It’s Fly Fishing Industry Week here at the Trout Underground, and following the Underground’s discovery of the sporting-clays style casting course planned for Bend, OR, our Crack Investigative Reporting Team read a press release ferreted out news of an Angling Trade/Orvis-hosted casting competition at Fly Fishing Retailer.
From Angling Trade:
According to Hutch Hutchinson, host of the Orvis/Angling Trade Helios Challenge “we’ll have an assortment of casting challenges and obstacles to simulate natural conditions and increase the challenge element. This unique event isn’t just a great time, it also gives industry conservation efforts a significant boost of exposure.”
It sounds like fun – and yes, it’s an ideal venue for Orvis to introduce their rumoured new line of Helios “Ion” small stream fly rods (the “Ion” series wouldn’t be our first choice for a name, but it’s theirs, and they make way more money than we do, so…)
Like the Bend, OR course, the FFR installation is supposed to feature true-to-life casting problems, though frankly, the Underground wonders how “real” any indoor casting course could be.
After all, how do you simulate “real-life” stream moments like:
- In mid-cast, you realize you didn’t turn off the stove after heating that can of soup
- At dusk, hordes of bloodthirsty mosquitoes descend like the tiny winged hounds of hell, forcing you to cast with one hand while trying to prevent a reverse blood transfusion with the other
- You stayed up late the night before and drank too much; how do you simulate casting with a hangov… wait, it’s FFR, this one’s covered
- With a crowd watching from the far bank, you hook yourself on your own backcast in a part of your back you can’t reach; you have 20 seconds to solve the problem without anyone noticing
Of course, these are just a few real-life conditions I encounter every day, but I’m sure the Underground’s tail-looping hordes can add a few of their own.
How about it Undergrounders: what it would take to develop a truly realistic casting course?
Best suggestion wins a copy of Craig Ballenger’s not-lauded-nearly enough book: “Shasta’s Headwaters – an Angler’s Guide to the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers.”
Undergrounders, the contest floor is yours.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Feed contestants chili dogs and Pabst Blue Ribbon for dinner. Make them wake at 5 am and immediately give them a hot cup of instant coffee, and then march them to the casting pool without a chance to hit the bathroom. Michael(Quote)
How to get a realistic drift in the eddy between the decaying lawn mower and the rusting shopping cart. kbarton10(Quote)
There is something aobut the Orivs people that make me laugh — Hutch Hutchinson, Perk Perkins — makes me want to change my name! Matt(Quote)
I’m squirrel hunting, dah !!!
Two seasons in one.
That is not my back cast in the trees. j paznokas(Quote)
The flask’s screwtop is not permanently attached – friend drops top in water. It’s snowing. Friend must retrieve top, then cast with frostbit hand. Sound familiar? SmellsLikeFish(Quote)
I don’t know; they didn’t teach me any of this at glamping school. Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)
Yeah, but I bet you know which fork to use first. Tom Chandler(Quote)
One word: Critters. Think about all that they bring to the table…
* Its near dusk. A skunk appears out of nowhere 10 ft upstream. Can you make that cast?
* A 1200lb brown bear is suddenly 20ft behind you. Can you make that cast? Loon(Quote)
Low branches overhead everywhere, rock snot below. Preferably a synthetic rock snot with an Orvis trade name. Lou(Quote)
You’re 20 feet UP from the water, with your back only 4 feet from a 6 lane highway. The water is mostly dried up, but your buddy swears he saw a rise 60 feet to the left. Your cast has to land between the pile of Mickey D’s trash and a 1/2 sunken boat from the 1950’s, WITHOUT getting caught in the passing traffic! oatka(Quote)
Toughest cast contest would have to be in the Eastern U.S. on a stream with plenty of trees to eat the flies. Since I’m partial to the Smokies I’ll suggest a backcountry stream in the Great Smoky Mountains. The stream is at record lows because of the recent drought. Two pools upstream an 11 inch brookie is rising to BWO but to have a chance at reachign it, you must put the cast between two boulders and 10 feet past a rhododendron branch hanging down within 2 feet of the water. A water snake is swimming upstream ahead of you towards the pool and will put the fish down in about 15 seconds. You only have 10 feet of line off the reel and the fish is 45 feet away…good luck and don’t forget the wall of trees 15 feet behind you… David Knapp(Quote)
WINNER WINNER WINNER
The Underground has selected its winner of Craig Ballenger’s most excellent book: “Shasta’s Headwaters – an Angler’s Guide to the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers.”
It’s none other than the Roughfisher himself (Jean-Paul Lipton, who we like despite the hyphen).
His complete avoidance of the contest and substitution of a glamping reference were simply too much for the judges to ignore. Tom Chandler(Quote)
geez, I actually won something?
Thanks… I think. Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)