NC Fly Fishing Team Member in the News

There is a nifty quote on CentreDaily.com about NC Fly Fishing Team co-founder, Chris Lee. The quote comes from their article about the United States Fly Fishing Championships that were held recently.

These are skilled anglers,” Ford said. “These are the best in the country.”
They qualified at open tryouts held in different states, including Montana, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon and Michigan. Even when they came up empty-handed Sunday, their prowess was apparent. Sampsell liked how Chris Lee, from North Carolina, quickly freed his line with a flick of his wrist.
“You notice these guys: They don’t get hung up,” Sampsell said. “These guys are good.”

Here is a link to the results from the US event.

Yelton Places 2nd in Bass Bug Classic

Yelton poses with a largemouth bass caught on Lake Lure. Photo by Brandon Potts

A couple of guys we know from North Carolina went all warm water on us and ended up bringing home a prize.

Congratulations to Michael Yelton (of the NC Fly Fishing Team) and Paul Thompson (that guy who has won like all the Total Outdoorsman events ever held). Two quality fellows!

CHATTANOOGA, T.N. (JUNE 24, 2009): Michael Yelton of The Granddaddy Fly-Fishing Experience in Lake Lure, N.C. finished second alongside teammate Paul Thompson of Marion, N.C. in the first annual Chattanooga Bass Bug Classic, a two-day tournament fly-fishing for bass on the Nick-a-Jack section of the Tennessee River. Held on June 18th and 19th, anglers were scored on the total weight of bass caught over the two-day period, and any fish in possession had to be more than 15 inches long to comply with Tennessee state laws.

Yelton and Thompson brought in a total of seven bass for a live weigh-in totaling 13.8 pounds. The winning team, led by tournament founder and director Mac McGaee along with teammate Frank Duff, scored a total weight of 23.3 pounds.

Yelton, who is also a member of the North Carolina Fly-Fishing Team, enjoyed fishing for bass as opposed to trout, which is more common in fly-fishing tournaments.

"This was a great change of pace, I think most anglers don't believe that you can fly-fish for bass and have much success,"said Yelton. "This tournament proves otherwise. I look forward to seeing bass fly-fishing tournaments grow."

The second place team received a prize package of $350, a fly rod and reel, fly line, and an original hand-painted fly-fishing portrait by Paul Puckett, who donated three paintings to the cause. Proceeds from the invitational tournament were donated to the Chambliss Children's Home & Shelter to exclusively fund the organization's fishing program for children.

Yelton's next stop on the fly-fishing tournament trail will be at The America Cup International Fly Fishing Tournament to be held August 22-28, 2009 in Summit County, C.O. Six anglers from the North Carolina Fly-Fishing Team will be represented at the invitation-only tournament. The winning team will receive a cash purse of $2,000. To learn more about Michael Yelton and The Granddaddy Fly-Fishing Experience, please visit www.granddaddyflyfishing.com.

NC Fly Fishing Team Website Live

The excellent anglers with the NC Fly Fishing Team have launched a new website. The site contains information about the team and their conservation and education activities as well as competition information. It is a snazzy looking site that would make a great spot for potential sponsors to show their support.

The North Carolina Fly Fishing Team is a group of Fly Fishing Enthusists that formed in 2006 as a non-profit organization dedicated to developing a competitive fly fishing team to participate in regional, national and international events. The Team also strives to participate and coordinate educational and conservation efforts aimed at teaching and preserving the valuabl e angling resources in North Carolina.

We are particularly proud to be associated with the team although we are not quite sure why a group of such excellent fishers let us tag along. Be sure to check out the photo gallery and promo video. The team has already had some success in Fips Mouche style competition so we are expecting big things in the future.

Their next big test comes this weekend at Lake Lure, North Carolina's Olympiad Fly Masters.

$2,500 for Grabs in "Rumble In the Rhododendron"

The North Carolina Fly Fishing Team, in conjunction with its sponsors and various state and local agencies, is pleased to announce the inaugural "Rumble In the Rhododendron." The rumble is a two man team fly fishing tournament to be held in the Western North Carolina Mountains October 17th - 19th with a purse of $2,500. The event will be televised on The Sportsman's Channel by the show Fly Rod Chronicles which is hosted by Curtis Fleming.

The tournament features a day one fly casting tournament. Cast your own fly rod of any length up to a 9' 5wt rod, to various targets placed at realistic distances for a combined team score.The top twelve placing teams will advance to Sunday's fly fishing portion of the tournament.

