LAKE PLACID, New York — On Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, the dozen competitors in this year's Fly-Fishing Competition at the 2002 ESPN Great Outdoors Games set in this beautiful Adirondack village will be casting on Mirror Lake and fishing the famed Ausable River for a place on the medal platform Saturday night.

The field this year includes some of the top fly-fishing guides from around the country, the "pros" who have seasoned their skills through years spent on the water, and who also tie the flies that catch fish.

But spectators at the games will have a chance to learn the ins-and-outs of the fly-fishing skills demonstrated by the competitors, through demonstrations by the editors of American Angler and Fly Tyer magazines.

"The sport of fly fishing is too much fun not to share with others," said Joe Healy, editorial director of American Angler and Fly Tyer, who will be one of the instructors at GOG. "I enjoy getting out and teaching fly fishing as much as enjoy the sport itself."

Dave Klausmeyer, editor of Fly Tyer and one of the world's most skillful tiers, will also be on hand to discuss and demonstrate how flies are made, what materials are used, and which patterns will work on local trout streams. If you haven't seen fly-tying up close, this is a chance you won't want to miss.

"Typical trout flies are tied with natural materials such as rabbit fur, deer hair, peacock and chicken feathers, just to name a few, and are designed to imitate the local aquatic life upon which trout feed," Klausmeyer explains. "It's really satisfying to tie a fly yourself, and then go out a catch a wild fish on that very fly."

The fly-fishing demonstrations will be held in a pavillion near the "Oval" and the Mirror Lake fly-fishing competition throughout the day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Click here for a link to the GOG site map.