1991 Jackson Hole One Fly Event
Hurray for Hollywood
"A little rain isn't going to hurt," was sung by a
chorus of guides at the 1991 event. While the rain did soak everyone's
gear and flooded boats, it did not dampen the spirits of team members.
Idaho's South Fork of the Snake was a new venue in 1991. Many predicted
record high scores would be recorded on this renowned fishery. What the
South Fork proved was that fishing isn't catching. It proved to be an
extremely difficult river to approach with only one fly.
September of 1991 witnessed a couple of extraordinary finishes in two of
America's favorite pastimes; fishing and baseball. The Twins became the
first team in Major League Baseball history to finish the season in
first place after finishing last the previous season. The One Fly
witnessed a come-from-behind performance of parallel epic proportions,
when the Hollywood All-Stars, who finished in last place the previous
year, found themselves in the winners circle. The All-Stars were lead by
Skip Brittenham who also won the individual title using a size 14
Hairwing Adams, sometimes referred to as an Adams Wulff.
Teammate Art Annecharico caught the largest trout, a fat 22 3/4"
cutthroat with a Muddler Minnow. The Hollywood All-Stars supporting
roles were played by Ken August and Heather Thomas as the team beat out
Team Sage who finished in second place, repeating the second banana role
they were reluctantly cast in years to come. This marked the first time
a team won without having any professional angler as a member. Many an
amateur angler team was given hope for the future!
1991 One Fly Event Winning Fly
The Adams Wulff
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The Adams Wulff turned out to be the quiet hero. In the excitement of
the Hollywood team roaring to the front to snatch first place, the
Adams Wulff got dwarfed. It was very much a part of the reason the
Hollywood stars won. Saturday morning brought normal One Fly weather
(rain and drizzle), but it was surprisingly warm. Master fly tier Scott
Sanchez suggested to the All-Stars that the Brown Drakes would come out
in spite of the bad weather. The best fly was a New Zealand creation of
Jack Dennis, the Adams Wulff, made to imitate the Brown Drake. The
secret was the Australian Opossum underfur, just the right color, and
the white wing would show up under poor light conditions. Captain Skip
Brittenham convinced the majority of the team to try the fly on the
first day. Only Art Annecharico stuck with the Dry Muddler to catch the
largest trout of the event. They continued to use the fly in the next
day's competition and piled up enough points to win. The Drakes came out
as Scott had predicted, and the rest is history. This was the first time
that any team swept the individual, largest-fish and top-team awards. |
