The difference in water conditions between June 2018 and June 2019 was remarkable. Consider this: during the 2018 Mile High 25 tournament, snowpack levels were about half of average. Runoff was hardly factor worth noting. Fast-forward to this year’s multi-species fly fishing event, and snowpack was nearly double average levels.
In addition to challenging water conditions, Colorado decided to deliver a late June snowstorm. Places where teams reliably found fish last year were completely different. With only two days to land as many different species as possible, there’s no time to waste searching for fish.
Under these conditions, we were extremely impressed that ten teams still brought 10 or more species of fish to the net. That’s a remarkable feat. A big congrats goes to all the teams who participated in the 4th annual Mile High 25 and persevered through cold weather and tough conditions.
Even though it wasn’t easy, this made the tournament a ton of fun! It was an extremely close race, with so many teams neck-and-neck near the finish.
Have a look at part 2 of 3 in our 2019 Mile High 25 video recap, thanks to our own Davis James and Route Company Creative:
Thanks again to the awesome Mile High 25 tournament sponsors, including Simms, Sage, Ross Reels, Rep Your Water, Abel, Scott, Scientific Anglers, Umpqua and Fishpond. If you’re interested in participating in next year’s Mile High 25, you can ask about it here at the fly shop. Or, keep an eye on MileHigh25.com for 2020 dates.