Fishing the One Fly

Photo: John Mason/Flickr

The Jackson Hole One Fly might be the most well-known fishing competition in America. Its premise is simple: you get one fly to use for an entire day, to catch as many trout as you can. If you lose that fly, you’re done.

The One Fly started 38 years ago, and it’s still going strong. Strong enough, in fact, that Dac Collins went out to fish it this year, and he wrote about his experience for Outdoor Life. Collins’ writing is fantastic, but the story he tells is what’s most interesting. There’s so much more that goes into a tournament like the One Fly, and he expertly describes the pain and frustration of fishing with so much on the line. One bad hook set, one run into a root ball, and your day could be toast.

After hooking and missing a fish in a little seam, Collins writes, “And at this point, a seasoned One Fly veteran would have taken a moment to patiently inspect the fly and the leader for any nicks or frays. Cutthroat have rough mouths, and since 4X is on the lighter side, it’s always wise, if you want to keep your fly, to triple-check your leader and retie your knots.

“But no. Not this eager bastard. Feeling slighted by a pea-brained fish, I pull my cap down over my forehead and take one step back before casting again. It’s the same exact drift and the trout eats in the same spot, rising with a splash as it sucks down the fly. I lift up on the Midge. The hookset feels pure and oh-so-sweet, and then the tippet breaks and my fly departs, still fastened to the trout’s upper lip. The bamboo rod turns lifeless in my hand as I stand knee-deep in cold water and shame.”

You can read the entire story here.