Press Release
Schools Challenge Competition
By Daved Thorn- School's Director
Apr 2, 2008, 14:31

Return to:  Dave thorn-  fishondwt@hotmail.com
357 Mingo Church Rd.
Findleyville, PA  15232
(724) 777-5013 Cell

Two Levels of Competition

• Experienced- Students with more than 1 year of participation in fly fishing.
• Beginner- Students in elementary school or with less than 1 year of participation in fly fishing.

Team Requirements

• Three members
• A school or parent sponsor
• At least one personal rod per team
• Meet all the requirements for insurance and emergency contact information.
• Be required to participate in the experienced level if any member has more than 1 year of experience. 

The competition would be broken into the following; casting for distance, casting for accuracy, casting through hoops, fly tying, knowledge based test, and catching fish.

 Distance Casting would be conducted to the right of the trout pens using ropes that designate intervals of 5 feet.  Points would be awarded for total ropes intersected by the fly.  (Rods supplied Family Tyes would be used to insure uniformity.)

Casting Accuracy would be conducted between the feeder dock and the trout pens, using hoops that float on the water.  The hoops will be strung at various intervals on rope(s) that can be attached diagonally from close to shore to the far corner of the trout pen floats.  Roll and overhead cast will be required. (Rods supplied Family Tyes would be used to insure uniformity.)

Hoop Casting would require the contestants to keep a tight loop so that their cast will pass through both hoops.  Points would be awarded for each attempt that is successful.  Five attempts will be awarded to each contestant.  (Rods supplied Family Tyes would be used to insure uniformity.)

Fly Tying will be a specific fly and points being awarded for best fly based on a list of standards. 

The Test would evaluate basic knowledge in the areas of tying, casting, fishing techniques, biology, and stream ethics.

Catching Fish would be the climax of competition with the pond being divided into 10 sections.  Each team will draw for a starting section but move from that section to the next after 10 minutes.  The teams will fish one member at a time with the other two assisting with the release.

The points would be awarded for the following:

1.       3 points for each fish caught and released without removing it from the water.  The hook must be removed by hand or the use of hemostats.

2.        2 points for each fish caught and released with the aid of a landing net or glove.

3.       1 point for each fish caught but released with fly still hooked in the fish.  In this case a fish is considered caught when a team member has the leader in their control.

4.       Foul hooked fish (any fish hooked outside of the mouth area) will not be awarded points.

The teams will be allowed to use their own rods, but Family Tyes will supply 4x tippet for the terminal ends of the leaders.

© Family Tyes, Inc