George Daniel: “New book, new direction.”

George Daniel dominated the American Competitive Fly Fishing scene in the late 2000s before his early retirement from active competition and has recently released an in depth hardcover book entitled “Dynamic Nymphing” which chronicles the techniques and disciplines which took him to the top. In this interview George takes us inside this exciting new manual, behind the scenes of his Team USA run, and along the path of a fierce competitor, heralded instructor, and dedicated family man.
photo by Hallie Mansfield

Hamann: Thank you again for taking the time to entertain these questions. As always I like to jump right in. What was the impetus to write this book and what does “Dynamic Nymphing” mean to you? Also, all though you don’t find the word “competition” on the cover all of the material discussed is extremely pertinent to the competitive angler: what do you hope it will bring to that community?

Daniel: Thank you for the interview. My passion behind the book was to write a broad perspective on nymphing. As much as I enjoy fishing the Euro methods, I understand there’s other nymphing tactics that suit unique stream conditions.

In order for success to occur, I believe anglers must implement a wide range of tactics throughout a season. Also, variety is the spice of life and utilizing a range of tactics, keeps my interest peaked everyday on the water.

Also, I think in very simple terms (well, at least that’s what I believe) and I wanted to express my basics views on what many anglers believe to be complicated strategies.

I hope readers understand I’m not advocating a “new” or “revolutionary” tactic. For example, Czech Nymphing is a form of Tight Line Nymphing that has been practiced for eons. However, these “euro” tactics are simply improvements (progress…if you will) to an already solid foundation. For example, improvements in long rod technology, sighters, curly cue (spiral) indicators, tungsten beads and specialty hooks are significant advances in nymphing. All I’m attempting to do is share with readers the small advances in nymphing that will aid their successes along the stream.

Hamann: Many competitors self impose a strict regimen of fishing only by comp standards. After so many years in the game what is your take on this? Do you think it’s essential to fish fips-mouche style 100% of the time?

Daniel: If you’re really set on becoming a good competitive angler, you first have to possess confidence with the enforced rules. For me, that meant spending a good 6-8 months practicing only with the Fips rules. However, at some point during this strick regiment, I felt I needed to position myself outside these rules and look in.

Meaning, I actually began to use manufactured suspenders (aka indicators) and spent time with some great indicator-fishers, which eventually provided me with insights as to how to fish the dry dropper. This thought process only occurred to me when I stepped away from the Fips format, which provided me with a fresh look at tactics.

Also, I enjoy catching fish and that means I’m usually open to most tactics (except for bait fishing) to get the job done. My current passion is throwing large articulated streamers, which is a big no-no in international rules. I think sticking strictly to these rules takes away many of fly fishing’s enjoyable avenues to catch fish.

Hamann: Just skimming through your book it’s obvious you’re not a “one man show”. So much of the book pays homage, in photo and writing, to the many great teachers and friends you’ve met along the way. Tell us a little about some of the most influential voices who brought these techniques to life for you?

Daniel: Yes, I have had so many great mentors over the years. One key to my success was to surround myself with anglers who are better than I was. Humility was one of my best teachers. You can’t be afraid to be outdone by another angler…it’s inevitable so you should embrace it.

First and foremost is Joe Humphreys – the man who took the time to spend a few moments to teach a youngster. I really owe Joe a lot for building a strong foundation and more important for giving me encouragement. It’s amazing what a little encouragement can do!

Second, I want to give credit to many of my teammates who shared their knowledge with me during my 7 year stay with FF Team USA. One thing Joe Humphreys always stressed to me was to “give credit where credit is due.” I’ll be honest when I say that I learned the most from Lance Egan. The guy is one of the most solid (all around) anglers on the globe. However, there are so many guys including Loren Williams, Devin Olson, Josh Stephens, Pete Erickson, and Brett Bishop that also shared some great tips. A man who always fishes alone fishes lonely waters.

