280 THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 
ANNUAL TOURNAMENT OF NORTHWEST 
ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC 
ANGLING CLUBS 
By. RICHARD MANEY, in American Angler. 
HE second annual tournament of the Northwest Association of 
Scientific Angling Clubs, held at Seattle, August 25-26, under the 
auspices of the Seattle Fly and Bait Casting Ulub, resulted in an 
overwhelming victory for the casters representing the Multnomah An- 
glers’ Club of Portland, Ore. Seven gold medals were offered as prizes 
to the successful contestant in each of the seven regular events, and 
every one of these medals were carried back to Portland by the tri- 
umphant anglers from the Rose City. No less than five gold medals 
are now lining the prize-creel of a single caster, W. C. Block, of the 
Multnomah Anglers’ Club, who easily captured the all-around champion- 
ship honors by outstripping a large and skillful field in each of five 
events—quarter-ounce accuracy bait, dry-fly accuracy, light tackle, quar- 
ter-ounce distance bait, half-ounce distance bait and half-ounce accuracy 
bait. W. F. Backus, a club-mate of Mr. Block, assured Portland a clean 
sweep when he captured first place in the only two events which did not 
succumb to the crafty rod of Mr. Block—distance fly, light tackle, and 
accuracy fly, ight tackle. The exceptional showing of these two Port- 
land experts does not mean that the contests were lop-sided and unin- 
teresting. On the contrary, in all events the Portlanders were extended 
to their utmost efforts to win, and they deserve only great praise, 
winning, as they did, in the face of such keen and plentiful competition. 
FE. C. MeFarland, of Portland, proved himself a worthy associate of Mr. 
Backus and Mr. Block, and with them forms a casting trinity capable 
of holding their own in any company. Indeed, the records made at this 
tournament compare favorably in all events with those made at similar 
casting tournaments in the East and Middle West. Mr. Block’s average 
of 141 feet in the quarter-ounce distance bait event, and of 171 feet in 
the half-ounce distance bait event, is one of which any caster may well 
be proud. Im all cases the marks made show a vast improvement over 
those.made at the tournament in Portland in 1916. 
Only two casters succeeded in breaking into the monopoly of gold 
and silver medals organized by the Portland trio, A. L, Flammant of 
the Seattle club and Wiliam Bailey of the Tacoma Fly and Bait Casting 
Club. Mr. Bailey was second to Mr. Block in the dry-fly aceuraey, light 
tackle event, and Mr. Flammant was runner-up to Mr, Block in the half- 
ounce accuracy bait. The fisherman’s contest, a novelty bait event at 
unknown distances, rod and reel unrestricted, was won by T. C. Marmer 
of Tacoma, with E.G. Smart of Seattle a close second. This event proved 
one of the most popular of the tournament, and will probably be sched- 
uled as a regular event in future tournaments. The dismal showing 
of the Seattle casters is not easily explained, but the visiting anglers 
were unanimous in saying that if the Seattle men had east as well as 
they entertained the gold and silver medals would have remained in the 
Sound city. To E. A. Fry, of the firm of Piper & Taft, of Seattle, is 
due much of the eredit for the success of the tournament. It was 
through his efforts that the exceptionally large number of merchandise 
prizes were offered to the successful casters, and the speed and dispateh 
with which the tournament events were run off was but another testi- 
monial of his tireless activity. 
