Clarion May 2010 Final

[Dejon Hamann]

Thank you to everyone that made this past weekend's Competition a huge success!  The competition was fierce, the weather cooperated, the venues were diverse, the fish were prolific, the knowledge and tip sharing was unparalleled, and above all I'm pretty sure everyone had a fantastic time.  You know something must be working when all the participants say: "so, when is the next one?!"

I'd like to send a special thank you to Larry Hofferberth for making the long trip up from down South.  It was great to start to sink up these two regions face to face and hear first hand how much we're on the same track.  Larry's knowledge sharing and on stream instruction was a great asset to the weekend.  I'm sure he'll go home with a few good stories to share too  

Let's start working those web lines and get the next one on the calendar!!!

Unofficial Results:
http://troutlegend.com/forum/MGalleryItem.php?id=1355

[Mark Hanes]

Nice post Dejon and congrats on the win.  So why no pics on the little rock you loved so much? 

[Steve Sawyer]

Looks like you guys had a great time.  I have a small question, and I apologize for my ignorance, but it looks like Bill Steudler took care of business, but he finished 4th.  How does the final placing work?  Again, I apologize for what maybe a stupid question, but I am hoping to learn.  Thanks!

[Frank Muscente]

Good question Steve, I was wondering the same thing. Hopefully I can compete in one of these someday, it looks like alot of fun. Good job to all.

[Jackson Hoose]

I can only assume that these pictures don't account for all fish caught.  Some nice looking fish there.  I hope someone will post more photos.

[Dejon Hamann]

No worries guys. The fips-mouche scoring system confuses just about everyone at first.

The system is set up to award consistent success across a multi day tournament rather than just the fisherman who catches the most or biggest fish.  Groups are drawn (A,B, etc) - competitors get Placing points by beating out the other competitors in their specific group.  1 placing point for first, 2 for second, etc.  Lowest Placing points win the competition.  

A river might be super "hot" in the morning and yield huge catch rates, but go cold in the evening for other groups.  

"Blanks" or not catching any fish in a session are usually the nemesis of competitors who are otherwise kicking ass throughout the competition.  You can regularly hear competitors at big comps encouraging each other: "just DON'T blank."

Obviously, in a small competition like this things get highlighted even more.  

32.1. For each eligible fish caught, a competitor will score one hundred points.
32.2. Competitors will also receive twenty points per centimetre length of each eligible fish; the recorded length will be rounded up to the next complete centimetre for scoring purposes.
32.3. The length of a fish which is under the eligible size will not be rounded up, so such a fish will not be scored.
ARTICLE 33: SESSION PLACINGS.
33.1. All competitors will receive a placing in their group according to the points they obtain on each sector and for each session of a championship
33.2. Any competitor who fails to make a valid catch in any session will be awarded a placing equal to the number of competitors in the sector for that session. The same placing will be awarded to any competitor who fails to participate for any reason.
ARTICLE 34: TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL POSITIONS.
34.1. The positions of teams and individuals will be determined as follows:
(a) Teams: The first position will be awarded to the team with the lowest cumulative number of placings of all its team members, and similarly for all other positions.
(b) Individuals: The first position will be awarded to the individual with the lowest cumulative number of placings, and similarly for all other positions

Jackson, I think we scored 120 fish between 7 competitors.  I controlled Bill S. twice that's why my pics are bill-centric   Hopefully some of the other participants can post some pictures too.

We'd love to have anyone interested at the next competition!!

[Dejon Hamann]

Looks like I made a slight mistake with the scoring.  Please hold 

[Dejon Hamann]

Very sorry for the confusion.  2 single placing points miss placed really displaced the placings.

This should be the Final Results:

http://troutlegend.com/forum/MGalleryItem.php?id=1355

[Chris Smith]

Congrats to all who competed, and to Dejon on the win!

[Dave Pehle]

Dejon
 Looks like you had a great comp congrat's to all.

[Mark Hanes]

I know I fished my butt off in session 2 but just came up short with a broken rod and 15 minutes lost to get the backup I decided not to take I really did not deserve that win.  

Jed,
 Great job man you pulled some big trout and got second well deserved.  I am glad to have you as part of the team you will have a bright future in the sport and you and I will be pushing each other to get better for years to come I am sure of it.

Bill,
Way to really whoop them in session one.  Both you and I were one average fish from second place it was just that close in the end in our group.  Learning how blanking can kill you is a lesson everyone gets eventually push through you are a great angler.

It was great to compete against both of you it really pushed me to finish strong and took the competition to another level for everyone.  

Dave & Shawn,
You both were a lot of fun as controllers I am glad I shared my experience with you.  You both got to see everything from broken rods(I really hate suckers!)  to four fish in the final minutes of the beat. I hope you guys got half the rush watching it unfold as I did doing it.

Allen,

I had a blast hanging out with you.  Tell your wife no pressure but I could use another fishing buddy in PA. We will make a killing fishing on Monday I just know it!

