That philosophy led to Egan swimming across the Simojoki River in Finland earlier this month, much to the disbelief and dismay of the Finnish judge assigned to watch him fish during the World Fly Fishing Championships.

"I knew no one had caught a fish on that side of the river in that section and I decided to fish it. He shook his head and said [he] didn't want to swim across," Egan said. "When he realized I was going to anyway he said 'you know you have to bring the fish back.' "

The other side of the river proved no better than the side the judge was on, but Egan rested easy on the long flight home from Finland to his Utah home knowing he had done everything he could to catch fish.

Egan finished 27th, leading the U.S. team to a sixth-place finish, the best showing yet for the Americans at the World Fly Fishing Championships.

Five Team USA fishers caught brown trout, rainbow trout and grayling at the competition, which was dominated by the French team. The Czech Republic took second, with Finland finishing third, Portugal fourth and Spain in fifth.

Egan had hoped to finish in the top 25, which would have locked him into a berth on the 2008 U.S. Team. The team's goal was to find a way into the medals, but they were quite happy with sixth.

"If I had caught one more fish on the lake section, I would have made the top 25. If I had caught one fish on that river section, I would have probably made the top 12 and maybe helped move the team up," Egan said.

Egan will attempt to qualify for the 2008 World Championships when the U.S. team holds the National Championship in Colorado in October.

The next time you visit Cabela's, stop by the fly shop, and congratulate Egan for his fine effort in representing all U.S. fly fishers.

Flyfishing camp

The boys at flyfishradio.com are putting on the first Flyfishing Fantasy Camp, from Aug. 17-19 on the East Fork of the Bear River and on three lakes in the Uinta Mountains. Workshops and classes include fly tying, casting, entomology, boat training and trout behavior. Registration for the three-day camp is $390, which includes meals and walled tent with a cot. The one-day fee is $65 and a two-day Scout camp (Scouts accompanied by a leader or guardian) is available for $15.

Visit flyfishfantasycamp.com for more information.

brettp@ sltrib.com