I like to surround myself with those who aren’t afraid to disagree with me. Engaging yourself in deep conversation really makes you think why you do what you do. This is the only way you grow as an angler and as a human being.

Hamann: The section on your flies coupled with the photos is almost worth the price of the book alone. I knew you were a nut for weighing flies but the detail you dive into and the care you take in organizing your fly boxes is quite impressive. Tell us a little bit about why this is so important and how this aspect of your game has evolved over the years?

Daniel: Besides lengthening the cast to provide my nymphs additional time to gain the bottom or changing rod tip angles during the stop (i.e. modified tuck casts)… weight adjustment is my third adjustment. I’m not going to go into great detail about my organization system but sum it up in one sentence – my nymphs are organized according to weight, in small increments. This really allows me to micro manage the weight used during the drift.

Hamann: Speaking of great photography. I see much of the photo work attributed to you and your wife. Could you tell us a little about your photo gear? Is this just a perfunctory adjunct to producing a book or more of a hobby?

Daniel: I own a Nikon D90-a good entry level camera that served me well during the last year of the book project. Before that, I utilized the original Nikon D100, which also captured usable images.

I actually love photography but have to admit that I have a lot of work to do before calling myself a photographer. My editor, Jay Nichols passed along some great tips that allowed Amidea and myself to capture usable shots. Also, I have a younger brother who lives in West Yellowstone and has become a good photographer. This has motivated me even more to travel out west and spend time learning from him. Becoming a better photographer has become one of my top goals for 2012.

Hamann: I was a little surprised to find a good portion of the book dedicated to casting technique. Do you think many competitors overlook the importance of effective casting when they get “Close Nymphing Blinders” on?

Daniel: Maybe a few competitive anglers! I wanted to really break down every split second before, during, and after the cast. There are so many subtleties in casting and the presentation so I wanted to break it down to the very core.
photo by Hallie Mansfield

Hamann: Now that it’s obvious this book will be a great success what plans do you have for your next project?

Daniel: I have a few projects that will keep me busy the next five years 

Hamann: Let’s turn our attention to your Team USA credentials for a moment. I believe one of the most impressive accomplishments in American Competitive Fly Fishing to date was your back to back National Championship wins in 2007 and 2009 (no national in 08’). Please, without brevity, can you walk us through this incredible showing?

Daniel: Limited skill and a good bit of luck go a long way. I had a great group of teammates that shared great information with me in 2007 and 2009. What I remember most during those two comps was my ability to stay calm when things went wrong (e.g. getting a rough beat or dropping a fish).

The key to sustained success is not thinking about past accomplishments. The only thing that reminds me of past accomplishments are the few medals in my house. My advice to current competitors is to never get hung on past performances. I see a few of the new guns strutting their stuff after a good finish at a regional qualifier. Their arrogance reeks and these are normally the anglers that rarely continue to improve. Confidence is a necessary tool in any aspect of life but I have no time for arrogance. The presence of arrogance creates an information barricade.

I’m not a competitive person by nature. That is, I never went into a competition saying to myself, “man, do I really want to kick this guy’s butt today.” That would have ruined it for me. Instead, I consider myself pretty laid back in comparison to many in the competitive circuit. All I had working for me during those years was the will to do the best I was capable of doing…nothing more. What I lack in skill…I make up for in work ethic.

Hamann: I’m sure you must cherish your multiple trips as a member with the Fly Fishing Team USA World Squad. Can you highlight some of your fondest memories including your 5th place finish in the 2006 World Championships held in Portugal?

Daniel: My fondest memory was during my last session on the Mondego River. This was the river that proved to be the most difficult for all competitors. It was a large, warm, and slow moving body of water with few holding spots for trout…it reminded me more a warm water fishery.

I think I was ranked somewhere like 8th or 9th going into this final session. Up to that point, I felt good with my performance but knew I was about to face my most difficult venue. I had Vladi and Anthony watching, which helped immensely. The river is actually classified as a tail-water but temperatures were pushing 70 degrees. Water generation would occur without warning. A few trout were caught during non-generating but many were caught just as the river was rising and you only had about 25 minutes to produce before the river was blown out. There were very few likely holding spots for trout in this large expanse of water so you had to be at the right place as the water begun to rise.

