

Picture: John Mason/Flickr
The Jackson Gap One Fly is perhaps essentially the most well-known fishing competitors in America. Its premise is easy: you get one fly to make use of for a complete day, to catch as many trout as you may. For those who lose that fly, you’re completed.
The One Fly began 38 years in the past, and it’s nonetheless going robust. Sturdy sufficient, the truth is, that Dac Collins went out to fish it this yr, and he wrote about his expertise for Out of doors Life. Collins’ writing is incredible, however the story he tells is what’s most fascinating. There’s a lot extra that goes right into a event just like the One Fly, and he expertly describes the ache and frustration of fishing with a lot on the road. One dangerous hook set, one run right into a root ball, and your day might be toast.
After hooking and lacking a fish in just a little seam, Collins writes, “And at this level, a seasoned One Fly veteran would have taken a second to patiently examine the fly and the chief for any nicks or frays. Cutthroat have tough mouths, and since 4X is on the lighter aspect, it’s all the time clever, if you wish to preserve your fly, to triple-check your chief and retie your knots.
“However no. Not this keen bastard. Feeling slighted by a pea-brained fish, I pull my cap down over my brow and take one step again earlier than casting once more. It’s the identical precise drift and the trout eats in the identical spot, rising with a splash because it sucks down the fly. I carry up on the Midge. The hookset feels pure and oh-so-sweet, after which the tippet breaks and my fly departs, nonetheless mounted to the trout’s higher lip. The bamboo rod turns lifeless in my hand as I stand knee-deep in chilly water and disgrace.”
You possibly can learn the whole story here.
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