This year was the 12th year of the Denver Trout Unlimited Carp Slam fly fishing tournament. The tournament and fundraiser have resulted in over $100,000 going to South Platte River restoration and enhancement through the urban sections of South Platte River in Denver, Colorado.

I volunteered as a controller this year and was responsible for supervising competitors in the tournament. Controllers have to measure fish length, verify proper hooksets (no snagging), verify flies (no bait or scented flies), spray down equipment for invasive species, keep track of time and fishing rotation, and make sure competitors stay within their designated sections of the river.

Teammates are drawn at random and then sections of the river (beats) are randomly assigned. Teams fish in 30 minute time slots and rotate once a fish is landed or when their 30mins is up. The contest consists of a morning and afternoon session, with both contestants allowed to fish at the same time during the last hour of each session.

I was assigned to Mike Medina and Chris Galvin on beats A and K of the river. Chris is the 3 time defending CarpSlam champion so I knew it would be an eventful day.

Beat A was the most northern stretch of the river and as we headed up to 120th Ave., we hit a wall of fog that was drastically different from the conditions we had just left in the city. We figured it could be beneficial in helping us hide from the fish. As we prepped equipment and got ready for the 9am start, Mike wandered over to a pond and had a carp on in his first cast. A little “slamateur warm-up.”

Once 9am hit I gave the guys the go ahead and they headed straight into the South Platte. Chris was hooked up within 10 mins and fighting one that took his line straight down the bank. Mike had to caress the line around some debris to stop the fish from breaking off. Mike netted it and the 1st fish was in the books. 26.5″ solid start. Mike was now on the clock and headed upstream to find some more grazers. He spotted one and after a few presentations had another golden ghost on in 10 mins. Two fish in the net in the first 30 mins and an awesome start to the tournament. Galvin’s team won last year’s contest with only three fish.

The guys were pumped with their start and now Galvin was back on the clock. It wasn’t even 100 yards upstream when Galvin spotted another cruiser and started his approach. Mike and I stayed back and watched Galvin drop the fly out in the middle of the river and make a monster hookset when the fish turned on it. By 9:37am the guys had their 3rd fish (28″) in the net!

Mike had a few chances in his next 30 minute session but didn’t get any fish to the net. Galvin was back on the clock and saw a chunky carp munching against the bank, but just ahead of a monster logjam. If he could get the fish to eat, the fish would almost certainly turn into the debris and break him off. Galvin was able to sneak above the fish and as soon as he set the hook, he maneuvered him out into the channel instead of into the logjam. Mike sprinted out with the net in an attempt to scare the fish from heading into the tree. They fought the fish across the river and were able to land their 4th fish (29.75″) with a sigh of relief!