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.â€
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.
fly fishing, fly casting, casting competition, ffr, orvis, angling trade, booke giveaway
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