The Sandy River Spey Clave Chinook Contest

The Sandy River Spey Clave Chinook Contest is for fun and research into how to catch them...

Are Spring Chinooks easy to catch with flies...probably not.  Do many anglers fish for them with flies...not many.  Have any been caught with flies...yes.  Over the past six years there have been enough verified catches to know that if they are targeted, Chinooks can be had in reasonable numbers.  And they are dynamite fish on a spey rod.  So here's the deal.  The angler who catches the first verifiable Spring Chinook with a fly rod from either the Sandy or Clackamas Rivers from May 14-16 will win a Winston BIIX 15' 9/10 Spey Rod !!!!  And...

He or she will win a lot of prestige !!!
The 2010 Sandy River Spey Clave is timed perfectly for Chinooks.  A chance to win a brand new $835 fly rod should provide incentive to spend a little time on the water.  The contest is open to anyone.
Here are the rules:

All wild fish must be treated gently and released unharmed.  Hatchery Chinooks can be retained. Entry fish must be caught with a fly and fly fishing gear. The catch must be totally verifiable.  The catch must be witnessed by another angler.  For that reason, it will be best to fish in pairs or groups.  Each fish must be measured for length and girth.  Size matters only for the record.  The first Chinook landed, wins the rod. Each entry must be accompanied with a digital picture, which must contain the angler, the fish, the gear the fish was caught with and a background providing verification of location.  The person taking the winning picture wins a Fishpond Vacuum Flask.  Every angler submitting an entry, wins a fly line of their choice; any of the more than 300 lines offered on www.flyfishusa.com . 
The rod and vacuum flask will be awarded on May 16, at noon when the contest closes for this year..
Credits will be issued for the fly lines at the same time.
The winning picture/pictures to be published in the next "Insider" Newsletter.