In the first round of fishing on the Delayed Harvest Section of the Tuckasegee River, both anglers on each team will catch and score as many fish as possible from their beats in a three hour session. Each beat will have an assigned judge, judges will measure and score fish.The top 6 placing teams from the first fishing round will advance to the final round of fishing on the Oconoluftee River in Cherokee on the new Trophy Catch and Release Section, where they will again catch and score as many fish as possible from their beat in a three hour session.

Trout in the section of water will average from 5-10lbs!! A sure bet for a barn burner!This is strictly a catch and release tournament, all flies must have the barbs removed.

Entry Fee is $250 per team. Each participant receives an event shirt and gifts from our sponsors. For more information and to pre-register visit www.rumbleintherhododendron.com or call 828-421-0172

Here's your chance to test yourself against your fellow anglers and possibly bring home some cash.

PS. Catchy name isn't it? We helped with that part and will be covering the event via FlyFishMagzine.com.

Team USA Helps CEO's Get Out of The Office

From the world of FIPS Mouche comes an announcement that Fly Fishing Team USA has partnered with CEO Challenges, the world leader in sport competition for CEO's, to develop a series of fly fishing challenges for CEO's.

The CEO Fly Fishing Challenge will span three days and include four fishing sessions of competition. Two sessions will be held on the lake and two in a drift boat on the river. Each session will be three hours. Following a scoring system established by the International Federation of Sport Fly Fishing, Buchner has outlined the technical aspect of this competition, including reels, leaders, lines, rods and flies. Angler catches are scored on number and size of fish caught and measured. A “Controller” waits nearby to measure the fish before it is released back into the water. For the drift boat rounds, competitors will be two to a boat, accompanied by a guide/controller who is not allowed to provide advice during the competition.

“This is a special competitive program designed for CEO anglers to test their skills, learn from some of the best anglers in the world, and give back to the sport,” said Ted Kennedy, owner of CEO Challenges. “In addition to competing, Challenge participants will hear from Team USA members who will be on hand to offer instructive tips.”

Not just any CEO will qualify, as they must have at least 2 million in revenue for admittance into the competition. Exceptions will be made for C-Suite executives of companies doing at least 4 million in business per year or other celebs.

The good news for the team is that 50% of the proceeds will be donated to team USA in their bid for a 2008 World Championship. Entry fees are $3,700 per CEO and $400 for guests.

Sign up Link

In other news, in the much under reported absence of a national championship series this year, plans continue to go forward for the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team to host a series of challenges against members of team USA on Carolina waters. The team is currently seeking sponsors for what has been dubbed the "Rumble in the Rhododendron, 2008." If interested contact the Editor and we will pass the information along.

Fly Tying: Josh Almond Ties Galloup's Streamers

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Josh Almond is a talented fly tier who is also a member of the North Carolina Fly Fishing team. Josh shows us how he ties Kelly Galloup's articulated streamers in this tutorial. It is as much art as it is information.

Blobs...Steroids for Fly Anglers?

Photo Via SportFish.co.uk

When our NC Fly Fishing Team goes up against some of the UK's finest anglers they might want to check their fly boxes for "Blobs." According to an article in the Telegraph the blob shaped flies, which look nothing like natural insect life are so effective that traditional nymph fishers are crying foul.

Traditionalists claim that the brightly coloured "blob" trout lure is unsporting and should be banned. They accuse its users of adopting aggressive tactics, with the new breed of fishermen described as "yobs with blobs".
The highly effective, ball-shaped blobs, made from various fibres, promote an aggressive, chasing reaction from trout when pulled quickly through the water. Unlike traditional flies, such as "nymphs" or "daddy-longlegs", they do not resemble a living insect.
Purists argue that blobs, which are permitted in major contests, give an unfair advantage over conventional methods and make trout fishing too easy. England fly-fishing champion Chris Ogborne was so opposed to them that he left the England team, and says he has received hundreds of letters of support.

Here is a link to a video where a still water nymph fisher takes a thrashing from the blobber lobber.

We are a few hours late posting this one so check out posts from Tom at the Trout Underground and New Zealand's Tony Bishop of Bish on Fish about blobber fishing.

How is this any different than drifting a Y2k bug on Arkansas' White River?

Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge

The guy behind the curtain over at the Southeast Fly Fishing Forum, Eugene Shuler, just qualified to compete at the regional of the Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge. Eugene had the best overall score at the qualifier shooting air rifle and bow as well as casting to targets from the deck of a bass boat using a bait caster.

Congratulations Eugene! Now if we could only get him to wear a FlyFishMagazine.com patch on his fishing vest. If he wins the entire event we plan to buy the naming rights to his SUV.

Eugene Shuler Wins Inaugural Pisgah Fly Masters

Eugene Shuler takes the overall winner's trophy at the 1st ever Pisgah Fly Masters held this past weekend on the Davidson River. To take the win Eugene had qualify on a casting course and score three fish during the second day's fishing totaling 63 inches.

