Treacherous waters greet US National Fly Fishing Championship Competitors:
PA Native “nets” Another Gold

The weekend of October 24th – 26th, 2009 was a normal weekend for most of us, but for 50 anglers from all over the United States, it was a weekend of challenges and excitement. On that weekend, the United States National Fly Fishing Championship was held to determine who would become part of the 15 member Fly Fishing Team USA and who would represent the USA at the next FIPS Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships, Poland, June 2010.
Fishing Creek (Clinton County), Spring Creek, Penns Creek and the Little Juniata (Centre County) were the pre-determined fishing venues for the competition. These streams are nationally known and world recognized as many books and magazine articles have been written about them. They are known for their exceptional fishing and fabulous scenery; however, the weekend of October 24th -26th they became every angler’s worst enemy as a result of heavy rains Friday and Saturday.
George Daniel, (TCO fly shop employee, USA team representative from Pennsylvania), and his teammates were greeted with treacherous, challenging waters last weekend. George came into the competition as the defending gold medalist along with his team defending the team silver medal from the previous year. So there was a lot on the “line”.
The Adult Fly Fishing Team USA stirs interest not only in adults across the country, but also, our youth, as this streamside story portrays.
A supportive father’s story:
“My son was on the US Youth Fly Fishing Team last year and had competed in the Chzech Republic for the 2009 Youth World Fly Fishing Championships with coach George Daniel. He did not make the team for 2010, but is still passionate about fly fishing and wants to prepare for next year’s US Youth Fly Fishing trials. He asked me to bring him to the Adult National Championships so he may watch some of the best anglers in the country/world compete. When we arrived he looked over the competitor roster and highlighted anglers he wanted to study: (George Daniel, Lance Egan, Loren Williams just to name a few). I myself do not fly fish, which makes his passion even more interesting. I have begun to take fly fishing lessons so that I too, may enjoy this fascinating sport alongside my son. I am just so proud and excited that he has found something that he is so passionate about.”
In some ways these competitions, with a focus on TEAM, cross-cultural sharing/education and sportsmanship are sparking a flame of fly fishing interest in our youth across the country. It may start out small at first, but will continue to gradually grow, just as interest in soccer grew many years before. (Soccer, getting its initial start in 1862 in the US, did not really begin to have a following until after the 1994 World Cup which was played in the United States; gaining more recognition for the sport. Now it is one of the most popular sports played by boys and girls. Information gathered from WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_in_the_United_States )
As any angler knows, high muddy, waters are no picnic and these anglers from all over the US were faced with fishing flood stage waters. Just measuring ONE fish may be a difference between 1st and last place. So when George measured his first fish on Spring Creek, Saturday morning you could almost see a sigh of relief on his face, even if just for a moment. Once measured, he headed back into the stream for yet another fish. By the end of session one George had caught, measured and released 3 trout. The afternoon session would pose a very different scenario…. Everyone on upper Spring Creek, including George blanked (no one caught fish) on account of fast rising and muddy waters.
While George was landing his 3 trout in the morning his teammates were dealing with extreme high water situations on Fishing Creek (white water); Little Juniata and Penns Creek. Just as an example, Fishing Creek rose 2 feet in a matter of 2 hours! All anglers on Fishing Creek ended up blanking; not catching any fish. As for Penns Creek and the Little Juniata the highest number of fish caught was two and luckily it was by George’s teammate Lance Egan. That evening George and his team were in contention for the GOLD.
Sunday morning greeted the anglers with similar situations on Spring Creek and worse conditions on Fishing Creek, Penns Creek and the Little Juniata, as these creeks continued to rise over night. George began his day on the Little Juniata. Conditions were difficult, fighting high waters as he tried to find just one pocket that may hold trout. With approximately 1 hour left to fish he found the pocket! He caught and measured 7 trout. As one bystander, who traveled from Jersey to watch the competition, put it: “He never stopped fishing. You could see the determination and focus on his face. It was like watching a machine out there, moving from one pocket to another, then sprinting up the stream bank to start all over. If a fish was caught on the other side of the stream he had to work his way back through the chest high water for the controller to measure and mark the trout.”
Penns Creek was the next challenge for George and participating anglers. When they arrived on Penns Creek that afternoon, the water levels were still dangerously high. George did not even get a hit on his fly until the last 30 minutes of his 3 hour session. With the thought of a potential blank, he continued to push on. The same individual from New Jersey stated: “ I looked at my watch and with 15 minutes left to go he hooked into a “nice” one. It swam out into the ripping currents and popped the fly out. Then, there was 10 minutes left, he went back at it, without a flinch…. with 5 minutes left to go, WHAM he hooked into a trout! There wasn’t much time left, then I saw him go into the fast current after the trout, getting swept downstream. While fighting the current, he netted the trout, sprinted up to the controller and was able to measure and mark the brown trout with 1 minute to spare! Heck, I had to take a deep breath.” This trout along with others that his teammates were able to land while fighting high waters would keep their team in the GOLD medal spot for the day! That evening George also learned that he was in contention for SILVER, and if the last day of the competition goes well, possibly gold.