I fished my beat for over two hours without any signs of a trout, although I did manage to land several course fish. With only 30 minutes left, I was fishing the lower half of my beet (400 yards long) when Vladi began yelling “the water is rising.” As soon as I hear these words, I ran 100 yards up the middle of the river to the one likely holding spot and began to work the water. Within 25 minutes, I landed two trout and then the river was completely blown out. What I remember most during Portugal was the last 10-15 minutes of my last session on the Mondego River. At that point, the river was completely blown but and it was getting to be late evening. The river flowed through a beautiful valley filled with small villages and terraces spread over the landscape. The soft evening light highlighted the entire valley and I just had one of those moments when I thought to myself: “wow…what an experience!” I ended up 5th, which is respectable but what I remember most was the last 10 minutes of that session. In fact, the only photo of Portugal I have is the shot taken from the top of the mountain (from my hotel window) looking down at the spot in the valley I finished my last session.

Hamann: This might seem like a minor question, but I’m curious. Do you end up using your “home flies” at World venues? Or do you find, when the beat bell rings are you are using almost exclusively flies you’ve tied on site?

Daniel: Absolutely! As I’ve gotten a little older and perhaps wiser, I have become a minimalist and have found most trout patterns will work anywhere around the globe. Of course, the team would learn about a particular “local” pattern but most often I use confidence patterns.

Hamann: With the advent of incredible resources like the TroutLegend Forum and your Book it seems there are no “secrets” anymore. No secret flies, no secret leaders, no secret techniques. Do you believe this to be true?

Daniel: I would agree with that statement 97% of the time. However, I’m sure there are a few tightly held secrets out there.

Hamann: I recently saw a statistic that said 175 Individual World showings have originated from European countries and 3 from the Americas. Why has there historically been so much “suckage” on this side of the pond and do you think we’re gaining any ground on our European competitive counterparts?

Daniel: In my opinion, up to 6 years ago…the US has sent few qualified angler over the pond. In my opinion, so many of the top Euro competitors are guys who compete on a weekly basis. Literally, the Euro countries are smaller where competitors can meet and compete against each other on a weekly basis. The key is repetition. You can practice by yourself all you want but only anglers can replicate the pressures of competition in that setting. This is changing with the formation of regional competitive teams. I think you’re going to see a better US showing in the future.

Also, teams like France, Czech Republic, Slovakia and several others have strong youth programs. The US Youth Team is making some noise and there is now a group of kids that can transition into the adult team.

Hamann: You recently had a short stint as Head Coach for the USA Adult Fly Fishing Team, but then resigned. What is your view of where this team has been and where it needs to go?

Daniel: There is no doubt that FF Team USA possesses the best group of competitive anglers. One of the team’s biggest challenges is gaining support from both the public and fly fishing industry. I believe creating a transparent organization is the first step to gain support. That is, when FF Team USA says the board has made a decision…who is the board? If this truly is America’s team then the public needs to know who is making these decisions. Somebody needs to be held accountable.

That is, when Team USA says that three anglers will be hand picked – who is hand picking the team? If I were an angler looking to spend thousands of dollars traveling to make the team…I want to know who is deciding my fate.

Also, the team needs to develop another National Championship committee. This was a huge task Jack Dennis was able to accomplish in 2006 & 2007. Unfortunately, this group dissolved after only two years. Ideally, this group would organize all regional qualifiers along with the nationals rather than the actual competitors, which is the case for some of the 2012 events. Competitors need to focus on competing – not organizing events. This group would also be responsible for uniting hosting clubs/ff groups across the country to bring about greater awareness for FF Team USA. In my opinion, this was one of Jack’s greatest contributions to FF Team USA – he demonstrated that creating such organizations could happen. For example, he formed a group of volunteers from Fresno, Kalamazoo, Bend, Salt Lake, Cody, and Boudler – all within a two year period. Unfortunately, I failed to accomplish such a task during my brief tenure as coach. I hope whoever is in charge takes their job serious enough to think of forming a similar structure. It’s a huge task but it needs to be done.

