Lance Egan, of Salt Lake City, won the 2012 USA National Fly Fishing Championships in Central Oregon last week.
Last Thursday through Saturday, 46 qualified competitors fished five different waters, including East, Lava and South Twin lakes, as well as the Upper Deschutes and Crooked rivers. Scoring was based on the size and number of fish caught. Volunteer controllers from Central Oregon Flyfishers and Sunriver Anglers monitored competitors and counted and measured the landed fish.
Egan caught and released 118 fish over the three days. Most of the catch consisted of rainbow and brown trout.
Fishing locations on the rivers included the Crooked River below Bowman Dam, and the Upper Deschutes at Big Eddy Rapids and Meadow Camp. On the lakes, competitors fished from boats.
Among Central Oregon entries, Scott Robertson, of Bend, finished in 31st place with 69 fish. Russell Robertson, Scott’s son, finished 34th with 43 fish.
Anglers qualified for the sixth annual national championships by placing in the top five at one of five regional qualifiers staged throughout the country earlier this year.
This marked the first time the national event was staged in Central Oregon. The area hosted regional qualifiers in each of the previous two years, and it hosted the first-ever Team USA qualifier in 2005.
— Bulletin staff report