2007 Oceanias Championships Tasmania

US Team: 
Scott Robertson, Team Captain
Devin Olsen
Riley Cotter
Loren Williams
Kurt Finlayson

We were headquartered in Taraleah Lodge located in central Tasmania. The official practice was February 20, 21, 22, and competition occurred on the February 23, 24, and 25.

Fishing included  Dee lagoon, Bronte Lagoon, Little Pine Lagoon, The Derwent River, and The Tyenna river. There were two teams from Australia, two teams from New Zealand, and one team from Canada.

Our success in this competition was the direct result of working together as a team

Scott Robinson

Field Observations by Team Members:

Scott Robinson

I was a bit apprehensive about assuming the role of US Team Captain over a group of individuals that knew each other but had not spent much time together.  Those worries were quickly resolved when we met at the LA Airport and began the bonding process.

I would like to thank the team members for their cooperation and positive attitude.   I would also like to thank my wife Sarah for helping us with the coordination and helping the team to deal with issues that came up during competition.

Three weeks of extreme heat and high water temperatures made fishing in Tasmania far more challenging than we had anticipated. During our three-hour practice session on the Derwent river the water level dropped a foot and on the second day of competition, it was chocolate brown due to flash floods from the night before. Despite the challenging conditions, our team was able to score fish on all venues with the exception of the dreaded Dee Lagoon, where only six fish were scored during the competition. 

The people of Australia treated us exceedingly well from the moment we stepped off the plane until we departed.  We received more of the same upon our arrival in New Zealand.  I remember the day I waded 400 yards into Lake Rotorua with an intermediate line and smelt fish pattern and found Bob Turner, a local fisherman, who after a half hour conversation and several fly exchanges, not only shared his flies with me, but offered to let me use his fly reel with a floating line, because that is what I should be using.  He told me that I could return his reel to our guide who was his “mate.
 
The incredible sites, sounds and wildlife encountered in both countries were beyond description.  Each place was a unique experience.  There were stare downs with deadly snakes in the river, exotic birds in the forest, and an occasional platypus swimming in the river in front of you.   While the sites and sounds did not distract us during competition.  In fact, they allowed you to enjoy the experience of an international competition and kept your mind relaxed and prepared for the upcoming venue. 

This experience gave me a tremendous opportunity to understand what it feels like to be on a team in competition.  As Captain I am very proud of every member of the team and that and the work we did together to gain the Bronze Medal.  Most of all, I learned that individual accomplishment is best when achieved through team effort.  

The Oceania fly-fishing championships in Tasmania and the subsequent trip to New Zealand will not be forgotten and will produce vivid memories for years to come.

Loren Williams

“Teamwork!”  A single word that neatly and precisely sums-up our initial experience with the Oceanias Championships held this year in Tasmania.  As a late addition to the team, I was a bit apprehensive about how my presence would be perceived.  But as we gathered at LAX to await our flight overseas, any apprehension was quickly dissolved when the team bonding began. 

Through practice and into the competition we had each other’s backs.  We shared experiences and ideas and split practice duties well.  Personally, I was pleased that our practice sessions stayed the course, and did not dissolve into fish catching sessions as is the temptation.  We all worked different strategies to prove or disprove their effectiveness, all with eyes on the competition.  I am confident that our practice time, however short, was key to the Team’s eventual success.  Winning a Bronze Medal as a team is indescribable.  Watching your teammate win an individual medal was the proverbial icing.

Of course, as with any competition, we took away a great deal of knowledge.  To that end, I can recall instances where each of us was on the giving and receiving end of late-night knowledge sharing sessions.  Egos never, ever came into play, and conflicts did not arise.  Flies, rods, and lines, were all shared freely.  My personal highs and lows are insignificant to the growth and achievements we shared as 5 members of Fly-Fishing Team USA.  I will say this: it is going to be very difficult competing against Kurt, Scott, Devin, and Riley after competing with them. 

Devin Olsen

Competition, trout, fly fishing, and comradery are the universal language of every competition I’ve been a part of.  This one was certainly no different. One has to analyze the reasoning behind everything he does. In our form of competition fly fishing where there are no prize rewards for success; we are forced to ask ourselves why we strive to get better and continue to compete every chance we get. For me it’s the chance to speak the universal language of competition fly fishing, and the inherent thrill that are part of these events.

The Oceania Fly Fishing Championships 2007, in Tasmania, brought a series of highs and lows for all of us. The highs for me included the success that our team had and that I had individually, and the places and people we met along the way.

It’s always amazing to see new water in amazing places and the waters of Tasmania and New Zealand, where we fished afterward, were incredible. The Tasmanian lakes proved especially difficult because their surface temperatures were all over 70 degrees throughout our stay which obviously curbed the fishing.

Meeting new people and making new friendships in spite of competing against those same individuals is just as integral a part of a competition as the actual fishing is. The Aussies and Kiwis are wonderful people who treated us with the utmost in hospitality and it was great to get to know them and our brothers to the north, the Canadians, a little better.

Our team was also wonderful to work with and we cooperated exceptionally well which helped us all succeed. The lows for me were the intestinal mishaps that many of us received from the water or another unknown source, and knowing that the fish I had disqualified in my first session would have won me a gold medal and most likely our team as well.