Angling Trust Team England Fly Fishing

The 44th FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships took place in the South and West Bohemia, Czech Republic, from the 25th to the 31st May 2025.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

Australia – Belgium – Bosnia – Canada – Czech Republic – England – Finland – France – Germany – Hungary – India – Ireland – Italy – Japan – Latvia – Lithuania – Luxembourg – Mongolia – Netherlands – New Zealand – Norway – Poland – Portugal – Romania – Scotland – Slovakia – Slovenia – South Africa – Spain – Sweden – USA – Wales

AT TEFF was represented by: Howard Croston (captain/manager), James Atkinson, Sean Brooks, Brian Lillie, Scott Nellins & Del Spry (reserve).

RESULTS

ENGLAND FINISH 6TH

Session 1
England got off to a good start with Sean Brooks coming 2nd on Lipno 2, the boat sector, with 23 fish, and James Atkinson also getting a 2nd place with 25 fish on Vltava 28 Vyssi Brod, while Howard Croston was 3rd with 32 fish on Vltava 29 Devil’s Stones. Elsewhere, Brian Lillie was 18th on Otava 5,6,7 Susice, and Scott Nellins 26th on Vltava 27 Rozmberk. England were in 3rd place with 50 placing points, behind Slovakia 2nd on 47pts, and the USA 1st with 33pts. Wales were lying 15th, with Ireland 24th and Scotland 27th.

Session 2
England put in another good performance with James Atkinson 5th on Vltava 27 Rozmberk, Brian Lillie 7th on Lipno 2, the boat sector, Howard Croston 8th on Vltava 28 Vyssi Brod, and Sean Brooks 9th on Vltava 29 Devil’s Stones. Scott Nellins was 26th on Otava 5,6,7 Susice. England dropped one place to 4th with 103 placing points, behind Poland who moved up into 3rd with 89pts, and France 2nd with 88pts. The USA remained in 1st place with 74pts. Ireland moved up into 12th, one ahead of Scotland in 13th place, while Wales dropped to 26th. Pierre Kuntz (France) was the Individual leader with one 1st and one 2nd place.

Session 3
England kept up the pressure with another good day, which saw Howard Croston get a 2nd place on the Vltava 27 Rozmberk, and Sean Brooks also coming 2nd on Vltava 28 Vyssi Brod. On Vltava 29 Devil’s Stones Brian Lillie came 11th, with Scott Nellins 13th on Lipno 2, the boat sector. Otava 5,6,7 Susice again proved tricky, with James Atkinson finishing in 29th place. England moved up into 2nd with 160 placing points, one ahead of France in 3rd, and behind Poland who moved up into 1st place with 140pts. With a 3rd place performance Pierre Kuntz (France) remained the Individual leader with 6 placing points, although Howard Croston and Sean Brooks were 6th and 7th, both with 13pts. Ireland dropped three places to 15th, with Scotland 13th and Wales 28th.

Session 4
England had a mixed day in the 4th session. On Lipno 2, the boat sector, James Atkinson came 7th with 6 fish, but the team found it tough on the river sections, with Scott Nellins coming 22nd on Vltava 29 Devil’s Stones, Sean Brooks 23rd on Vltava 27 Rozmberk, and Brian Lillie 26th on Vltava 28 Vyssi Brod, while Howard Croston was one of 15 anglers to blank on Otava 5,6,7 Susice. England slipped down to 8th place with 266 placing points, while Scotland were 11th, Ireland 15th, and Wales 26th. France moved up into 1st place with 175pts, with Poland dropping to 2nd with 188pts, and the USA moving back up to 3rd with 213pts. Individually, another session win put Pierre Kuntz (France), already the World Champion in 2023 and 2024, on 7pts, and with a good chance of retaining his title for 2025.

Session 5
In the final session Howard Croston gained a 2nd place on Lipno 2, the boat sector, with 9 fish, with Scott Nellins 13th on Vltava 28 Vyssi Brod, Brian Lillie 16th on Vltava 27 Rozmberk, Sean Brooks 18th on Otava 5,6,7 Susice, James Atkinson 20th on Vltava 29 Devil’s Stones. England finished in 6th place, with Ireland 10th, Scotland 17th and Wales 25th. France are the 2025 World Champions with 220 placing points, with Poland 2nd on 251pts and the USA 3rd with 260pts. Individually, Pierre Kuntz (France), added another 1st place to his tally of two 1sts, a 2nd, and 3rd, to become the individual World Champion for 2025, making it a hat-trick with his 2023 and 2024 titles. Gregoire Juglaret (France) was 2nd with 15pts, and Michael Bradley (USA) 3rd with 18pts. Howard Croston was England’s top performer, finishing 11th, with Sean Brooks 28th, James Atkinson 38th, Brian Lillie 71st and Scott Nellins 108th.

