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The Mill
Heathman Street
Nether Wallop
STOCKBRIDGE
Hampshire SO20 8EW
T: 01264 781988
F: 01264 782590
info@fishingbreaks.co.uk
www.fishingbreaks.co.uk
 

DREAM TEAM PICK UP 2011 ONE FLY TROPHY

The 2011 One Fly was moved a day earlier from its traditional Friday slot to make way for a certain Royal Wedding, but as it turned out the day was in every way a perfect fishing day.

The early arrivals to The Peat Spade were greeted with blue skies and the merest hint of a frost tingeing the grass along the banks of the Test. Nine teams of three signed in, gathered around breakfast and huddled with their respective Guides for the all important fly selection.

Sending the contestants off for the 10am start, One Fly organiser Simon Cooper reminded everyone that for all the competitive element in the day, it was essentially a celebration of chalkstream fishing quoting Oliver Herford, the American equivalent of Oscar Wilde and the cynics cynic who said, "There are more fish taken out of a river than were ever in it."

At 4.30pm the last fly of the day was cast, the weary anglers and guides returned to The Peat Spade top declare their scores. Some good, some bad and plenty that ‘got away’. Another One Fly was over and the winners were announced.

The Dream Team - 2011 Winning Team

TOP DRY FLY The Daddy Long Legs was once again the top dry fly, but this year Alistair Robjent had to relinquish his crown to Grant Harrower on the Minley Manor Moustaches team.

Grant Harrower/Michael Williams Kimbridge 675pts

Chris Banks, Bob Hall & Peter Woolmer

DUFFERS DELIGHT With great aplomb the Gerry and The Atrics team picked up the trophy for the second year running. They have promised to be back to make in three in a row for 2012!

TOP ESTATE This was a really close year with Compton Chamberlayne shaving Wherwell Priory by just half a point for second place, but the winner for the second year running was Whitchurch Fulling Mill. A special mention must go to new entrants Broadlands and Manningford who both scored heavily.
1st Whitchurch Fulling Mill
2nd Compton Chamberlayne
3rd Wherwell Priory
4th Broadlands

SECTION ANGLER & GUIDE Two new awards were introduced this year to credit the winning angler and guide on each of the sections. On the lower river and first time in the competition the Broadlands Estate fished by Chris Sandford and his Guide Jon Hall were the winners. On the middle section Bob James and Charlie Patrick collected at Compton Chamberlayne

TOP ANGLER & GUIDE First time contestant Ed Burgass for the FlyFishMap team, guided by Nick Parish in his fourth One Fly slated an amazing 1125 points from 27 fish on Pheasant Tail Nymph fishing at Wherwell Priory.
1st Ed Burgass/Nick Parish 1125pts
2nd Chris Sandford/Jon Hall 770pts
3rd Jan Grimstone/Chas House 750pts

WINNING TEAM Last year they were out of the top three but this year the Dream Team took all before them with Bob James, Chris Sandford and Chris Tarrant picking up the team award. The Dunbridge Damsels were second again. Maybe 2012 will be their year?
1st The Dream Team
2nd Dunbridge Damsels
3rd Minley Manor Moustaches

HELP FOR HEROES The nominated charity is Help for Heroes who collected a cheque for £760.

TOP FLY The Pheasant Tail Nymph was the most used and top scoring fly, though two home made creations the Ducking Feadly and Tanner Nymph topped the average score table.

BIGGEST FISH The pot was £520, half of which goes to Help for Heroes. Ed Burgass also collected in this category with a 23" fish from Wherwell Priory.

Special thanks must go to all the river owners who very kindly gave up their beats for the day. Paula, Tracey and all the team at The Peat Spade for providing a wonderful venue, with a great the breakfast and tea. Guide Captain Jon Bond, Duncan Weston, Alan Middleton, Diane Bassett and all the team that made it happen.

