cup - The late great Carl Hanson said "Anyone can put it in a coffee cup". Stand at 30 feet and try to land the fly in the coffee cup as many times as possible in 1 minute. You get 25 points per "hit". Keep your score.( P.S. They use a really big coffee cup)

       B:  HULA HOOP - Stand at 30 feet and cast a tight loop through the hula hoop. The farther the fly lands, the better the score. 1 minute limit.

       C: FOUR RINGS - There are four rings at approximately 45', 48', 55' and 33'. Land a fly in the outer ring and get 20 points. Land a fly in the inner ring and get 25 points. Maximum of 100 points. 1 minute limit.

       D:  UNDER THE MANGROVE CAST: Stand at 33' from the "mangrove". Throw a tight loop under and through the mangrove. The farther through the mangrove the fly lands, the better the score. 1 minute limit.

The tackle for the fun course can be that supplied at the scene or any tackle you can scrounge up at the show or in your closet or rod case.

THE BIG GUN COURSE

1. Cost is $10.00.

2. Time is limited to two minutes per event.

3. Prizes are: 1st. place, $200.00, 2nd. place, equipment, for Friday. The same for Saturday and Sunday. Only one prize per competitor.

4. Competition closes at 3:00P.M. Award announcement at 3:15 P.M. You do not need to be present at 3:15 P.M. to win.

5. There are two stations:

      A. Distance - Stand at the casting area. You will be permitted to make a total of three casts and you will have a two minute time limit. The longest cast in feet will be your score.

      B.  "V" Fish Accuracy, You will have two minutes for this event. Stand at the 50 point marker. When the clock starts, cast and lay the leader in the V in front of the fish. Then move back to the 60 point marker and do the same. Keep going until you run out of time. Your score will be the number of points at the last marker you were successful in completing. If you cast too far, you may not drag the leader into the V. (The leader is three feet long)

Your final score will be the combination of points earned in the Distance and "V" Fish Accuracy stations.

For example a distance cast of 105.5 ft. equals ...........105.5 pts.  

An accuracy cast completed at the 80 point station equals 80 pts.

                          Total Score ......................................185.5 pts.

SO GET A HULA HOOP OR MAKE ONE AND PRACTICE A LITTLE FOR THESE. YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID NEXT TIME YOU GO FISHING. YOU MIGHT EVEN ENJOY THE SPORTS SHOW.

SOUTHWESTERN FLY AND PLUG CASTING TOURNAMENT

LONG BEACH CASTING CLUB, LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA,  FEBRUARY 20 - 21, 1999.

This tournament was hosted by the Long Beach Casting Club at their casting pool in Recreation Park in Long Beach. The venerable and well maintained clubhouse, with its fireplace, kitchen and indoor plumbing will be the site of the ACA Nationals in theyear 2000, provided the creeks don't rise and the Democratic Convention does not soak up all the hotel rooms and rental cars.

Trout Fly

Class A: 1. Rene Gillibert, 100; 2. Floyd Dean, 98; 3. Per Brandin, 95, 94; John Luis, 95, 93; Joe Libeau, 95, 92.

Class B: 1. Guy Manning, 93, 91; 2. Elaine Gong, 93, 90; 3. Bill Van Natter, 92.

Class C: 1. Brian Ramsey, 90; 2. Ron Hufft, 86; 3. Carl Rischer, 83.

Bass Bug

Class A: 1. Rene Gillibert, 98; 2. Floyd Dean, 95, 96; 3. Per Brandin, 95, 94.

Class B: 1. Charles Judy, 93; 2. Lois Kilburn, 92, 92; 3. Larry White, 92, 90.

Class C: 1. Brian Ramsey, 92; 2. Elaine Gong, 87; 3. Carls Rischer, 83.

1/4 Oz. Plug:

A: 1. Rene Gillibert, 94; 2. Bob Spear, 92; 3. Cajun Bill Clements, 91.

B: 1. John Schueller, 91; 2. Mark Lipe, 89; 3. Tom Gong; 86.

C: 1. Lois Kilburn, 92; 2. Peg Van Natter, 89, 100?; 3. Dave Drennan, 89, 99?.

Open Plug:

A: 1. Henry Fujita, 93; 2. Floyd Dean, 92, 96; 3. Rene Gillibert, 92, 95; Cajun Bill Clements, 92, 92.

B: 1. Larry White, 93; 2. Mark Lipe, 92; 3. Tom Gong.

