Clarion River Classic Final w/pictures

[Bill Steudler]

http://troutlegend.com/team/?p=490

[Janos Boda]

Beautiful pictures and thanks for the summary.

[Mark Ferringer]

Congrats guys.  I had a good time, and would definitely do it again.  Its too bad that the fish weren't of the same density the entire length of the stream.  The east branch is a nice creek, and I've fished it quite a few times, but unfortunately in the delayed harvest the neck snappers put a spanking on the resident fish.  I was surprised to catch so many wild brookies, but nothing that measured.  In some sections that may have only given up a fish or two, that wasn't because they were tough, it is because they weren't there.  This isn't sour grapes by any means, and Aston whooped ass; but some sections just didn't have more than a few fish at most in them, and there is nothing you could have done about that.  It was fun.  If the total fish tally is going to be low, mabye the main stem should be a consideration for next year if enough access can be found! 

[Mike Norton]

nice pictures, and the scenery is awesome, beautiful colored fish

[Jim Frazier]

i must agree with mark , the east branch is your typical delayed harvest stocked trout stream , the fish are where the truck put them , the further u get away from the dam the fish population diminishes greatly , its hard to find a delayed harvest stocked stream section that will accomodate 10 guys , not that many good runs in the delayed harvest section

[Dejon Hamann]

Guys, I echo your concerns about "put & take" fisheries.  That's for sure.  But if you look at the results, and take out that one morning session, the entire comp was extremely fair throughout... from beat to beat. 

Total fish caught, Beat:Fish
1   4
2   5
3   4
4   2
5   2
6   5

I must admit that I was thinking to myself on the way home: "shit, I just didn't really have enough fish in my beat."  However, after some time to think about it I really believe that the few stocked fish who were there were acting more like wild fish. And with this knowledge I've been thinking of other ways I could have attacked my water.  Just my 2cents though.

[Bill Steudler]

I am going to have to disagree with Jim and Mark on the water quality.  Every beat had a quality run in it that fish could easily hold in to feed, and I am sure they were there.  Yes, some beats could be better than others, but not every section of stream is going to be exactly equal.

[Mark Hanes]

i fished and controlled the same beats that Mark fished and I can say yes they were pretty hard beats.  But I cold have very easily caught 5 fish out of 3 if things would have went a little better and beat for I did roll a trout during the last session that would have put me much higher in the standings.  

Competitions are not always going to be easy and the smaller fish numbers made for an interesting competition.  It is what it is and really I personally blanked a hard session on a beat with very few fish but looking back I would have done things a little differently and maybe that would have made a difference.  

It is what it is and coming with even beats anywhere it not an easy task.  Also the Main Stem was fishing even worse than the East Branch just ask some of the guys that fished with me on Sunday.

[Jim Frazier]

i think it is odd to have a competition on stocked water and some of the participants are fishing NON stocked water , if anyone seggests there are as many fish in the open water they are just being silly , i can almost picture in my head  every run from the dam to way below the lower bridge. the competition was probably as fair as you could have made it and everyone always has room for improvement and hind sight is always 20-20. to catch as many trout in those conditions with trout as pressured as the ones up there my hat goes off to aston , job well done pal !

[Teddy Lutz]

If eleven people fished for three hours and caught 34 measurable fish that means that the stream yielded one fish per hour which is actually pretty good fishing for late fall in low clear water conditions. Take into account that many more fish  were caught but went unregistered because they didn't "measure," the stream yielded more than one fish per hour. There aren't too many quality trout streams that yield much more at this time of year.  Anyone who fishes crystal clear water in late fall and catches one quality fish per hour is definitely doing something right. My mistake was not thinking outside my own personal experience. It never occurred to me to fish egg patterns or Sucker spawn, instead I fished small insects. Shame on me for being narrow minded and not truly taking into account the individual characteristics of the entire fishing situation, my fault. The water was beautiful, challenging, humbling and yielded at least one pretty and measurable fish per hour; wish I lived closer.

