THE ANNUAL CORN GUPPY ONE FLY EVENT
The Event
Each year during the Bluegill spawn our Club conducts a one-fly event. Each participant selects one artificial fly of his or her choosing. The fly may be custom tied or commercially produced. During the two hour contest the anglers attempt to catch and land as many Bluegill as possible, using only the one fly with which they began the event.
As the event progresses an angler may re-tie the one fly onto new tippet, or even a new line and rod, but should the angler lose that fly before the event ends, he or she is done participating and his or her fish count is the total number of Bluegill caught up to the point the fly was lost.
At the end of the two hour period, the angler with the highest landed Bluegill count is the winner.
The Trophy
The winner of the annual One Fly Event is awarded the coveted Corn Guppy traveling trophy onto which the winner's name is engraved.
Past Winners of the Corn Guppy Trophy
2010 Steve Packard
2011 Steve Packard
2012 Bob Gillespie
2013 Steve Packard
2014 Steve Packard
2015 Charlie Thoman
2016 Bill Nooney
2017 Bob Gillespie
2018 Bob Gillespie
2019 David Klein
2020 Rick Ashmore
2021 Robert Gillespie
2022 David Klein
2023 Steve Packard &
Charlie Thoman
The Legend of the Corn Guppy
There are those who fly fish for trophy brown trout on the White River in Arkansas, others for bonefish off Key West, and even others for the many species of bass found in any number of still and running waters.
Yet, in a small corner of the world surrounding the confluence of the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers the fish fly anglers covet is the rare Corn Guppy. It is said to live in the standing water of flooded corn fields and adjacent ditches. It is believed to feed, not on corn, but on the corn borer, a terrestrial bug. The one fly most commonly used in fishing for the Corn Guppy is the flashback juju parachute marabou blue wing olive march brown pheasant tail hare's ear dun midge, although some prefer a green #12 popper.
It is true no one has ever actually caught, much less released, a Corn Guppy, and some may even liken the Guppy to Yeti, or Big Foot. But those who seek the fish know it exists just as sure as they know that the the check's in the mail.
Thus, it is only fitting that a carving of this treasured and much sought after fish be the award bestowed on the person who wins the treasured and much sought after One Fly Championship. Each year with heartfelt admiration we present the Corn Guppy Trophy to the One Fly victor and proclaim, "Congratulations, Master Angler -- just don't lose the damn trophy, because next year one of us is going to win it."