C: 1. Peg Van Natter, 88; 2. Guy Manning, 87, 87; 3. Charles Judy, 87, 85.

Steelhead Distance (Angler's Fly distance)

A. 1. Rene Gillibert, 152; 2. Gordie Judd, 139; 3. Dave Drennan, 136.

B: 1.  Joe Libeau, 122; 2. Billy Jones, 115; 3. Peg Van Natter, 113.

C: 1. Brian Ramsey, 127; 2. John Schueller, 109; 3. Ron Hufft, 101.

5/8 oz. Distance

Class A: 1. Rene Gillibert, 260; 2. Per Brandin, 239; 3. Floyd Dean, 190.

Class B: 1. Cajun Bill Clements, 221; 2. John Schueller, 210; 3. Tom Gong, 203.

Class C: 1. John Luis, 225; 2. Dave Drennan, 205.

Dry Fly:

A: 1. John Napoli, 99, 97; 2. Rene Gillibert, 99, 96; 3. Larry White, 99, 94.

B: 1. John Schueller, 96; 2. Robert Murakami, 95; 3. Billy Jones, 94, 93; Tom Gong, 94, 91, Bill Van Natter, 94, 90.

C: 1. Brian Ramsery, 92; 2. Cajun Bill Clements, 89, 92; 3. Ron Hufft, 89, 86.

WET FLY

A: 1. Floyd Dean, 99; 2. Rene Gillibert, 98; 3. Per Branding, 96, 94; Tony Yap, 96, 91.

B: 1. Jamie Murphy, 95: 2. Bill Van Natter, 92, 94; 3. Gordy Judd, 92, 89.

C: 1. Charles Judy, 95; 2. Randy Allen, 92; 3. Brian Ramsey, 91.

3/8 oz. Plug

A: 1. Cajun Bill Clements, 93; 2. Floyd Dean, 92; 3. Rene Gillibert, 91.

B: 1. Dave Drennan, 92; 2. Mark Lipe, 88; 3. Tom Gong, 87.

C: 1. Tony Yap, 88, 91; 2. Bill Van Natter, 88, 86; 3. Elaine Gong, 86.

5/8 oz. Plug

A: 1. Rene Gillibert, 95, 96; 2. Bob Spear, 95, 94; 3. Cajun Bill Clements, 94, 89, 94; Floyd Dean, 94, 89, 91.

B: 1. Mark Lipe, 89; 2. Dave Drennan, 88, 88, 99; 3. Tom Gong, 88, 88, 98; John Schueller, 88, 85; Billy Jones, 88, 83.

C: 1. Charles Judy, 88, 86; 2. Paul Burgner, 88, 84; 3. Tony Yap, 86.

Team plugs: 1. Oakland Casting Club, 444; 2. Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, 433; The Hopefuls, 433.

HOT OFF THE PRESS RESULTS FROM THE

BEST OF THE WEST CASTING CHAMPIONSHIPS

INTERNATIONAL SPORTSMEN'S EXPOSITION SPORTING SHOWS

FEBRUARY 10-14, 1999. SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

There was good participation in this contest with 31 casters qualifying by hitting four or more out of  ten  targets. A number of juniors qualified.   A nine year old boy qualified with five and two teen age brothers qualified with a six and a four as did several other teens and near teens.  One of the winners spent all week trying to qualify and did so on the last day. He went on to win a prize showing that a competent caster can learn to play accuracy games with just a little application. The first place winner of the Sage fly rod was again Simon Gawsworth, who operates a fly casting and fly fishing school in Great Britain giving "tuition" as lessons are called there. Simon is in a rut. He won in California with an 8 and qualified here with an 8 and won with an 8. He has tournament casting experience from Britain and looked as though he could shoot 8 until the next ice age. Jim Vincent of  spey casting and Rio lines fame and Paul Binder, of Issaquah, Washington, a fisherman with no known connection to the fly fishing industry, tied for second with sixes. Jim Vincent won the cast off with a five. His prize was two Gary Borger books on how to cast. Something about the usefulness of basic casting instruction books to a casting contest winner remains to be discovered but it was a nice prize and inscribed by the author as well.

A substantial number of exceedingly  accomplished casters surfaced in this contest.It is hoped  there will be other casting contests  in the future of these shows and that these people who were willing to come out and display their casting before a crowd will  come again. The vertical accuracy stroke is not a mystery to people who have paid their dues to the casting gods. They do this  by practicing away from the fishing holes with the goal of  arriving at an analysis of why the line and fly go where they go in a good and accurate cast and why they go where they go in an ugly or inaccurate cast. One industry caster showed how to do it by casting a six with a two weight rod, from his knees. He was not around for the final but it was a fine display of casting grace and elegance. The abundance of  effective casting from people not in the tackle business was a testimonial to the charm of  good casting as a part of the fly fishing mystique.