Larry,
You really got me over the edge and back in the game. I learned with some hard work I have that competitive edge that I need to be successful in every minute of every session.  I will be down there sometime this year to take you up on your invite.  (Maybe the Rumble)

Kalvin,
Your voice message really got  into gear and back in the game mentally after session 1's disaster for me. You are a major part of the founding group and I can't wait hit the streams when you get back.

Dejon,
Good job!  You took what you learned in the past and made it pay off.  You deserved the win nice job with set up and next time I think we will have help.  I am really glad you pushed me to give competitive fly fishing a shot.  We both have a bright future ahead as members and founders of Team TroutLegend.  If nothing else I got you as a life long friend and that means more than a win in any comp ever would.  


I really learned a lot from this experience and all the months of work and to get it organized really paid off. I got more satisfaction out of everyone enjoying time on my home waters than anything.  I can't wait to do it again. I am really excited to meet all of those that are competing in the Harman Invitational with me from what Larry told me Woody and I will have our work cut out for us.  For everyone I missed that was there to experience the awesome weekend I thank you all. Mike I didn't for get you thanks for controlling on Saturday it meant a lot to have your help and support as a friend. So the past is past and the future can only get better. This was one of the best birthday I have had and I thank you all for that.

[Shaun Cmar]

Great time and i can speak for Dave and say congrats to Dejon and thanks to everyone else for all their help and advice. This was our first tournament and could not have had a better time. Hope to see all again at another tournament, and Mark I'll be more than glad to hold your backup rod next time you decide to go sucker fishing. I still think we should have at least measured it since it did take your rod out. 

[Chris Smorul]

Congrats to all, I hope to participate in one of these if its a little closer to home.

[Larry Hofferberth]

I would like to thank all the guys in the tournament for making me me feel right at home. I had a great time, good fishing Thursday and Friday, great fellowship Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
 
Since nobody has described the main highlight on the tournament, I will.

I don’t want to embarrass anybody, so I will call the fisherman Mr. D.. That way nobody will know who I am talking about.
 Mr. D is covering his beat with great skill and accuracy, then he comes upon a fisherman that is in his honey hole and he ask the fisherman if he can fish the lower edge of the pool.  The other man says he can come up and fish the whole pool. Mr. D says thanks and starts to explain to this man that he is part of highly skilled fly fishing team and that they are having a tournament. But as Mr. D. approaches the hole he slips and does a flip flop into the river, will that can happen to all of us.
With head in hand, Mr. D. changes his mind and returns to the lower hole. I guess he felt more comfortable in a hole that was 15” deep, flat gravel rock bottom, and only one big rock in the middle.
Mr. D. finally hooks into a fish, as he is trying to land the fish his feet find the one lonely rock and he does a swan dive into 15”s of water. We only gave him a score of 5 on this dive because his entry was quit loud. In fact two fish jumped clear out of the water as he landed.
Well this could happen to any of us.
Mr. D. then hooked into another fish. This time Mr. D’s feet find this lonely rock again and he attempts a back flip into 15”s of water. Mr. D. loses his hat and sunglasses but later finds all of his lost equipment.
You might be asking yourselves if this show continued with a fourth dive into the water. Well, I don’t feel like writing a novel, so I will stop at this point.

Again, I would like to thank all of you for a great time and Dejon for a great show.

[Dejon Hamann]

   It's true.  4 freaking full dunkings - 3 on the same rock.

[Mark Hanes]

The best part as Dejon was gearing up at the hotel before that session I asked him if he was going to keep testing out his new surf jacket.  His reply "I don't need it on the East Branch but I will use it on the West Branch later today."

[Chris Lee]

Way to go Dejon. Congrats on a successful tournament.

[Mike Norton]

looks like you all had a great time

[Chris Smith]

I knew we should of sent a video camera with Larry!

[Kalvin Kaloz]

Well...it goes with out saying: I wish I could have been there! Cant wait for the next one!

Mark and Dejon...Great Job and thanks for the level of ground work you guys did to make this happen!

Mark, Glad to know voice mail helped...I thought about the whole ROCKY theme but that that might be a bit over the top! It was the least I could do since I was unable to attend.

Who was this Mr. D   I guess well never know!

[Shaun Cmar]

Now I dont feel so bad for going in twice. Once on the main and once on the west. Then again it was hot out and it helped cool us off, rite Dejon?

[Dave Haines]

As a casual observer for the weekend, I can only say that it was a great time. The amount of knowledge that was shared among the competitors was really awesome. I know that I came away much more informed. If this is what all of these competitions are going to be like, I can't wait for the next one. Thanks to everyone for making it a great experience.

[Mark Hanes]

It was a pleasure having you there Dave.  I hope you got some good info from seeing some of the flies we were using.  Are you still game for entering the playing field on the next one?

[Dejon Hamann]

A few pics Chris asked me to post for him:

[Mike Norton]

nice brookie