LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The rules were clear in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games Fly Fishing Tournament – the longer the fish, the better the result. However, as the anglers would learn in dramatic fashion, fat fish were just as important.
Tom Rowland of Key West, Fla. took the gold medal in the One Fish Tournament in a thrilling tiebreaker – all because his fish had more girth than fellow angler, Doug Swisher of Corvallis, Mont. Both Rowland and Swisher recorded fish measuring 18.5 inches in length. However, Rowland’s fish measured 10.5 inches in girth – the all-important tiebreaker – which turned out to be a mere one-half inch larger than Swisher’s catch.
Rowland was understandably excited after his thrilling, sudden-death victory.
“I thought it was a great event,” said Rowland. “I loved being here and the fishing was fantastic.”
Competitors in the One Fish Tournament were placed into two separate three-hour “flights” – morning and afternoon. Each angler was allowed to select a one-third mile section of the Au Sable River and continue fishing (up to three hours) until they thought they had caught the longest fish of the day. Once they designated that fish as their catch fish, they were required to cease fishing and leave the river.
Rowland, a 31-year-old fishing guide, needed only 30 minutes and a foam pattern dryfly to catch his winning fish.
Swisher, the oldest competitor in the Games, was just as gracious in defeat.
“Today was a good competition,” said the 67-year-old Swisher, who spent only 45 minutes on the Au Sable River despite a 3-hour time allotment. “It was a nice that the river has not been fished.”
The state of Montana brought home a pair of medals as Swisher claimed the silver while Duke Brown of Bozeman won the bronze with a catch that measured 16.5 inches.
In addition to placing third, Brown has something else to smile about. He managed to catch his winning fish with just 13 minutes remaining in the competition.
“I was excited to be out there with guys I grew up watching like Brian O’Keefe and Doug Swisher,” said Brown, 38. “It was a good pool of water and it had a good run.”
The remaining field finished as follows: Fletcher White of Victor, Idaho (fourth) with a catch of 15.25 inches; Wendy Gunn of Marble Canyon, Ariz. (fifth) with a catch of 14.75 inches; and Brent Taylor of Dillon, Mont. (sixth) with a catch of 8.5 inches. The remaining six anglers caught no fish and were ranked according the previous day’s results in the distance casting and casting accuracy competition: Charles Farneth of Little Rock, Ark. (seventh); Terry Gunn of Marble Canyon, Ariz. (eighth); Joel Silverman of Missoula, Mont. (ninth); Kim Keeley of Victor, Idaho (tenth); Ed Lombardo of Johnston, R.I. (eleventh) and Brian O’Keefe of Bend, Ore. (twelfth).
ESPN allocated a $17,500 purse for the One Fish Tournament.
The One Fish Tournament, as well as the distance and accuracy casting competition, will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning Thurs. July 27.