Rusty Spinner
Active member
New Jersey state council of Trout Unlimited will hold its 5th (I think) annual One Fly Contest on the South Branch Raritan behind the Raritan Inn on Shannon's private water this coming Saturday, November 1st. The contest has one participant from each of our 10 NJ chapters along with the Raritan Headwaters Association and Casting For Recovery.
The contest begins at 9 am and the public is welcome to come out and cheer or heckle their favorite anglers. We get a great turnout to this each year and it is followed by a banquet that evening in the barn that features a guest speaker and raffle prizes to raise funds for state council. If you're interested in the banquet, tickets might still be available via Shannon's website or by stopping in the fly shop. But if you just want to swing by and check out the contest, it's always a fun time. Personally, I'm not big on fly fishing contests, but when done for charity, it's a good time for all. The top 3 anglers from the morning rounds go head to head in the big upper pool by the route 513 bridge for the final with a winner take all which is typically a high end reel. I'll be one of the beat judges and one of the finalist judges helping to net and measure any fish landed and to make sure all contestants follow the rules. Each angler is allowed 3 of the same fly pattern, but it must be the exact same pattern and size. Eggs and caddis larva are typically the top flies most years although fredy (a.k.a. Captain Chaos) from our Ridge & Valley chapter won last year with a modified pink San Juan worm with an orange egg sac tied mid fly.
And just to make this an official NEFF thread, there will be liberals, moderates and conservatives at the event and some will have religion and others not. So you will each fit in if you decide to swing by. We also have tying contests, casting contests, etc. for prizes.
The contest begins at 9 am and the public is welcome to come out and cheer or heckle their favorite anglers. We get a great turnout to this each year and it is followed by a banquet that evening in the barn that features a guest speaker and raffle prizes to raise funds for state council. If you're interested in the banquet, tickets might still be available via Shannon's website or by stopping in the fly shop. But if you just want to swing by and check out the contest, it's always a fun time. Personally, I'm not big on fly fishing contests, but when done for charity, it's a good time for all. The top 3 anglers from the morning rounds go head to head in the big upper pool by the route 513 bridge for the final with a winner take all which is typically a high end reel. I'll be one of the beat judges and one of the finalist judges helping to net and measure any fish landed and to make sure all contestants follow the rules. Each angler is allowed 3 of the same fly pattern, but it must be the exact same pattern and size. Eggs and caddis larva are typically the top flies most years although fredy (a.k.a. Captain Chaos) from our Ridge & Valley chapter won last year with a modified pink San Juan worm with an orange egg sac tied mid fly.
And just to make this an official NEFF thread, there will be liberals, moderates and conservatives at the event and some will have religion and others not. So you will each fit in if you decide to swing by. We also have tying contests, casting contests, etc. for prizes.
