Chuck Farneth used his gold-medal performance to start an Outdoor Legacy.

Chuck Farneth has as much desire as anyone to win the flyfishing competition in this week's ESPN Great Outdoor Games.

It's his motivation that's different.

"It's a catalyst for something that's much more important than fishing," Farneth said.

That something is Outdoor Legacy, a non-profit organization that Farneth launched earlier this year on the heels of his gold-medal performance in last year's Great Outdoor Games.

Outdoor Legacy is Farneth's flyfishing ministry, a means to teach the "biblical principals of authentic manhood" to fathers and sons through shared experiences in the outdoors.

If not for a victory in last year's flyfishing competition, Farneth said Outdoors Legacy might not have gotten off the ground.

"My experience with the Great Outdoor Games was the key element that pushed me over the edge," Farneth said. "My wife said to me, 'You need to use this for something else besides your own personal gain.'

"Winning the gold medal last year helped me make people aware of Outdoor Legacy."

Although the organization remains in its infancy, Farneth has big goals for Outdoor Legacy.

He has hosted groups of fathers and sons for one-day and weekend outings.

Flyfishing and the importance of passing on a legacy of manhood play equally prominent roles.

Future plans for the organization include a 10-day fishing trip to Alaska in August. Farneth also envisions the day when he'll be able to buy a piece of land and build a lodge that will be a permanent site for his Outdoor Legacy retreats.

"The outdoors is God's tabernacle and a tremendous vehicle to reach these men and boys," Farneth said. "Through Outdoor Legacy, we want to help them understand what it really means to be a man.

"You're investing a legacy down to other generations."

Farneth said another good showing at the Great Outdoor Games will help him gain exposure for Outdoor Legacy and its mission.

But he acknowledges that the competition will be tough.

"Everyone there is skilled, so it's not a matter of skill," Farneth said.

"Any given day it could be anybody's win."

The 12 competitors in the flyfishing event will earn seeds through a casting competition, which will determine the order of their fishing time on the Ausable River, a relatively fast-flowing, narrow stream that rushes through white birch forests in upstate New York.

Once on the river, competitors will need to rely on strategy more than fishing prowess. Anglers are allowed to record only one fish. The trick is knowing when to say when.

"You could actually catch the biggest fish of the day and finish last," said Justin Tackett of Little Rock, coordinator of the flyfishing competition at the Great Outdoor Games. "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 fishing tournaments in which an angler's chances hinge on the combined weight of his catch, the flyfishing competition at the Great Outdoor Games centers on a single fish that an angler must decide to keep or release at the moment he lands it.

If he decides to keep the fish, he's done for the day.

"You have to know when to draw the line," Farneth said. "You have to go into it with an idea of the fish you think can win it. If it's slow, you key on one fish. If they're more active, you can be a little more selective, but you don't want to get greedy."

For example, Farneth won last year's event with a 16-inch brown trout. Other anglers caught larger fish, but they released them in hopes of catching something bigger.

"I just want to record a fish," Farneth said.

Of course, a victory would help Farneth get more exposure for Outdoor Legacy, something he says is more important than bringing home another gold medal.

"I'm just pleased to be able to use something I enjoy and share it with others," Farneth said. "In addition to sharing a passion for flyfishing, we're trying to pass on greater things."