Well, Utah's Lance Egan knows what it's like, telling About.com it's a "great experience" and saying Scotland's "green" as you hear.
Egan was one of the lucky anglers to participate for the U.S. Fly Fishing Team, helping the Americans to an eighth-place at the 27-team event for the second straight year. The Americans also finished eighth at the 2008 World Fly Fishing Championshipsin New Zealand.
2009 World Fly Fishing Championships
England won the 2009 event followed by second-place France and third-place Scotland.
"Scotland was a very difficult championship," Egan admitted. "To give you an idea just how tough, Ian Barr of England won the individual gold medal with 13 fish landed in five sessions. Last year, in New Zealand, several competitors landed more than 30 trout in one three-hour session."
Egan was joined on the 2009 team by Josh Stephens of North Carolina, Anthony Naranja, Mike Sexton of Colorado, George Daniel of Pennsylvania, Pete Erickson of Idaho and Devin Olsen.
Fly Fishing in Scotland
While this was the first time fishing Scotland's "lochs" and reservoirs for some of his teammates, it was Egan's second trip to the country.
He also spent a couple weeks there in the West Highlands hiking and fishing in 1996, but he never had a chance to fish any of the World Championship venues.
The team also wasn't allowed to fish the venues during pre-tournament fishing, which began in early June.
"Pre-fishing went well, despite the sunny conditions," Egan said. "Scottish fish are used to overcast rainy weather, so the great weather we experienced made fishing tough."
Tough Tournament Fishing
During the championships, the team fished on Loch Leven, which Egan said is home of many brown trout stocks throughout the world, Loch Awe, Carron Valley Reservoir, Lake of Menteith and the River Tay.
Day 1 ended with Team USA in 10th place with a few blanks and some great sessions.
"At day's end," Egan said, "all competitors realized just how hard this World Championship would be."
Day 2 was a short day, only a morning session with the afternoon off. At session’s end, the American’s dropped to 13th place.
Day 3 brought many blanks for all teams. Team USA escaped with few blanks and moved up to eighth place.
But even with the tough fishing, Egan said the overall experience was one he'll never forget.
"All in all it was a great experience," he added. "Scotland is as beautiful and green as you hear."
