Best of the west - part II

Yesterday (April 14) the unofficial Dutch version of the Best of the West casting competition was held in Kampen. The weather was unusually warm (even hot!) for this time of the year. Unlike the US version this event was held outdoors. Under a blue sky a nice stretch of lawn was found near the Pikefly fly shop. Although the event was talked about by many, just about 50 people showed up with only about 30 people joining the competition. The competition was split in to four categories: youth, women (with only ONE contender!), recreational and pro's.

To keep the event as true to the original, the same rules were applied: every contender gets to make three casts with one trial cast (which can be measured but then you only have two more casts). Only casts which end up on the casting lane (width of about 2 meter) are measured. Everyone used the same line as mentioned earlier. Any factory made 9ft #5 rod was allowed. I borrowed a G. Loomis Stream Dance GLX rod from one of the contenders. It's not as stiff as the Sage TCR, yet casts like a dream. In fact I prefer it over the super stiff Sage. I don't like the titanium coiled eyes though. It's supposed to be super light and nearly indestructible, but it looks cheap.

The occasional gust of wind (slightly from behind & left) sometimes made the final delivering cast a problem. One of my casts ended outside the casting lane. I ended second in the recreational category with 29 m (95 feet). I was aiming to end up somewhere around 33 m (108 feet). My trial cast ended somewhere between the 30 (98 feet) and 35 (115 feet) meter mark. Foolish me for not having it measured... Well, try again next time. The overall winner made a phenomenal cast of 38 m (125 feet)! This is pretty amazing.

All together, this was a very nice event which will be probably repeated next year. It was great fun trying out many different kinds of rods, talking with old friends as well as meeting new people. The weather was nothing short of spectacular.


Next: I'll be off for my first trip of the year soon! Keep posted!