State College, PA— Anglers from across the United States and Canada gathered in Central Pennsylvania in hopes of securing a spot in the National Fly Fishing Championship, which will be held in Cherokee, NC from May 19-22, 2011.
Snowstorms on Monday dropped between 10 and 15 inches of wet snow throughout Central Pennsylvania. Tuesday’s unseasonably warm temperatures began to melt the snow that created run-off, which ended up in local streams and rivers. Originally the event was supposed to take place on 4 separate venues, however after the snowmelt and rain, flooding caused the event to be moved to, 2 separate venues on Spring Creek.
The Little Juniata River was the affected more than the other rivers and it crested around 8 feet over normal stage, around 3 feet higher than the flood stage.
“We had to make a decision to ensure the safety of our competitors and judges,” said Bill Stuedler, the event organizer.
It was decided to move all of the sectors on to Spring Creek, the river that was least affected by the blown out conditions.
The event took place near the Benner Springs and McCoy Dam portions of Spring Creek.
“The fishing was very difficult, it really leveled the playing field,” said Chris Lee, a competitor from North Carolina. “It helped the anglers who came from far away because nobody really knew what would be working.”
