Hi Mark and VFB! Finally getting some time free to write about the evening on the Orvis / Old Mill District fly-casting course. My friend Steve, who was a volunteer judge at the competition last weekend, was happy to show me the ropes. We had a good talk and a fun evening.
First, about the competition. Since this is the first fly-casting course like this in the country, this was the very first competition. It was just a promotional event that had as one of its goals publicizing the existence of the course. Steve and Tim Rajeff and friends were the main "names" on the pro end of the event. A woman friend of Tim Rajeff won the woman's pro competition (total of five participants). Top prize was a nice donated canoe. The volunteer judges got a $50 Orvis gift card per day that they helped out. The event lasted two days, with the amateurs competing over three holes the first day. If you ever won something at any kind of fly casting event anywhere, you were considered a pro. Anyway, just an opportunity for people to get together and have some fun as participants or observers. The fly-casting course goes over 18-holes (fly casting stations). Each station is marked by a small permanent sign that also includes the instructions to play the course. You stand on a pie dish sized bronze Orvis marker to do your casting. Most of the events have anchored floating rings in the water as targets, or masonry rings sunk into the ground. There is only one station where you cast into the river. Each of the stations is quite beautiful to see. The course winds around both sides of the Deschutes River which floats through downtown Bend. There's an existing footbridge over the river on both ends of the fly-casting course. At one point you are walking through the Les Schwab outdoor amphitheater. Other places, people are enjoying outdoor dining as you walk by on the pathway, fly rods in hand. The course is open to the public and free of charge. Just to give an idea, the first station is located across the quiet main road from the Orvis store in the Old Mill District commercial/shopping area. There are two big pipes dumping water into a nice looking but compact pond surrounded by reeds. There's a park bench at the edge of the pond. There are three 3' diameter floating rings at about 25, 40 and 55 feet distance. You are allowed on most holes a cast to the side of the target to test distance. At this station, depending on your Level 1, 2 or 3, you had to roll cast a tuft of yarn at the end of your floating line and leader inside the ring. You count the number of casts before you successfully put the yarn on or into the ring. Roll casts only were allowed since this is a pedestrian area. The second hole was also roll-casting, recommended from a kneeling position. Targets were 10, 18, and 24 feet away roughly, anchored in the outlet stream from the first pond. After completing those casts, counting "strokes" you just swiveled and casted at three clustered targets underneath a small footbridge. If your fly hits the bridge before dropping into the water, that counts as a cast. One of my personal favorite targets was a Lefty Kreh deal. About a five foot wide bronze ring on top of a bronze pedestal, with the center of the ring about head level. Depending on your skill Level, you could cast from say 30' to 50' away from the ring. You need to throw a compact, flat and well-directed loop to put the yarn through the ring. Visually, this was a real Lord of the Rings fantasy adventure. One of the more difficult target rings was sunk into the ground on the back side of a tree. There was also a ring in front of the tree. You needed first to put the yarn into the ring in front, then the ring in back. The only way to hit the ring in back was to do an overpowered horizontal cast that whips the yarn around the tree. Lots of the holes were challenging because you had to deal with tree branches, bushes, overhangs and such. I used to do a lot of small stream fishing, and would have been much more accurate on this course if I had been in stream casting form. Most of my fishing these days is bank fishing on stillwater. One of the last holes was lots of fun, and anybody can set this up easily. You mark off a starting point, then as far away as you want (ours was 530') put a ring on the ground. Starting from the start marker, you make a sequence of distance casts as far as you can throw them. After each cast lands, a helper can mark where the yarn lands. From that point you make your second distance cast, then mark where that yarn lands, and so on. On this particular course you have to go around a big tree to get to the target. All the ground is well-maintained lawn. One thing I was somewhat surprised by is that participants are allowed to bring multiple rods. On the distance casting hole, the big boys were using 8wt. to 10wt. rods. (The one station where you cast into the river is best done with Spey or switch rods). Anyway I was casting a 5wt. Redington DFR 9 footer, my favorite all-around rod. I was in a rush getting to the fly-casting course due to an overlong business meeting. When I rigged up, I had a Monic clear floating line 6 wt., which is lighter than I intended to use for the course. I would have preferred a slightly heavier Cortland 444 6 wt. floater which would have given me both better short line performance and casting distance. I balled the the most recent cast, but at seven casts counted, was in range of the target ring about 60' away. And I nailed it, placing the yarn dead center into the ring! Steve said the big guys were making the hole in as few as six casts with heavy rods and lines. I was encouraged that I had just used two more casts with a 5-wt. One of the coolest things about the distance event is that it's easy to figure out your average cast. Mine came out to 66 feet, even after screwing up one cast royally. That's fun stuff to know. Anyway, looking at the above, really anybody can set up a course like this with hula hoops or something, even as a one-day club event. Really is fun, and a great way to practice. Wes Wada Bend, Oregon --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
