were able to get close before initiating his attack, Fario would

have a difficult time countering Claudius' strength at close range.

Feeling increasingly confident in the final outcome, Claudius

became somewhat arrogant in the way he fought. Fario felt his

opponent toying with him, dragging out the battle in an effort to

prolong and savor the sweetness of the victory that would soon

belong to Claudius.

Vigilant, Fario waited as Claudius began his advance. Despite

using all of his skills in his approach, Claudius' movements were

easily detected by Fario. After several unsuccessful attempts,

Claudius realized that Fario’s position eliminated any possibility of

taking him by surprise.

However, as fate would have it, the cliff that had provided

Claudius his advantage would soon become the stone-faced ally

of his opponent. Since Fario had never expected to be attacked

from the cliff, he had never taken the time to survey the area.

Now, as the battle raged on, he noticed the crack in the rock slab

at the base of the cliff. Fario surmised that if he could get his

opponent out of position for just a moment, the crack might

provide him a path of escape.

Grudgingly accepting that his opponent had won this first

skirmish, Claudius stopped to evaluate the situation. With an eye

trained to finding his opponent's weaknesses, Claudius soon saw

that Fario's position, while providing excellent visibility, provided

virtually no protection from a frontal attack. Claudius therefore

decided to mount a quick, head-on assault. With this attack, he

hoped to force Fario into taking refuge in a different location,

one where Claudius might better be able to surprise him.

As Fario initiated his plan, he acted weaker and weaker. He

moved clumsily, and several times let himself slip to make

Claudius believe the end was near. And then, just as Claudius

was about to deliver the thrust that would net him final victory,

Fario made a sudden dash for the crack. Before Claudius could

react, Fario was past him, through the crack, and gone.

As Claudius had anticipated when he launched his attack,

Fario had no choice but to desert his position and retreat. Driven

from his first choice of positions, Fario moved quickly to

reestablish himself in his secondary defensive stronghold.

The new site gave substantially more protection from a direct

assault, but it did not have the total visibility that the first

location had provided. In fact, there was a serious blind spot

directly behind the position. Fario was not concerned by this,

however, as the spot was at the base of a very steep, virtually

inaccessible cliff. Fario had never faced an opponent capable of

climbing the cliff. At least, not until now.

In a way, both warriors had won, and both had lost. Both had

used their skills and wits to momentarily outdo the other. But in

the end, neither the angler nor the trout could really claim the

final victory. Perhaps that is as it should be when one goes

flyfishing for big browns.

Claudius stealthily followed his retreating enemy to his new

hideout. Upon surveying the situation, he quickly deduced why

his opponent had chosen this new position. There seemed to be

no way to approach from the front or the sides without showing

himself. The terrain provided good protection from a frontal

assault, and behind his opponent there was a sheer cliff.

Claudius realized that if he were to gain an advantage over Fario,

he would have to try something totally different.

Claudius had not defeated his previous opponents just by

virtue of his size. He had also learned to use his wits to gain

advantages. The cliff behind Fario seemed to present an

insurmountable obstacle but, because of its appearance and the

amount of time and energy that would be required, Claudius

doubted that anyone had ever made the effort to approach the

cliff from the backside. Time was one thing Claudius had aplenty.

He slowly circled his enemy and quietly began an approach from

the backside of the cliff.

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From the front, the cliff looked smooth and sheer. From the

side, however, it was apparent that there was actually a large

slab of rock that came up from the base of the cliff. Behind the

rock slab, the actual cliff arose. Most importantly, between the

rock and the cliff there was a gap -- a gap large enough to climb

into, undetected.

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Feeling secure in his new position, Fario ate and rested in

preparation for the next part of the battle. He couldn't know that

while he rested, Claudius was climbing into position to attack

from the base of the cliff. With a powerful thrust of his arm,

Claudius launched his feathered scimitar of steel at Fario. Not

until Claudius had struck did Fario realize that he had taken the

bait in a deadly trap. Outraged that he had been duped, Fario

leaped up in sheer terror and anger.

Back and forth they fought, and at first it appeared that

neither had an advantage. However, as the fight progressed, it

evolved more and more into a test of sheer power. In a battle of

brute strength, Claudius knew he held the advantage. Unless

something unforeseen was to occur, he knew he would

eventually triumph. Fario soon came to the same conclusion. His

strength was no match to that of Claudius. Unless Fario could

quickly devise a new plan, he would soon lose the battle.

5

Dennis Barlett with a colorful Colorado Brown