It felt like I was on vacation this morning here in the World Masters Fly Fishing Championships in Kamloops, British Columbia. Rather than leave on a 6 am bus for an all day grunt on a feared river beat, I left at 7 for a 1 hour ride to the famous Corbett Lake. A lake with lots of fish and a sector that has produced excellent fishing for all during the competition.
It was a gorgeous day. The sunrise temperature was 51. There was sun and a light breeze. Fish could be seen rising all over Corbett as we unloaded our gear from the competition bus upon arrival.
On the fourth day of competition every tournament running glitch has been fixed. Our head judges and controllers were relaxed and in good moods. Corbett Lodge had coffee and donuts. The boats were ready. You simply knew this was the perfect day of fishing.
I mentioned Monday on Session 1 how important it is to draw a fellow boat partner competitor that speaks English. It makes all the difference in the world because you need to communicate and form a strategic plan together. Well today I lucked out, I drew my long time friend, Donal Monaghan, from Ireland. Donal and I were already feeling good fishing vibes because yesterday we were the only two to catch any fish on the stubborn Clearwater River.
In fact, the minute the draw was assigned and Donal and I were matched, we stepped away from the rest of the competitors and we each broke out our Corbett Lake maps. Our plans were similar and though we are competing against one another, we devised a plan that would suit us both and give our boat a chance at a first and second place finish.
We were allowed to leave the dock 15 minutes before start time. Donal took command of the motor I ran the windsock. We eased back to a location where yesterday; Donal’s teammate landed several fish. We relaxed, waited and watched. We could see some lumbering rainbows. When the 9 am competition siren went off so did our casts. I had my 6-weight Winston, Scientific Anglers Stillwater line, 10ft of 2X Fluoro for a leader and a large size 8 Gomphus fly attached. On my third cast I stuck and landed a hefty 45 cm rainbow!
Donal had on a smaller fly. He was keeping it hidden from my sight. Obviously he expected it to be a puzzle solver. But it wasn’t working. I hooked and lost another fish. Then I landed and absolute beast. It was a hectic battle and tough fish to get in my net. But he measured 60.5 cm (24”)!
The first 30 minutes on Corbett were memorable. The fish were enjoying my Gomphus. I’d land only three but that’s standard with huge rainbows in shallow water. Donal finally put on a Gomphus and caught one. But then it was slow. We were in a shallow bay and after an hour of rousing these fish, the bite stopped.
Over the next two hours Donal and I moved around. We found the occasional fish on untouched shallows but nothing like when the bell went off. At noon when the session ended, I had six fish, Donal had two.
Six fish scored me a 2. I can live with that. If there was one downfall to this morning, it was that Jordi of Spain caught eight and scored a 1. As tight as Team USA and Spain have been I can only hope that one point doesn’t decide our fate on the podium.
When I returned to the hotel things weren’t so good for our team. Bret blanked on the stifling Clearwater River. And Mike blanked on Tunkwa Lake. It happens. What seems easy in fishing never is. Luckily Pete, Loren and I did well. Not only that, Pete is the first place individual at the moment. Tomorrow Pete ends the tournament on the feared Clearwater. One fish there and he’s champ!
One nerve-racking note, Team USA has dropped several points below Team Spain for first place. But tomorrow we will all have great days. I can feel it! Repeat Golds in range!
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