[Jim Frazier]

i know nothing about competition fishing or beat set up or sessions and all that but i think a 2 day if possible event next year with 5 people each day all fishing the delayed harvest would have been better , just a suggestion not saying the competion was unfair or anything , everyone drew their area and it is up to each angler to make the best of his or her water , the stream did yield quite a few trout for the said conditions

[Mark Ferringer]

Geez I opened up a can of worms here!  I thought it was a great time.  Period. I'm sorry I couldn't have stuck around for a few brews that evening.  I know that you guys put in a lot of footwork and time getting everything set up.  My thing is this- The delayed harvest section of any stream is going to have more fish in the fall.  Its as simple as that.  It's not like Spring where every pocket, riff, and hole has teams of trout in it.  I'm not complaining about the water, or any of that, but you have to agree that there are more fish in a section that protects the fish for the majority of the year.  I'm done posting on this thread because its beating a dead horse and  I don't want hard feelings.  I want to give one more congratulation to the winners.  I learned a lot, especially from Kalvin, about a lot of little things. 

[Dejon Hamann]

No worries guys.  There's always room for improvement so it's nice to get feedback. 

This seems like a good time for an anecdote.  I remember I had just fished a poor beat poorly at the 2007 Nationals and I got back to the parking lot (yes, I've told this before) and GeorgeDaniel is laying against a rock with his hat over his head.  He'd just done what he always does - which is catch a lot of fish.  I grumbled something and GD merely said (probably not verbatim): "Dejon, it's a fishing competition and some luck is involved.  You just need to go to as many as possible - that way it evens out in the end."

Indeed.

[Anita Coulton]

I thought the event was run very well on some challenging water.  Was it what I thought it would be?  Honestly, no.  I was thinking that we'd catch a few more fish.  But if you look past the fish and the catching part, competition angling is about improving your skills as an angler, as well as being able to make neccessary adjustments quickly.  This water, as fishy as it looked, proved to be a great test.  Starting out in the morning, I was excited to draw a "pretty sick" beat (6).  Clearly the locals must have known something, as two were fishing as I pulled up.  I could have chosen to fish the "E" beat above, but it didn't have the structure that 6 had.  Bottom line....I was forced to work for fish.  Would I have changed anything?  Nope.  I followed my game plan..(well, except for the one I dropped)...
Catching a good number of fish is great...don't get me wrong....but there is always something to learn when you step in the water....lots of fish or not. 

[Loren Williams]

Whether there are a ton of fish or not, the winning anglers will always be those that are solid enough, and creative enough to do what it takes to find, catch and net an extra fish or two over and above the competition.  Sometimes you win a session with one fish, or 21 fish.  Beats are beats and none will be equal.  Multiple sessions across a variety of venues and a random draw make it as fair as possible.

[Pat Weiss]

It was a fun time regardless of venue and was good to meet new people involved with this sport.  My only suggestion for another Oct. or Nov. comp----Wear an orange hat!!!

Pat

[Dejon Hamann]

OMG! I know!  Would someone a little closer to that absolute debacle please relay the story for these fine people??? It's just too scary funny!

[Bill Steudler]

Well it all started at around 9:03 am.....I only know this because mark had just scored a fish and I was controlling him.  I looked up to see three deer across the stream about 50 feet from us heading upstream toward dejon's beat.  About 15-20 minutes later I heard a gun shot.  Followed up shortly by a second.  The deer came running back,  two of the deer came running past us followed by the third severely wounded and struggling to hustle through the woods.  The wounded deer happened to be about 10 feet from the edge of the stream.  By the time I realized the deer was shot another shot rang out.  I hunt but this was too close for comfort.  Mark was standing in the stream closer to the deer than I was.  He started to yell out that "there are people down here."  I will save you from the explicitness.  The deer trudged its way through the woods passing through beats 3 and 4.  After the shooting calmed down a 16 year old girl came running through the woods with a short sleeved shirt and an orange vest on.  It was 40 degrees outside.  Apparently she was not too concerned with the proximity to people that she was shooting because she said she saw us and continued to chase the wounded deer down.  Eventually she found the deer and a final "mercy shot" was fired to finish the job.  Only in Elk County.....

I think Pat's suggestion will be taken for by me and hopefully all competitors for next year.  I guess in the world of competitive fly fishing flood stage water will be rewritten to be the second most dangerous scenario for competition. 

[Kalvin Kaloz]

A very accurate account Bill!!! That Shizer was a crazy for a solid 10 minutes! Teddy was worried about the poor deer...all I could think is; I am in the direct line of fire from where the shots came from and the "poor" doe limping stream side. It added a whoel new chapter to combat fishing!

[Anita Coulton]

I heard the shots, but luckily was downstream of the action.  I can still imagine Kalvin and Ted ducking behind the rock......Pat, bring more orange next year for all of us!