Hamann: Put simply, what do you think sets a very high level competitor apart from a true champion who finds the podium again and again?

Daniel: Great competitors acknowledge their weaknesses and focus a large part of their training to improve. I always heard guys like Lance, Loren, and Devin talk more about their weaknesses they planned to work on.

Hamann: What are your thoughts on the TroutLegend Fly Fishing League? And do you think you’ll ever enter the competitive circuit again?

Daniel: Frist, I appreciate the fact that the site demands users display their real names and appreciate the site is clean. I see very little bashing on this site. Strong opinions are fine as these qualities bring about richer conversation but pure rudeness only breaks apart human relationships. So thanks to Mr. Hamann for his efforts to unite anglers.

As for competing again…No. One thing I will give myself credit for is the ability to focus. When I competed from 06-09, my entire world revolved around FF Team USA. My focus was so intense that I sometimes neglected other aspects in my life.

When my daughter was born in Feb 2009, I was competing for FF Team USA, Head Coach for the US Youth Team, writing Dynamic Nymphing, travelled and spoke to 20 fly fishing organizations along with my normal 45 hours a week job at TCO and trying to be a husband. I was totally burnt out by the end of 2009 and even back in 2008 I knew I didn’t have the time necessary to stay at the top. So before the 2009 Nationals, I told my wife that I was going to win Nationals and retire on a high note. My plan actually worked.

I just don’t have the time needed to compete at a high level. This was evident during my 2009 and 2010 performance in the Worlds. I was wasting my time and taking a spot from someone who could better perform the job.

Also, I realized there are more important things in life than a fly fishing competition….money in the bank, funding a few ROTH IRA’s, and spending time with my family.

Hamann: I hope I’m not spilling the beans here, but I’ve heard rumor you’ve signed on to Coach the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team this year? Team NC dominated the TroutLegend League last year taking home the much sought after Top Team of North America Trophy – what do you hope to bring to this all ready stellar squad?

Daniel: I thought I was done (at least for a while) coaching competitive fly fishing when I resigned from FF Team USA. However, I got a call from Paul Bourcq one day after my resignation to discuss the opportunity to work with the NC FF Team. I ran a clinic last fall for this group and was impressed with the organization. In fact, while driving home I called Amidea to tell her how impressed I was with NC FF Team and the excitement I felt from all team members. I love people who have a “synergy” mindset and knew this was the most organized competitive team/organization in North America followed in second by the US Youth Team.

Long story short, it didn’t take me long to decide I wanted to be part of this organization. Everyone wants to be part of something that is bigger than they are and the NC FF Team is exactly that. They have an active board, a non profit status, funding, great community support, and an excited group of anglers. Tough to say no to that.

Hamann: People are starting to see the competitive scene “Blow up” in the last year. As of this writing there are all ready 30 competitions on the schedule for the current 2012/2013 cycle and an estimated 70-100 comps may clear before the cycle’s end. Reports tell us World leaders like the Czechs and Brits engage in competitions nearly every weekend of their open season. Still, recent stats show us our National Fly Fishing team members engage in only a handful of competitions each year at best. Do you believe a competitor can excel at the World or National level without the rigor of regular competition?

Daniel: If you read Michale Phelps book “No Limits,” Malcom Gladwell’s “Outliers,” or any number of self help books, you will see that there’s a parallel between time spent working on the skill and the level of success. The Czechs do compete on a weekly basis and you can see how honed they are while competing.

