GETTING A DIFFERENT LOOK AT FLY FISHING JUDGING CONTEST PROVIDES AN INTERESTING INSIGHT.Byline: Randy van Vliet Special to the Daily News The Double Haul in the fall fly-fishing contest at Crowley Lake Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California in the United States. It was created in 1941 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) as storage for the Los Angeles Aqueduct and for flood control. on September 22 proved to be an eye-opener for this fly fisherman one who fishes using natural or artificial flies as bait, especially one who fishes exclusively in that manner. - Walton. See also: Fly . As a volunteer judge for the contest, there was the reward with being able to measure quite a few fish (13) that were supposed to be at least 18 inches long. The day started early, with check-in time at 6 a.m. at Crowley Lake fish camp to pick up the rules, regulations, spare flags (in case someone left theirs in their vehicle) and a 14-foot boat to get an official measuring board quickly to an angler so they could accurately measure their fish. Official fishing time started at 7 a.m. Of the 13 fish, six did not make the grade. A few were a mere quarter of an inch short; one didn't even make 16 inches. All patrons were to follow Department of Fish and Game rules: Artificial, barbless flies only, with a maximum of two flies. For the individual with the 20 1/2-inch fish, there was a bead head flashback flash·back n. 1. An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use. 2. A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience. pheasant tail nymph The Pheasant Tail is a popular Nymph used when Fly Fishing. It is used to mimic a large variety of creatures that many fish including Trout feed upon. It is also widely referred to as the Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail, in relation to the original creator of this fly. with two points on either end of the hook. The fish was disqualified dis·qual·i·fy tr.v. dis·qual·i·fied, dis·qual·i·fy·ing, dis·qual·i·fies 1. a. To render unqualified or unfit. b. To declare unqualified or ineligible. 2. . One of the advantages of being a judge is that you get to see what flies work on a given day, rod, reel, and fly line combos, whether its floating, intermediate sink, full sink (can't tell for sure what the sink rate is as they are all the same color, dark brown) and sometimes the presentation they are using. Mitch Green of Riverside was the overall winner with a 21-inch brown trout brown trout Prized and wary European game fish (Salmo trutta, family Salmonidae) that is favoured for food. The species includes several varieties (e.g., the Loch Leven trout of Britain). The brown trout is recognized by the light-ringed black spots on its brown body. , four 19-inch rainbows and an 18-inch rainbow. Green had a Sage 4-weight rod, the Light Line series in the nine-foot length, identical to the model I was fishing that day. The reel was an Abel TR-1, a model in which the only way to apply drag is by palming the edge of the spool. Good, basic, foolproof equipment, in which the rod is soft, to protect fine tippet tip·pet n. 1. A covering for the shoulders, as of fur, with long ends that hang in front. 2. A long stole worn by members of the Anglican clergy. 3. A long hanging part, as of a sleeve, hood, or cape. from breaking on hot-running fish. Where he differed was going after the fish with a density compensated full sink line while fishing a streamer. A soft, 4-weight rod, with a full sink line, takes tremendous skill to cast effectively. Green is gifted in this department. He lobs everything with grace, determination and skill, something he no doubt learned on his way to also qualifying for the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, regional tennis championships next month. Most other anglers fished with floating lines, strike indicators and a couple of small midge midge, name for any of numerous minute, fragile flies in several families. The family Chironomidae consists of about 2,000 species, most of which are widely distributed. The herbivorous larvae are found in all freshwaters; the larvae of some species live in saltwater. pattern flies located six inches to a foot off of the bottom surface under water. A poke with your rod to the bottom would give you a mark on your rod to which to set the depth, as the water was shallower than the nine-foot rods most anglers used. Green stayed away from the crowds of other fishermen. He anchored his float tube and didn't disturb the fish in his vicinity by finning the water to stay in place. The Proprietary Fly is a streamer pattern. Greenoriginated the pattern himself. It is in some ways similar to a Hornberg, according to sources. Green hunts ducks here in Southern California and says he uses the feathers of the ducks he takes for this fly pattern. The two prevalent species of ducks here in California are the green winged teal and the drake mallard mallard: see duck. mallard Abundant “wild duck” (Anas platyrhynchos, family Anatidae) of the Northern Hemisphere, ancestor of most domestic ducks. The mallard is a typical dabbling duck in its general habits and courtship display. , with flank feathers of mallards very popular for cheek pieces on hand-tied streamer flies. I wonder if Mitch would be interested in joining me for a duck hunt. I have a real good spot where there's lots of green heads. ... Of course, these are just pieces to the puzzle. I didn't get a GPS reading on where Green fished. I didn't get to patent his presentation and there's no way I can cast like the tennis champion he is. All I can do is practice, practice, practice. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion