The 37th 2017 FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship was held on the 5th-11th September in Slovakia. The event was fished on the rivers Váh, Belá, Poprad and Orava and on the water dam Palcmanska Maša „Dedinky“, situated in the Gemer, Liptov, Orava and Spis regions in the central and eastern part of Slovakia.

Programme:

5th Sept – Team Registration, 1st Captains Meeting & Draw, Opening Ceremony & Welcome Dinner 

6th Sept – Official Practice Sessions 1 & 2

7th Sept – Competition Sessions 1 & 2

8th Sept – Competition Session 3 & Free time

9th Sept – Competition Sessions 4& 5

10th Sept – Conservation Symposium, Awards & Closing Ceremony, and Final Banquet

You will find more information at the official website here>> and on their Facebook page here>>

AT Team England FF was represented by: Howard Croston, Phil Dixon, Scott Nellins, Simon Robinson, Andrew Scott & Paul Page (captain/manager).

Session 1: Howard Croston had a good start, catching 32 fish to come 2nd in Sector V on the Vah river, with Scott Nellins coming 14th on the Poprad river, Andrew Scott 27th on the Bela, Phil Dixon 25th on the Orava, and Simon Robinson 19th on Dedinky Lake. After the first session England were in 19th place, with France 1st, Slovakia 2nd and Spain 3rd.

Session 2: Scott Nellins did well on Dedinky Lake, landing 6 fish for 5th place, with Simon Robinson coming 8th on the Vah river, Howard Croston 10th on the Orava, Phil Dixon 18th on the Bela and Andrew Scott 25th on the Poprad river. England moved up to 14th place, while France remained in 1st place with 60pts, ahead of Slovakia and Spain, both on 72pts, with the Czech Republic 4th with 82pts Teams-after-session-2 Individually, Jordi Oliveras of Spain currently leads with two 1st places, with two Czechs, Antonin Pesek and David Chlumsky in 2nd and 3rd with 3pts and 4pts Individual-after-session-2

Session 3: After a great performance in this session England moved up to 8th place overall, with 1st places for Andrew Scott with 11 fish on Dedinky Lake and Simon Robinson with 50 fish on the Orava River. Phil Dixon was 4th on the Poprad river, Howard Croston was 4th on Bela, with Scott Nellins 11th on the Vah river. France extended their lead overall with 80pts, ahead of the Czech Republic on 107pts, Spain on 117pts, and Slovakia on 123pts Teams-after-session-3 Individually, the Czech Antonin Pesek is in the lead with 5pts, with David Chlumsky, also Czech, 2nd with 7pts, and Gregoire Juglaret of France 3rd with 8pts. Out of the French team, four are currently in the top 7 places. Howard Croston is currently in 12th place. Individual-after-session-3

(The afternoon of the 8th September is designated as Free Time with the 4th and 5th Sessions to be fished on the 9th.)

Session 4: England remained in 8th place overall, with a 1st place for Phil Dixon with 16 fish on Dedinky Lake, Andrew Scott coming 6th on the Vah river, Howard Croston 7th on the Poprad river, Simon Robinson 19th on the Bela river, and Scott Nellins 28th on the Orava river. The Czech Republic drew level with France on 127pts each, with Spain 3rd on 141pts, and Slovakia 4th on 170pts session-4-teams-after-session

Session 5: England finished in 9th place overall, with Andrew Scott getting a 2nd place with 40 fish on the Orava river, Howard Croston coming 6th on Dedinky Lake, Simon Robinson 7th on the Poprad river, Scott Nellins 21st on the Bela river, and Phil Dixon 28th on the Vah river. With 124pts France drew clear of the Czech Republic on 168pts to become the 2017 World Champions, with Spain 3rd with 179pts and Slovakia 4th with 219pts session-5-teams-after-session Individually, Antonin Pesek of the Czech Republic was the 2017 World Champion, with Gregoire Juglaret, Sebastien Delcor and Julien Daguillanes of France in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place session-5-individuals-after-session