Hope to see you next year. Put Friday April 27th 2012 in your diary - hopefully we won't have another Royal Wedding to dodge!

2011 Results PDF file

Fly Fishing & Fly Tying – July 2011
A member of the winning 2011 River Test One Fly team shows you how to tie the fly he used.

FieldSports – Summer 2011

About the 2011 River Test One Fly contest.

Total Fly fisher– July 2011

About the 2011 River Test One Fly contest.

Mail on Sunday – June 2011

Chris Tarrant on his winning day and winning ways.

About the One Fly

The idea for the River Test One Fly (RTOF) was conceived by Fishing Breaks founder Simon Cooper having competed in the American equivalent since 2005. Though he has never come close to winning, every year Simon makes the 5,000 mile trek to Wyoming with ever increasing excitement. For this is a contest that pits man against man and fish against fly – it is an unequal contest as the trout always win, but you can share the passion of one of the world’s truly great fly fishing events which is now held in England, the true home of fly fishing.

But the clue to the difference to other fly fishing tournaments is in the name - the One Fly is exactly that – at 10am each morning every competitor selects and ties on the fly that must last all day – lose it and you’re out! Points are awarded on a sliding scale according to the number and length of fish caught. There are no cash prizes – just the glory and kudos of winning. There are prizes for the best fish, top Guide, winning team and so on, all generously donated by sponsors.

This last point is important – the One Fly is a not-for-profit event. The entrance fees are used to cover the cost of running the annual event and any surplus is ploughed back into charitable causes.

Take a look at www.jhonefly.org for more details of the US competition or the New Zealand version www.onefly.co.nz

2013 Entry Form

The competition is taking a year out for the Olympics

Date of competition: Friday April 26th

Entries close: March 1st

Individual entries will be allocated a team by the organiser. Any special requests will be fulfilled if possible. For team entries names may be changed/left open until 28days prior to the competition. The cost of entry is £325/person. (£250 for RTOF Founder Members). The organiser will contact you for payment.

2010 Results

Winning Team Award 1st ONLINEFISHING.TV 2nd Dunbridge Damsels 3rd Water Rats Top Individual Points Award 1st JEREMY CROUCHER 2nd Edward Dawes 3rd Ian MacKenzie Leading Guide Award 1st CHAS HOUSE 2nd Mark Bedford-Russell 3rd Ian Hockley Top Estate Score 1st WHITCHURCH FULLING MILL 2nd Compton Chamberlayne 3rd Wherwell Priory

2010 Results PDF file

2009 Results

Winning Team Award 1st THE FIELD 2nd The Peat Spade 3rd Robjents Top Individual Points Award 1st NICK ZOLL 2nd Howard Taylor 3rd John Graham Leading Guide Award 1st MARCUS MCCORKELL 2nd Howard Bennett 3rd Chas House Top Estate Score 1st WHERWELL PRIORY 2nd Whitchurch Fulling Mill 3rd Itchen Worthy

2009 Team Scores PDF file
2009 Guide Scores PDF file
2009 Individual Rankings PDF file

2008 Results

2008 Team Scores PDF file
2008 Guide Scores PDF file

Press articles

Waterlog - November 2010

Chris Sandford ties the flies and fishes the fly for The Dream Team

Fly Fishing & Fly Tying – October 2009

A Guides eye view of the 2009 River Test One Fly

The Field magazine – July 2009

Editor Jonathan Young recounts with great hilarity on how his team lifted the trophy.

Country Life Magazine – May 2009

David Profumo tells all from the River Test One Fly competition

Country Life Magazine May 2008

Country Life editor Mark Hedges spills the beans

Financial Times January 2008 - 2.5mb

Fear of Flying - The FT's Richard Donkin tells why he is fishing the River Test One Fly in April.

Our supporters

The River Test One Fly could not happen without the help of a great many people - apologies to anyone accidentally omitted.

