The streams had been high the previous week but were running near normal which, after a bit of crummy weather on Monday, gave us the rest of the week to really enjoy the fishing. We tried, trust me, we all tried. Every method and fly type was offered during the daylight hours without mostly even the slightest of interest on the part of the trout. Lock-jaw would have accurately described the feeding habits exhibited. However, when evening (about six-thirty) developed the action would start. The same old game presented itself as usual. Which fly, in which stage, to which riser. As soon as you would get that figured out, a new fly would be the object of their delight and you had to start all over again. It was not impossible though and browns and rainbow in the range of twelve to eighteen inches were the rule. Probably the best success was had on the Penns. That's Jeff Whitman, (psujeff) above.

Thursday morning most of our group attended the 'cane-chat' at the Holiday Inn. A fine program of questions and answers was presided over by Lou Burhart (shown here), Michigan rod builder, on building bamboo rods, how to tell a good one from a poor one and things related to cane. A grassy lawn right outside the meeting room offered us a place to cast several cane rods which had been brought to the meeting.

The weather Saturday was great, even a tad too great, it turned pretty darn hot in the sun and that is where we held the casting contest. By 10:00 A.M. the one-hundred fifty by thirty-foot course was laid out, complete with a big blue tarp covering the area where the caster would stand. Ronn Kusse (above left) demonstrated the method. This was a completely sanctioned ACA event with very tight controls on all aspects including the time (five minutes) to cast a special approved hookless fly and two measurers on the end with walkie-talkies reporting to the judge running the event. This was the first time I have ever seen one of these and I was very impressed. Sure it has little to do with catching anything, but dog-gone it, it was fun. Those watching enjoyed it as well. You can bet I will enter again if the opportunity presents itself. If you have never seen a good casting contest, you are missing a lot. Much can be learned from watching. That's the Editor of the Canadian Fly Fisher magazine Chris Marshall, casting in the photo on the right above, Ron Kusse pointing and yours truely in the background.