You may know Eugene from our coverage of the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team which he helped form or from the Southeast Fly Fishing Forum which he sponsors.

Congratulations to Eugene! Read more about it via this article in the Citizen-Times.

NC Fly Fishing Team In The News

Scott Parrott of Hendersonville, North Carolina's Times-News Online provided some excellent coverage of the NC Fly Fishing Team's February practice session.

Bryson City native Eugene Shuler founded the N.C. Fly Fishing Team in 2005. Shuler, who could fish before he could write, hoped the team would introduce more Tarheel State anglers to the emerging sport of competitive fly fishing. Shuler, a builder, appeared on national TV when he competed in the Fly Fishing Masters in 2004.

The competitive take on this quiet, solitary sport remains in its infancy in the United States, especially when compared to its avid following in Europe.

But Shuler says interest is growing here in the sport, where fly fishers face off rod-to-rod in casting and fishing contests.

Read the rest of Scott's article via BlueRidgeNow.com Be sure to check out the video from the event as well.

North Carolina Fly Fishing Team Practice

More than twenty members of the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team met this weekend for a practice session on the waters of the Davidson River near Brevard, North Carolina. Davidson River Outfitters operates a private section of the blue ribbon river and made it available to the team for the day. This was also the team's media event so reporters from several media outlets spent quality time with the team and some large trout. Several team members were interviewed by members of the media during the practice session

Things are picking up for the team as several members prepare for the upcoming Pisgah Fly Masters tournament which will be held in late March. Stay tuned for more information about the team in the near future.

Editor's note: The lack of serious fish porn from this event is due to editorial camera malfunction and not entirely due to the fact that the fishing was so good we failed to take very many photos.

Misery: From the Corporate HQ of FlyFishMagazine.com

When we open up Forbes.com today we learn that we are the 9th most miserable city in the United States. Thank the lord for Modesto, CA or we would have been 8th.

No. 9Charlotte, N.C.

Commute times 96

Income tax rates 107

Superfund sites 97

Unemployment 97

Violent crimes 140

Weather 88
Misery Measure 625

Charlotte ranked in the bottom 50% of all six categories that we examined. Its worst showing was in violent crimes (838 crimes per 100,000 residents). As home to banking giants Bank of America and Wachovia, Charlotte could see an uptick in unemployment, thanks to the problems at those banks.

They left off - 2 hours from nearest trout stream.

We are depressed and all job offers to places near trout streams are being entertained. We plan to do something about our sorrow tomorrow as we make the two plus hour drive to the Davidson River to hang out with members of the North Carolina Fly Fishing Team.

Photo via Wikipedia

Tying the Double Bugger

Early in 2007, North Carolina Fly Fishing team member Josh Almond, gave us a heads up about some monster bass near his home town. Now he has put together a tutorial showing how to tie a fly that just might do the trick to nail one of those big bucket mouths this spring, the Double Bugger.

Step 1: Start your thread

Step 2: wrap some lead for extra weight if needed.

Step 3: Tie in your marabou for a tail (tip: try to keep tips even. Do Not cut your marabou tips!)

Step 4: After you tie in your tail, find a saddle feather and tie it in by its tip. After that tie in, dub, wrap or create your body...be creative.

Step 5: Palmer the saddle forward, stroking each fiber back as you go...whip finish. You're now halfway finished!

Step 6: Remove finished rear half from vise and grab a new hook. Tie on some barbell eyes.

Step 7: Cut a section of 12# flourocarbon create a loop through the eye of the rear fly. Thread 2 plastic, metal or tungsten beads onto the line, this will prevent fouling of the hooks.

Step 8: Now tie in the mono loop to the Lead fly, i like to add a drop of superglue to make sure the mono won't pull out.

Step 9: Repeat the steps to create rear fly, whip finish.

Step 10: Check out your finished fly

Step 11: or get even more creative add rubber legs!

Most important: Have fun and catch some fish on it! Be sure to cut of the lead hook, the trailer is all you need on these buggers!

Josh's hard work has earned him an item from our bag of schwag. Josh will receive a lovely FlyFishMagazine.com fly box. Hopefully he will fill it up and return it to us.

