First fly casting tourney winners

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This past Saturday the first ever Fly Casting Championship in Chile was held at the brand new Fish Park at Laguna Piedra, located in Chicureo just outside of Santiago.

The day commenced when the first rays of the sun touched down on the pond here, when at about 10am slowly began to arrive the registered competitors. The participants competed in three different categories - intermediate, advanced and expert - to test their technique and skills. 

The tournament consisted of 3 different tests to determine the best fly caster in each category: launch precision, dexterity, and distance.

The sun accompanied us throughout the day, as one by one the participants were involved in the tests, the only factor that sometimes made the task more difficult for some  was the wind, but as one of the organizers Mauricio Valenzuela said: "The natural conditions are one of the many obstacles that stand between a good fisherman and his prey.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite this not being a natural lake, the breeze of the wind in the trees that surround it, the calm water and the geese flying over the area, provide an ideal environment for sport fishing.

Late in the afternoon, the competition came to a close and they proceeded to the awards.  In the intermediate category, the winners were Lucas Duch with 45 points, followed by Sebastian Godoy with 43 and in third place, with 41, Jesus Salem. In the advanced category, first place went to Paul Grollmus with 83 points, the second place was the winner of our very own Facebook giveaway, Daniel Conzelman, with 70 points, and behind him with 57 points was Antonio Baeza.

The big winner of the day was Jaime Castillo, who won the expert category and whose prize was a 3 nights stay at Hotel Remota in Puerto Natales (plus a 30 percent discount for a companion).

The day closed with a group photo where also the organizers invited everyone to upcoming tournaments and the eventual opening of Fish Park. "We are grateful, and all of you are more than welcome to attend the park opening and the next tournaments, which we hope will be with real fish," said Andres Alamo, one of the founders of Fish Park, referring to the official launch of this facility on June 21 and the introduction of different fish in the pond to make complete the experience of fly fishing in Santiago. 

 

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