In a sport that typically involves introspection — and retrospection — the One-Fish Fly Fishing event forces anglers to look ahead.

If two years of history in the ESPN Great Outdoor Games can prove anything it's this: The winner of the Fly Fishing event won't need the best fly, the best rod or the best water to win.

The angler who walks away with the Gold Medal dangling around his neck, will likely have a crystal ball sitting somewhere in his tackle box.

"This is all about strategy,'' Justin Tackett, event coordinator, said. "You could actually catch the biggest fish of the day and finish last. That sounds odd, but it's happened.

"The trick to winning is to know ahead of time what should win — which is a lot more difficult than it sounds — and then, when and if you catch that fish, having the restraint to hold on to it.''

Unlike most fishing tournaments, where an angler catches a combined number and weight of fish, the One Fish Fly Fishing event centers on a single fish that an angler has to decide to keep or release at the moment he catches it. If his decision is to keep the fish, then he's done for the day.

On a river where every boulder and riffle potentially holds a trophy fish, to quit fishing is a much more difficult proposition than it may seem.

Tom Rowland, the 2001 GO Games Gold Medalist, provides an excellent example of that. In 2000, he caught the biggest fish and won. In 2001, Rowland caught the biggest fish and finished eighth.

	“	This is all about strategy. You could actually catch the biggest fish of the day and finish last. That sounds odd, but it's happened. ”
		— Justin Tackett, GO Games Flyfishing event coordinator

"That's the beauty of this format," said Rowland, a fly fishing guide who lives in Key West, Fla. "It's a thinking man's game. I may have out-fished some people, but I didn't out-think them."

Rowland, who won with an 18.5-inch brown trout in 2000, landed a 17.75-inch brown in 2001. But he released it and kept fishing because he didn't think that would be long enough to win the tournament.

Meanwhile, Chuck Farneth of Little Rock, Ark. zeroed in 2000 after losing a 20-inch fish after a three-minute battle and released a 14.5-inch fish so he could try for something bigger. When Farneth caught a 16-inch brown trout in 2001 with 50 minutes left in his three-hour flight, he knew he was done for the day. His Gold Medal proved he was right.

"I really had no confidence in the spot where I caught that fish," Farneth said. "After I caught it, I wasn't going to take any more chances."

Those scenarios produce a creel-load of drama, requiring competitors to make split-second decisions.

"It's the ultimate high-stakes poker game,'' Tackett said. "But in this game, there are no trump cards, no sure things. You can never be sure that you have an Ace in the hole.''

The seed game

Making those decisions even more compelling is how the anglers are seeded and where they fish.

Prior to the fishing portion of the event, each of the anglers competes in a casting competition to see who can cast the furthest. Besides providing the first look at the skills of the anglers, the casting portion is used to seed them and decide who fishes where.

	“	I may have out-fished some people, but I didn't out-think them. ”
		— One Fish competitor Tom Rowland, who caught the largest fish in 2001 but finished eighth

The top caster gets first choice of pools in which to compete for the three-hour tournament, with second place getting second choice, and so on.

Typically, the top seed picks the most promising pool of water, leaving the others to the lower seeds.

"That can make it tricky, too,'' Tackett said. "If you are in the middle of the pack and you catch a 16-inch fish in a medium quality pool. That could win. But you also know there are guys in better pools who are probably surrounded by 18-inch fish.

"You throw it away, and those 18-inchers never bite. Or maybe you're in a lesser pool and you catch that 16-inch fish. You know without a doubt you're going to keep it. Those guys in the most desirable pools know you're going to keep it, too, and they know they have to catch a big fish, prompting them to release possible winners, or even keep certain losers.''

The winner is usually the angler who assesses the field, and decides long before competition begins what his minimum length limit will be.

"He's guessing the future,'' Tackett said.

And it sometimes works. In 2000, for example, Rowland set an 18-inch minimum length limit and stuck with it. But then again, there's the rub. He set the same limit in 2001, missed it by 1/4-inch and lost the Gold Medal.

If only he would have had that crystal ball.