STATE COLLEGE -- Kneeling waist-deep in Fishing Creek, Heather Seitz of Hampton whipped a rod's length of fly line and tandem flies at the water.

No graceful Figure 8s or tricky end-around casts -- they were short, deliberate snaps emphasizing speed, efficiency and line control.

		Listen in Hampton angler Heather Seitz talks about the fishing conditions in a stream near State College. Ms. Seitz says the number of female anglers is growing.

In high, muddy water the morning after tornado warnings and an inch of rainfall, Ms. Seitz wasn't fishing for fun. The 18-year-old and teens from the United States, Canada and seven European countries were casting for points in the FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship.

Held for the first time in the United States, the tournament drew 46 young anglers to the limestone waters surrounding State College in Centre County, where under the watchful eye of international judges they fished specific "beats" of Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, the Little Juniata River and Lake Perez.

Ranking was based on number and size of fish netted in catch-and-release competition. Yesterday, midway through five 2 1/2-hour fishing sessions, teams from France, the Czech Republic and England were leading.

Adam Picketts, a third-year veteran of Team USA and hometown favorite from Reedsville, south of State College, was within striking distance in eighth place. Ms. Seitz, the U.S. team's first female member, was ranked 23rd.

The final ranking was to be determined late last night, with an Olympic-style awards ceremony today.

"This is the Olympics of fly fishing," said tournament chairman John Ford, a retired high school teacher from State College who worked for two years to bring the championship to the United States. "This is really prestigious. [The Youth Championship] has never been held in this country before, and we are operating this event in the hopes that we can show the world that we can put on a successful competition and have pristine waters comparable to any in the world."

"We have excellent trout waters here that can be found nowhere else," said Mr. Ford. "Because of the limestone area that we have [in central Pennsylvania], the waters that we fish come out of the ground at about 55 degrees all year round. That's ideal for trout, and you don't find that in many other parts of the country."

Last year Team USA placed fifth in the tournament, held in Portugal.

This year all eyes were on the powerful French and Czech Republic teams, which have dominated youth fly fishing events in recent years. By yesterday afternoon, international competitors were on speaking terms, but fly choices remained a closely guarded secret and no one was giving away the locations of "hot spots."

American home-water advantage notwithstanding, many of the European competitors came with an edge: a technique called "short lining." Instead of tying leader, tippet and flies to weight-forward or double-tapered fly line, "short liners" use no fly line, just a rod's length of monofilament, a few inches of easy-to-spot fluorescent monofilament and a three-foot tippet and flies, which they dunk and whip into the water.

The result is less drag on the fly and a drift that looks more natural to the fish. It's legal, but the technique is frowned upon by tournament staff, who are considering banning "short lining" in future tournaments.

On Fishing Creek, Ms. Seitz cast a hand-tied, beaded Red Devil nymph on a No. 16 hook with a No. 12 Stonefly dropper on 4X tippet -- a combination that pulled one trout from a submerged spring. She said she lost another and had several additional hits.

Ms. Seitz started fishing when she was 4. She took up fly fishing to spend more time with her father.

"No pun intended," she said, "but I got hooked. ... I've seen the numbers of women [fly anglers] growing. It's so positive. I've taken some of my friends out and taught them. Hopefully the numbers will be going up in the future."