One Surf Fly Beach Classic… just one!

Michelle Bowman measures a pancake-sized halibut caught at the first OSF held in Dockweiler State Beach. photo by glen tagami.

The Skinny…

The inspiration

The One “Surf Fly” Beach Classic was conceived by Al Quattrocchi aka “Al Q”, an avid surf fly fisherman residing in Southern California. His goal was to create a fun event where fellow salty fly fishers could celebrate their sport and at the same time support the oceans and neighboring water sheds through non-profit organizations. The “One Surf Fly” stemmed from the famous trout tournament held in Jackson Hole entitled, “The One Fly”, but it solely a saltwater surf event and has a few different twists and turns.

How it works

The event is free for all registered participants that register through the host fly shop. Each angler participating in the OSF submits one fly that is recorded, approved by the OSF team and gets thrown into a brown paper bag. Everyone gets to pick one “mystery” fly, prior to the start of the three hour competition. Tippet size is open. Each angler has no idea what they will be fishing. This enables each angler to fish a fly they may never have dreamed of fishing and evens the battle field.  If you lose your one fly, you maintain your score prior to the lost fly but are finished from remaining tournament .  There are three trophy categories and three prize categories: first fish, largest fish and the most fish are each awarded a trophy. Each fly submission that wins one of the three top categories receives a prize awarded to it’s proper owner. Every angler carries a scorecard that can only be marked by an official OSF spotter which verifies each catch & release.

Preserving our sport

Every event has a host fly shop and OSF organizer.  Together they choose a non-profit organization benefits from the event raffle.  Each non-profit works to protect and help sustain their local fishery.  Immediately following the fishing portion of the day, participants gather at the host shop for a raffle. 100% of the raffle proceeds are awarded to the chosen non-profit organization.  Everyone wins: participants have a great day of fishing, some lucky people walk away with some great gear and a local non-profit receives a healthy donation.

The mission

To create a fun morning where fellow fishermen  enjoy friendly comradery, make some new friends and fish new flies while supporting their local fly shop which hosts each event.

Bill Matthews working a trough at Dockweiler Beach. Photo by Glen Tagami

The inaugural OSF event was held at Dockweiler State Beach on May 5th, 2009  in Southern California. It was hosted by the Fishermen’s Spot in Van Nuys and the beneficiary was Heal the Bay.  30 anglers participated and the OSF raffle held at the Fishermen’s Spot after the competiton raised $1000 for Heal The Bay.

The lineup of participants at the second OSF Huntington State Beach in December 2009. Photo courtesy of Christina Kaufman.

The second OSF was held in Huntington State Beach in December 2009. It was hosted by Bob Marriott’s Fly Fishing Store in Fullerton and the beneficary was Trout Unlimited’s Steelhead Restoration Program. Sixty anglers participated and the OSF raffled raised $1300 for TU’s Steelhead Restoration Program.  To see the statistics of each event and a list of the generous companies that donated to the fund-raising raffles, please go to the events summary page.