A change in conditions on Crowley Lake and the pressure the tournament format necessarily carries with it made for a tough bite for the Aug. 14 Stillwater Classic, but tournament fishing means everyone faces the same obstacles and Cary Kutzke, the only angler to catch three fish, proved he had what it takes as he claimed the individual title as the top fly fisherman.

Kutzke said he targeted an area with birds in the middle bay between Little and Big Hilton Bays and used both midges and the Punk Perch for his fish. "I was the only one in there," he said. A hot bite for big fish in Little Hilton for the past two weeks shut off on Friday, just the day before the tournament. Ironically, the fishing in the Owens River channel in the North Arm picked up the same time, thanks to a cooler flow down the river. Big fish could be seen blowing out in both the Hilton bays and McGee Bay, but bites were few and seemed spread evenly between tubes and boats.

The team of Dos Moscas Caliente (Two Hot Flies) Dave and Margarita Carranza of Simi Valley topped the team competition, with an average of 44 points. The team fished to the west of most of the fleet of tubes and boats in McGee Bay, the other official fishing area. A total of 82 anglers competed in both the team and individual divisions, which called for a $75 entry fee for each division. A total of 41 trout 18 inches or better were measured by judges, many of whom were judges giving up a day's work.

Raffle and auction items added to an overall $12,000 towards the Crowley Lake fishery. All the proceeds from the event go to stock more fish in Crowley and Lane Garrett, Crowley Lake Fish Camp manager and Stillwater Classic host, said the money would go towards a batch of brown trout waiting for a home at the Conway Ranch Hatchery.

"The stocks of brown trout made possible by this event have really made a difference in the fishery," said tournament coordinator Kent Rianda, owner of the Trout Fly/Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes and a guide frequently seen on Crowley. "We are seeing lots of 18 to 20 inch browns from recent stocks. Sure the bait fishermen kill some, but when you plant thousands of fish some are going to holdover and spawn and a biologist told me we are diversifying the gene pool and that means a stronger, better fighting fish."

Rich Holland's Roundup