One final word - thecontest rules were the same in Portland, reported below, and in California and Washington but your lazy scrivener has elected to record the number of hits rather than the demerits from misses. The demerit system is intended for games where there is scoring for close as well as hits with no demerits for a hit and up to ten for a miss of as much as ten feet.

The American Casting Association  Dry Fly game  is the model for the game used at the ISE shows. In the ACA game the targets are spaced at random distances and in an arbitrary order - from far to near to in between etc. by naming the differing colors of the target rings. Eights and fives are  good scores under either set of rules. The American Casting Association is the American representative to the International Casting Federation and sends an American team to the World Championships which are held every two years. The ACA has been conducting  a long standing campaign to make casting, both bait and fly, a Olympic event and is maneuvering to make it a demonstration event as a prelude to Olympic recognition.

LET'S SEE HOW MUCH A YEAR WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF QUALIFIERS AND THE LEVEL OF SCORING

JANUARY 7-11, 1999, PORTLAND OREGON

The casting contest this year has been changed to accuracy rather than distance, which involves a different type of skill than before. The object was to hit 5 rings spaced out in the casting pool two times. The contestant started with 100 points and lost 3 points for each miss. The lowest possible score a contestant could get was 70 points if they missed all ten rings.

The first four preliminary rounds on Thursday and Friday of the contest were judged by Stan Steele of Salem Oregon. In the first four  rounds no one qualified for the finals until on Friday there was the first qualifier. By the time Saturday arrived there were 10 qualifiers with two of them tied for first place with scores of 88.

The first round of the Championships  resulted in Blake Reimer, of Tigard, using a Trident TL 905 rod taking first place with 5 hits. Steve Bonner, Brian O'Keefe and Adam Mc Allester tied for second with 4 hits, Dennis Hart was next with 3 hits and the rest of us had 1& 2 hits.

The tie breaker cast off for second place started with Steve with 4 hits, Brian with 4 hits and Adam with 4 hits., So, back to another tie breaker round   starting with Steve. Well, Steve had 4 hits again and at that point we all thought that this was going to go on all night but then Brian really stepped it up by getting 9 hits out of 10. Adam stepped up to cast and was eliminated.

The awards were handed out and Blake Reimer took home a very nice plaque and a new Berkheimer rod. Brian O'Keefe received Denny Rickards new book on lake fishing and a box of his famous flies. Brian presented the book to Adam since he already had one and the the third place prize was a nice 5 weight fly line.

George Hadley

ACCURACY FLY CASTING CONTEST RULES

JANUARY 13, 1999

1. Hit or Miss Event.

2. 5 targets (30" diameter)

3. 2 minutes to hit 10 targets in order of closest to farthest. Caster will begin with closest target and work out to farthest, two times. The targets will be placed at distances of 25', 30', 35', 40' and 50'.

4. Equpment will consist of fly rods not to exceed 9 1/2 feet in length and of a line class not to exceed 7 wt. Lines are to be non-marked (to show distance) floating only. Leaders will be 7'- 9' 3x tapered leaders. Flies will be simple yarn tied on in lengths not less than 1/2 inch and not to exceed 1 inch.

5. Scoring: Each caster begins with a perfect score of 100 points and has 2 minutes to hit all 10 targets. 3 points will be deducted for each missed target, and 0 points deducted for a "hit". A perfect score will equal 100 points and the lowest score will equal 70 points (10 misses).

6. A cast is complete when the fly, leader, or line settles on the water on a final forward delivery. The fly must be left unmoved until the judge calls score.

7. This will be an Open Class event with 2 qualifying rounds each day and the final Championship round on the last day. All contestants must register to compete.

8. A minimum score of 82 points will be required to qualify for the championship round. A free pass to return to the show for the championship event will be presented to all that qualify. All casters who qualify, or those with the top twenty scores will be allowed to compete in the championship event (ties for 20th place will be included).

These rules have been loosely fashioned after the American Casting Association Dry Fly Event. ISE's goal is to promote fly casting as an enjoyable leisure pastime and a fun competitive sport in a real tournament-like setting.

CONTINUE TO MORE FLY CASTING TOURNAMENT AND CONTEST NEWS