Broadlands
Bullington Manor Estate
Compton Chamberlayne Estate
Donnington Grove Country Club
Clare & James Hogg
Jan Grimstone
Jo 0’Brien
Orvis
Portsmouth Services Fly Fishing Association
Robjent's
The Peat Spade Inn

Rules and scoring

Teams
a) Each team will consist of three contestants. Teams may substitute contestants anytime until the morning of the competition. Individual contestants are welcome to enter & will be allocated a team by the organiser.
b) Only one member of a team may be a professional full-time or part-time fresh or saltwater fly fishing instructor or guide. A professional is defined as anyone who, within the last 3 years, has received income for services performed as a fly fisher.

Equipment
a) Type of rod and fly reel is the choice of the contestant.
b) The use of fly floatant, leaders or other accessories will be at the discretion of the contestant. Only floating lines are permitted
c) No real or artificial fish attractants, such as scents, are allowed.

Event Flies
a) Any conventional dry or nymph pattern may be used as long as it is no larger than size #10.
b) Lead or other metal-moulded heads, cone heads and dumbbell lead eyes are prohibited. Tube flies are prohibited. A fly with a single metal or glass bead is allowed.
c) Flies must be tied on a single barbless hook or on a hook with the barb pushed down.
d) Contestants may select a different fly for the morning (10am-1.15pm) & afternoon (1.15pm-4.30pm) sessions. Morning & afternoon flies are not interchangeable.
e) Contestants must inform the Guide of their chosen fly by 10am/1.15pm & submit it for the approval of the Guide.
f) Repair of flies may only be done with the use of glue or any adhesive. Any re-tying of the fly with thread or fly tying materials is prohibited. Broken hooks may be honed or filed to a usable sharpness via any sharpening tool.
g) Traditional strike indicators are allowed. Flies, even those with broken hooks, are not allowed to be used as indicators. Only a single fly may be attached to the leader.

Fishing Procedure
a) All trout species will be counted in the scoring. No other fish species will be counted.
b) The only permitted fishing method is upstream dry fly or nymph.
c) Fishing hours are 10.00am-4.30pm.
d) With the permission of the fisherman who has a fish ‘on the line’, team partners may assist in landing any fish to be scored in the event.
e) If a contestants’ fly becomes caught in tree, branch or snag, it may be recovered and reattached to the leader. The contestant may continue fishing in the event.
f) The morning or afternoon session scoring ends for a contestant when his official fly becomes irretrievably lost. That person may continue to fish for the remainder of the session, but no fish caught after the contest fly is lost will count for that sessions’ scoring.
g) Contestants may not, under any circumstances, swap or exchange flies or rods with other contestants or team members.

Sharing a beat
a) Contestants will mutually agree how to share a beat & observe the customary chalkstream etiquette.
b) Guides are not allowed to assist other contestants.

Duties of the Guide
a) The Guide is solely responsible for the contestant allocated to him or her & will not assist, advise or collaborate with other contestants or Guides during fishing hours.
b) The Guide may assist in netting the fish if the contestant so requests

Dispute Resolution
a) In the event of a dispute the decision of Official Referee will be final.

Scoring
a) To be counted in the score, the angler or Guide, must touch the leader whilst a trout is ‘on’ and then that fish is counted 15 points.
b) Each contestant will be allowed to select six (6) trout to measure during the day. All trout not selected for measurement will be released immediately, preferably without removing them from the water.
c) Measurement should be done in gutter provided by the Guide & the score recorded by the Guide. Any fish length will be rounded to the next full inch e.g. 17 ¼” equals 18” for scoring purposes.
d) Any fish killed will not count to the points total, for whatever reason killed.
e) Each for the six (6) fish for bonus scoring by a contestant will be scored as follows:

Contact us

River Test One Fly HQ
Nether Wallop Mill
Stockbridge
Hampshire
SO20 8EW
T: 01264 781988
E: info@rivertestonefly.co.uk