Competitors tested on the fly

Fishing championship held on local streams

By Chris Rosenblum

BENNER TOWNSHIP — This time, there weren't any tree limbs and dead animals.

Eric Smith

Danny Marino of Connecticut eyes the shoreline of Spring Creek late Sunday morning as a looks for a spot to cast his line. Marino competed in the United States Fly Fishing Championships, held in the State College area along Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, Penns Creek and the Little Juniata River Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009. For the CDT/Eric Smith

View larger

Sunday’s postcard sunshine, blue sky and sparkling waters made life easier for 50 anglers competing in the United States Fly Fishing Championships held locally. The day before, rain had swelled the Little Juniata River and Spring, Fishing and Penns creeks, turning them into swift torrents awash with carcasses and debris.

That hampered everyone as they tried to land not just trout, but also a spot on the national squad. Only one fish was caught Saturday afternoon out of all the lines cast.

“It wasn’t easy,” said Scott Sampsell, a “controller” responsible for refereeing a designated stretch of each site. “The young guy I was with, he was worn out by the end of the day. He was beat.”

Conditions improved markedly Sunday, the end of the three-day event, though Spring Creek remained murky and deeper than usual. Danny Marino, of Cornwall, Conn., seemed unfazed. Three morning hours spent wading in the chocolate-colored water yielded five trout.

His first, coming 15 to 20 minutes into his session, took some of the pressure off.

“Going down to the last half-hour without a fish isn’t a good feeling,” said Marino, 16, president of the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team, a tournament sponsor.

Anglers fished morning and afternoon sessions during the tournament, rotating among five sites, to catch the most trout. The national team took the top five finishers, plus an alternate.

Because of his age, Marino wasn’t eligible to join the team. But Deb Ridgeway, of Cassville, his controller on Sunday morning and an angler for 22 years, was impressed with his mature approach toward fishing his 200 meters of Spring Creek. From the start, she said, he was “very astute” in assessing the various riffles and eddies hiding trout.

“He took his time,” Ridgeway said. “He didn’t rush in.”

Anglers could choose any flies they wished, except for ones resembling salmon eggs and sucker spawn because they’re too effective, said John Ford, the tournament chairman and youth team president.

“We didn’t want (the anglers) to be catching large numbers,” he said. “We want them to show their skills.”

Those included treating trout caught with barbless hooks as gently as possible. After Marino notched his fifth strike, he carried his full net across the creek to Ridge-way. Gently, they lowered the wriggling trout, still netted, into a black tray with a ruler at the bottom. Once measured, the fish was released.

Ford said if competitors harm or kill a trout, one fish is deducted from their scores. That, however, rarely happens to the elite.

“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.”

But technique doesn’t guarantee success. For all his talents, Tom Ludwig, a restaurant owner from Vail, Colo., turned in a doughnut Sunday morning casting beneath awnings of yellow and gold leaves.

He hoped for better luck in the afternoon but sounded content with how the weekend had gone. He and his wife, a Pennsylvania native with family near Spruce Creek, had made the trip a mini-vacation.

And he was outdoors, waders on, the day beautiful and the company fine.

“You get to meet some nice people,” Ludwig said. “Maybe they’ll come eat at my restaurant.”

Chris Rosenblum can be reached at 231-4620.