I think the US has more than enough skill to strike a medal this year but I know the current team would have a better chance if they fished on a monthly basis. The physical distance that separates current team members and the lack of funding is hurting this team.
All I’m saying is if you put the top five FF Team USA anglers into a similar Czech system (competing every week) – they would rock it every year. Fly Fishing Team USA really has all the talent needed to strike gold – if the talent is developed.

Hamann: When one drives up to the TCO Fly Shop in State College PA they will see a huge billboard poster of you guiding your wife. Would you be so kind as to introduce your family to us? How has your wife guided you over the years?

Daniel: My incredible wife of 10 years; Amidea has been with me since 1996 and has never looked back. She was the one who encouraged me to travel to the first US qualifier in Bend, OR. Amidea is also the one who supported my decision to spend weeks away from home and spend some of our discretionary income to travel with FF Team USA. She actually loves to fish and it was tough for both of us when I traveled to Europe and she couldn’t go. There was a 4 year period when we didn’t take a single fishing trip together due to all my vacation time being put towards Team USA. As an old saying goes, “Behind every good angler is a great women” and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.

We also have a three year old daughter and a one year old son. Amidea and I don’t really care if they ever take up fly fishing but we want to immerse them in the outdoors…something so many kids today never take part in. It’s amazing to see the difference in both their attitudes when they spend an hour outside playing as compared to watching TV inside.

Hamann: What are your dogs names?

Daniel: Helios and Madison.

Hamann: I hear you just moved to a place right on the banks of the famed Big Fishing Creek in Centre County Pennsylvania? How has this creek shaped you as an angler?

Daniel: We bought an old foreclosed farm house. Most people told us we were nuts due to the amount of work needed. But time goes fast. We bought the house in July and now plan to move in sometime in March. Amidea and I have spent every spare moment working and planning its resurrection. The long time frame allowed us to pay in cash for all the improvements rather than taking a loan. I hate to be in debt to anyone.

Fishing Creek is where we felt the most at home. When we first got married, we rented the second floor of an old farm house across from the Federal Fish Hatchery in Lamar. At that time, I spent nearly 100 days a year on BFC. All I will say is that BFC taught me patience.

We loved the area and enjoyed taking walks along the stream everyday and we told each other that we would eventually find a house in the Valley. We bought a house in Lock Haven and made it our home for almost 8 years but we always kept an eye open for the right place. After four years and several real estate agents…we found our home.

Hamann: Thank you again for taking this interview. Would you leave us with some thoughts on what competitive fly fishing has brought to your life and how you hope it will evolve in this country?

Daniel: Competitive fly fishing has taught me that you learn more from your losses than you do your victories. While I really despise losing, I also know that learning from my past mistakes will increase the chance of success down the road. Doing this interview actually forced me to look at my journal, where I noticed 4 times the wording for my less desirable outcomes than for any top finish. For me, a loss created a greater sense of humility -something all of us could use a little more of these days.

Overall, I think competitive fly fishing will continue to push boundaries and hopefully lead to improved tactics. I say “improved” because I don’t like to call these Euro tactics “new” because the origins of Czech Nymphing date back to England when Skues decided to look at subsurface presentations. Skues was a true revolutionary – going against traditional thoughts. Instead, these Euro tactics are improvements to an already developed system. This is why I call it progress, rather than revolutionary.

The idea of competitive fly fishing is to make the most out of your time on a given piece of water. That is, catch the most fish in the least amount of time. This teaches efficiency. Lets face it, life is crazy in this day and age. People are busier than ever before and have less time on the water. Most anglers have a limited amount of time to fish. So why not look to competitive fly fishing to learn a few lessons in time management?

The recreational angler can quickly apply any of the skills and lessons learned from competitive fly fishing. I really believe the development of tungsten flies, colored mono, jig hooks and the development of long rods has increased the success rate of most anglers. Fly fishing has been around for a long time and so much has been written on the subject. There’s really nothing radical or different these days. Instead, there are what I call “small steps forward”- small but measurable improvements and competitors are always looking for that microscopic detail. I think any angler would like to know how to catch one or two more fish every time out.