MADISON, Wis. — Lance Egan appeared as "Superfly" in a promotional campaign for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge. The angler from Sandy, Utah, lived up that moniker in the Fly Fishing competition Friday.

Egan hauled a 13 3/4-inch rainbow trout out of Silver Creek on Friday to win the Fly Fishing gold medal at the Great Outdoor Games, making him the only angler to repeat as a gold medalist in the one-fish competition.

Last year, Egan took the Fly Fishing gold on the Truckee River near Reno, Nev. "It feels absolutely awesome," the 26-year-old said. "That was my dream and my goal — to become the first person to be a two-time gold medalist in fly fishing." Jim Hickey of Jackson, Wyo., took the silver with an 8-inch brook trout, and Ryan Barnes of Salt Lake City won the bronze with a 7 3/4-inch brook.

"Points on the board are always better than not having them," Hickey said. "It just so happened that everybody had tough fishing." Silver Creek, a narrow, serpentine spring creek near Fort McCoy, Wis., proved a daunting challenge for the 12 anglers in the competition.

The creek, which is just a few feet wide in most places, featured stained water, higher-than-usual water flow and numerous obstacles, including 6-foot grass, downed trees and heavy brush along the stream bank.

Egan mastered the difficult conditions with a Tungsten Surveyor fly, a pattern he developed himself. The fly imitates a scud, a type of tiny freshwater shrimp that is a common food of Silver Creek's brown, rainbow and brook trout. He caught the winning fish along a grassy, undercut bank.

Appearing in ESPN's advertising campaign for the Games, "Superstars? No, Superheroes!" Egan was billed as "Superfly" based on his 2003 fly fishing gold. Select competitors from various sports showed up in television and print ads, playing the role of comic-book-style heroes who save the day with their specialized skills.

It made Egan the subject of good-natured ribbing among fellow competitors and sport organizers. But no one was making fun of Egan on Friday.

"That guy is amazing," said sport organizer John Davis, who oversaw the competition.

The fly fishing event is a bit like poker in that anglers are allowed to record only one fish. They have to gamble on whether it's good enough to win. If they record it, they're finished for the day. Anglers are sequestered after leaving the water, and they're not allowed to reveal details of their time on the stream.

"I wanted to just try to catch some fish and get a gauge on the size," Egan said of his strategy. "I caught one 9-inch brook trout a few minutes into it, and then I didn't get anything else for another hour. When I caught that fish, I said, 'OK, I'm not going to risk it.'"

Others didn't fare so well on their gambles. Rick Hartman caught a 12 1/4-inch rainbow about 15 minutes into the afternoon flight, but he released it and didn't catch another fish. It would have meant a silver medal.

Likewise, Tom White caught but didn't register an 11-inch trout that would have been good enough for bronze.

"I had a game plan and stuck to it," White said. "I didn't figure that fish would place. Even knowing what I know now, I'd do it again." The gamble by White and Hartman meant silver for Hickey and bronze for Barnes, both of whom didn't expect their short fish to put them on the medal stand.

"I didn't think there was any chance of getting a medal," Barnes said. "But I knew if I had a fish on the board, I had a chance, albeit a very small chance." Barnes' bronze meant that two longtime fishing buddies shared the limelight on Friday. Barnes and Egan are good friends, they said, and Egan served as best man at Barnes' wedding.

"This is so great for both of us to win medals," Barnes said. "It's really almost too good to be true."

Admission to the Great Outdoor Games is free. The Games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC from July 14 through July 19.

Final standings
1 Lance Egan, Sandy, Utah -- 13.75 in.
2 Jim Hickey, Jackson, Wyo. -- 8 in.
3 Ryan Barnes, Salt Lake City, Utah -- 7.75 in.
4 John Wilson, Russellville, Ark. -- 7.5 in.
5 Rick Hartman, Harlingen, Texas -- 0 in.
6 Foster Hetherington, Brandon, Vt. -- 0 in.
7 Chuck Farneth, Little Rock, Ark. -- 0 in.
8 Lance Stanchfield, Wise River, Mont. -- 0 in.
9 Brian Capsay, Durango, Colo. -- 0 in.
10 Steve Bechard, Oneida, N.Y. -- 0 in.
11 Capt. Tom White, Marathon, Fla. -- 0 in.
12 Mike Dawes, Victor, Idaho -- 0 in.

Results (By Round)

Final Round
1 Lance Egan Length: 13.75 in.
2 Jim Hickey Length: 8 in.
3 Ryan Barnes Length: 7.75 in.
4 John Wilson Length: 7.5 in.
5 Rick Hartman Length: 0 in.
6 Foster Hetherington Length: 0 in.
7 Chuck Farneth Length: 0 in.
8 Lance Stanchfield Length: 0 in.
9 Brian Capsay Length: 0 in.
10 Steve Bechard Length: 0 in.
11 Capt. Tom White Length: 0 in.
12 Mike Dawes Length: 0 in.

Qualifier
1 John Wilson Total: 2464.6
2 Jim Hickey Total: 1998.3
3 Rick Hartman Total: 1938.7
4 Foster Hetherington Total: 1815.3
5 Chuck Farneth Total: 1630.5
6 Lance Stanchfield Total: 1580.5
7 Brian Capsay Total: 1499.1
8 Ryan Barnes Total: 1374.2
9 Lance Egan Total: 1316.8
10 Steve Bechard Total: 1115.6
11 Capt. Tom White Total: 1015.9
12 Mike Dawes Total: 974.5