Monday, would pose a challenge for George and his teammates. Water levels were still high and to stay in the Team GOLD position they would all have to catch trout. George was on Fishing Creek, one of his favorite home waters, but, he knew it was going to be tough. His “beat” or section of stream was nestled back against the mountain and was still flood stage, meaning there was a lot of white water. He knew that he needed to find the most productive pockets and just work them until he caught a measureable trout. The volunteer who had controlled that section the entire weekend had yet to measure A fish. Knowing all of this George went into it like any other session and 20 minutes into the 3 hour session George landed and measured his first trout, a nice brown trout. The next trout was caught while fighting white water around the bend in the stream. Once caught he sprinted down to the controller and got it measured, another brown trout. The third trout came all the way from the other side of the stream, in which George faught brutal white water, getting swept down stream a few times while crossing over and back with the trout to be measured. That lucky catch was a brook trout measuring in at 190 ½ mm. The trout needed to be at least 180mm to count! Then he finished the day with a nice brown trout!
George’s four trout, Lance Egan’s 14 trout on Spring Creek and their teammates catches on Penns Creek and the Little Juniata secured their GOLD medal finish as a team! The four trout on Fishing Creek also secured the GOLD medal spot for George as an individual. Lance Egan’s 14 trout on Spring Creek secured his SILVER medal finish as an individual.
In the end, these tough water conditions helped to prepare the six angler team that will go on to represent the US in the World Fly Fishing Championships 2010. The Championships will be held on 4 large rivers and one lake in Poland that will be just as unpredictable and challenging as our Central Pennsylvania waters were for these competitors. That six member team includes George Daniel, Pennsylvania; Lance Egan, Utah; Devon Olsen, Utah; Josh Stevens, North Carolina; Pete Ericson, Colorado; and Mike Sexton, Colorado. Training and preparation for the 2010 World Fly Fishing Championships in Poland begins now!
Competition background
Each year the world's top fly anglers from 33 countries compete for team and individual gold, silver and bronze medals at the FIPS Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships. These championships are the “Olympics” of fly fishing. At this competition the United States competes with 23 -27 other countries (i.e. Franch, Chzech Republic, Poland, Italy, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, China, Australia, Finland, Slovakia). Much like the Olympics, there is an opening ceremony, 3 day competition and a closing ceremony where local culture and specialties are shared.
Anglers interested in becoming part of Team USA must participate in any of the 5-10 fly fishing trials held throughout the year. The Trials are Regional Competitions. The top five finishers qualify for the National Championships.
FIPS-Mouche is the world sanctioning body for competitive fly fishing and has well defined rules for the competition. All fishing is “catch and release.” Anglers fish five different sessions that are three hours each, all on different rivers and lakes, with varying “beats” of water. Scoring is based on the number and size of fish caught. Each angler has 80 – 100 yds to fish for the 3 hours so they must make the most of each “pocket” or hole where trout may hold. Placement points are awarded for each session with the goal of scoring as few points as possible. Participants earn 100 points for every eligible fish — a trout at least 8 inches long that is released unharmed — and additional points for the total length of the fish: 20 points per centimeter. A placing system based on those points determines the final standings. A person catching no fish in a session receives the greatest number of penalty points and considerably jeopardizes their team’s chances of medaling.
Just as important as the fishing, is the camaraderie and the cross-cultural connections that are made during these events. Team members are also involved in a number of other areas of fly fishing such as guiding, offering fly tying clinics, participation in watershed preservation projects, and promoting environmental stewardship.
Unlike other competitions, anglers do not compete for money. Anglers compete as a TEAM in hopes of representing the United States at a FIPS Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships, an Olympic level fly fishing competition.
These competitions are more than just a competition to the participants and to the fly fishing industry. They are where friendships area created and extended families (fly fishing families) are formed; where new fly patterns "emerge" as a result of tough fishing conditions and seasoned anglers sharing "secret" patterns; where learning opportunities flourish as US anglers are introduced to "new" techniques, flies and approaches while in other countries; where good sportsmanship and teamwork are vital to success; and where teamwork, determination and humbleness merge together for improvement each year in hopes to return to the World Championships and win the GOLD for USA.