Miles Meyer Fly Fishing Tournament
Our fifth annual Miles Meyer fly fishing tournament was held on Friday, February 9th this year and there were a record number of participants with seventeen FATC members including three from the Springfield, MO area! But despite the considerable number of participants two prior champions battled it out until the end of the day. Jim Craig and Sterling Short were the final two left vying for the winner’s circle this year with the most trout in the net. Would it be a tie, or would one end up as the first two-time winner?
The day was predicted to hit 70 degrees with hazy skies, and it did not disappoint. The park was crowded because of the fantastic temperatures for a February but that did not deter the contestants who had enough room to maneuver to spots to fish. The morning session was for practice and to get everyone in the groove – so to say. Everyone met back up at 11:30 for lunch. When lunch was over Kenny read the rules of the tournament and everyone selected their “beats” or locations to fish for the tournament. The park was sectioned off into six “beats” and everyone headed out to find and fish their beat. The tournament ended at 4pm (the siren) and all gathered at the covered pavilion to turn in their fish count. Now remember all fish had to be trout and, in the net, to count. Several told stories of fish getting away or breaking off. Sorry, they don’t count.
As Kenny ran through the fish counts for everyone, it came down to two final contestants Jim Craig and Sterling Short. Unfortunately for Jim he didn’t have as many fish in the net as Sterling did. Congratulations to our first two-time winner of the Miles Meyer fly fishing tournament – Sterling Short! Sterling did an amazing job bringing a total of eleven trout to the net. After congratulations to all for a great tournament. The FATC headed to the Pizza Inn in Salem for their fast service AND they could manage eighteen (yes, counting me) of us easily. Sterling will receive the Miles Meyer plaque at our Charity dinner on February 26th. I hope you are there to congratulate him!
Participants: George Wong, Ted Betzen, Randy Stephens, Christopher Beahm, Raul Vargas, Mark Camerer, Steve Baker, Sterling Short, John Muckerman, John Wienstroer, Jim Craig, Bob Hassett, Matt McClure, Vernon Preston, Ryan Young, Harold Bates, Jeff Layton and Official Judge Kenny Klimes.