National Fly Fishing Championship: Standings

Here are the individual placings from the first day of the National Fly Fishing Championships:

1. Scott Robertson USA-3

2. Anthony Naranja USA-2

3. Graham Lumsdon British Army

4. George Daniel USA-2

5. Mike Sexton USA-1

6. Chris Galvin Midwest-2

7. Tim Emery Midwest-1

8. Loren Williams West-1

9. Edward S. Pinkston USA-3

10. Pete Erickson USA-1

11. Riley Cotter USA-3

12. Josh Stephens USA-1

13. John Buckley Shamrock

14. Norman Maktima West-2

15. Jay Buchner USA-2

The team competition standings thus far look like this:

USA-1 49 Placing Points

USA-2 55 Placing Points

USA-3 63 Placing Points

West-1 66 Placing Points

West-2 69 Placing Points

Stay tuned for daily updates through out the competition. Standings in these events can change quite rapidly.

National Fly Fishing Championship: Day One

Thanks to some good friends, (Paul Prentiss of Front Range Anglers and Colorado Trout Unlimited), we are happy to bring you coverage of the first day of the National Fly Fishing Championship currently taking place near Boulder, Colorado. We don't have all the anglers names yet but regular readers will know that we recognize the determined young lady in the Penn State cap. She is Southeast Qualifier, Heather Sietz.

Communication from the competition site is at best difficult, but we should have some updates on the various angler's standings in the very near future.

All Photos are credited to John Crane of John Crane Photography, P.O. Box 270166, Fort Collins, CO 80527-0166 tel: +1 970-229-1462 and used with the permission of Mr. Crane and Colorado Trout Unlimited.

National Fly Fishing Championship: Oct. 1st - 7th

The National Fly Fishing Championships are being held October 1st -7th. Participants in the event will fish two lakes and three streams in an effort to qualify for a spot on Team USA.

Since we just got back from the FFR show we couldn't manage to be in Colorado to cover the event ourselves. However, Colorado Steering Committee Member, Paul Prentiss has told us that he will endeavor to keep us in the loop. Paul is part of Colorado's Trout Unlimited who spends countless man hours putting on the event.

Here is a link to the schedule. We are trying to get some additional reports from this year's event. If you are a participant or otherwise involved and send us regular reports, we will gladly dig through our bag of schwag and send you something cool for your trouble.

In case you missed it, here is a link to our slide show from the Southeast Regional.

Slideshow: 2007 SE Fly Fishing Championship Qualifier

Fly Fishing Team USA: Southeast Qualifier Results

The results are in from the Fly Fishing Team USA qualifier held in Cherokee, North Carolina this weekend. Conditions were tough to say the least as temps hovered in the 90's and river levels were at all time lows. 18 anglers caught a total of 88 countable trout during three sessions. Ten anglers qualifed to compete at the national championships in Colorado along with three additional fishers who had made the cut at previous events.

Loren Williams took the top spot at the event with 14 fish and 9260 points. Steve Parrot of Blue Quill Anglers in Evergreen, Colorado took second with a score of 5910 and 10 trout. Chris Lee rounded out the top three with 8 trout and 4810 points.

Stay tuned for more info about competitive fly fishings first trip to the Carolinas.

Southeast Qualifiers This Weekend

This weekend the FlyfishMagazine crew is packing up our camera gear and heading to Cherokee, North Carolina to cover the Southeast qualifier for Fly Fishing Team USA. Low water conditions and air temperatures in the 90's should make this a challenging event for the participants. Internet connections and for that matter even cell phone reception can be hard to come by in this somewhat remote part of the state. However, keep checking back here for an inside look at competitive fly fishing's first visit to the Carolinas.

Judges Needed for Southeast Qualifier

North Carolina fly fishing team coach Eugene Shuler has put out the call for volunteers to act as judges during the Fly Fishing Team USA Southeast Regional Qualifier that will be held August 18th and 19th in Cherokee, NC. They are in need of 36 judges to record the details of the contestants catches.

"We are in need of 36 judges to assist with measuring competitors fish and recording the length and time of day caught, also what trout species the fish is. At the end of each session the judge and competitor will sign off on the score sheet and turn them into the head judge.Its very easy and no experience necessary whatsoever.

Each Judge will receive a Fly Fishing Team USA T-shirt, and special Fly Fishing Team USA lapel pin. Its a long honored tradition of the US team to give their judges a spacial pin as a way of saying thank you.

The only way you ever see one of these is pins is on a judge, a current or previous team member. Lunch on both days and dinner Saturday night at the Chestnut Tree will also be provided for the volunteers.

This is great way to see the very best fly anglers in the US compete head to head in an international format. And a great way to improve you own fly fishing skills. You will see all the tactics and secrets you read and hear about first hand, and see them done by the very best anglers in America. Most all of the these guys will share their secrets with you if asked nicely."

If you would like to have a once in a lifetime experience and help out Team USA contact Eugene Shuler via email.

More info via the National Fly Fishing Championship Website and view the North Carolina team training video, "BigfishBootcamp."