Images: Český rybářský svaz

The Angling Trust reports: ‘What might have been’ was probably the overriding thought of the England Men’s Fly Fishing squad after returning from this year’s World Championships in the Czech Republic with sixth place under their belts.
Sitting in second place after the third day of action, a poor day four saw medal chances take a severe blow and despite rallying in the final match, there was a little too much damage to repair. Their total score of 335 placing points left them 75 adrift of a bronze medal and 115 behind champions France.
Fielding a squad of skipper Howard Croston, Scott Nellins, James Atkinson, Brian Lille, Sean Brooks, reserve Del Spry and Manager Mark Withyman, England got off to a fine start, ending day one in third spot with 49 points.
Day two saw them slip a couple of places down to fourth, but a much better draw on day three saw England roar back into second spot, firmly eyeing up a medal. However, fishing can be cruel and by day four, it was obvious which beats on the rivers Vltava and Octava were good and which weren’t. England didn’t get the best draw and despite battling away, they slipped down to eighth spot.
Even so, a medal was still a possibility going into the final day and a much better performance saw the team climb the table once again. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to get in the medals. Individually, England’s best performer was skipper Howard with 11th spot on 47 placing points, Frenchman Pierre Kuntz ensuring a win double for France with the gold medal.
“The team was capable of winning a medal as our practice and techniques proved, but in the end, we were within touching distance but not close enough,” reflected Manager Mark. “Thanks go to our sponsors Fly Fish North, Unique Flies, Smart designs SD and Hardy Fly Fishing and also our guides Vojtech Ungr and Katka Svagrova. Here’s to the next World Championships in the USA in 2026!”

PROGRAMME

Sunday 25th May
12:00 Registration of teams, check-in and lunch at Wellness hotel, Frymburk
14:00 Captains’ meeting at hotel
17:00 Dinner at hotel
19:00 Opening ceremony at Lipno nad Vltavou
20:00 Opening banquet at Wellness hotel, Frymburki

Monday 26th May: First competition session
08:00 – 11:00 Session in Sectors III and IV
09:00 – 12:00 Session in Sectors I and II
10:00 – 13:00 Session in Sector V
18:00 Dinner at hotel

Tuesday 27th May: Second competition session
08:00 – 11:00 Session in Sectors III and IV
09:00 – 12:00 Session in Sectors I and II
10:00 – 13:00 Session in Sector V
18:00 Dinner at hotel

Wednesday 28th May: Third competition session
08:00 – 11:00 Session in Sectors III and IV
09:00 – 12:00 Session in Sectors I and II
10:00 – 13:00 Session in Sector V
18:00 Dinner at hotel
20:00 Symposium at Wellness hotel, Frymburk

Thursday 29th May: Fourth competition session
08:00 – 11:00 Session in Sectors III and IV
09:00 – 12:00 Session in Sectors I and II
10:00 – 13:00 Session in Sector V
18:00 Dinner at hotel

Friday 30th May: Fifth competition session
08:00 – 11:00 Session in Sectors III and IV
09:00 – 12:00 Session in Sectors I and II
10:00 – 13:00 Session in Sector V
17:00 Dinner at hotel
19:00 Medal Ceremony, Vyšší Brod
20:30 Closing Banquet at Wellness hotel, Frymburk

Saturday 31st May
10:00 Departure from hotel

VENUE & SECTORS

Milan Hladík and Jiří Pejchar, international organisers: ‘We hope competitors enjoy fishing in diverse sectors which will test all their fly fishing skills. Three sectors will be marked on the Vltava River (Loučovice Devil stones, Vyšší Brod, Rožmberk), the next sector will be a boat competiton on the Lipno II reservoir in Vyšší Brod. We are very happy that we have reached an agreement with the West Bohemian Board of the ČRS and Rybářství Klatovy s.r.o. and we will also organize one sector on the Otava River. We will provide the competitors with another interesting experience and challenge, the center of the sector will be the Otava 6 trophy section. We will also enable the involvement of members of the surrounding local organizations in the course of the Championship in the role of controllers. The Květoňov reservoir and the Volyňka river will be reserve sectors in case of high water.’

Sector 1 · Lipno II reservoir, boat fishing
Fishing from drifting boats, drogue is not allowed, the boat will be driven by a boatman.
Lipno II Reservoir is an equalizing reservoir below Lipno I reservoir with relatively cold and very clear water. Reservoir hosts wild brown trout and coarse fish and it is regularly stocked with rainbow trout, however, the reservoir is mainly used as carp water. The last time, fly fishing competitions took place on this reservoir in 2014, and the fishing here was very successful. Around 3,000 rainbow trout of various sizes will be stocked before the competition.

Sector 2 · Vltava 29 P · Loučovice, Devil’s stones
Bank fishing and wading is allowed.
A beautiful piece of water between Lipno reservoir and the equalizing reservoir of Lipno II. The flow is regulated all year round and is very stable, offering fishing for abundant native brown trout in a deep wooded valley, full of big boulders. Fly fishing here is very exciting. Although the boulders are not slippery, it is necessary to ponder every step you take.
The river width varies between 5–10 m, depth ranges between 0.50–1.5 m, but there are also pools with depths of 2 m. In the lower part of the river stretch, there is also occasionally dace, grayling, brook trout and rainbow trout, but fish stock is dominated by native brown trout. We recommend to fish with a team of nymphs and carefully fish in every piece of water as in every pocket could be a hidden trout. Dry fly is also an important method. True competitors must show great fitness here, but even less physically fit competitors will find more accessible places for fishing as individual pegs will be 200 m long.

Sector 3 · Vltava 28 P · Vyšší Brod
Bank fishing and wading is allowed.
Vltava 28 is one of the best trout waters in the Czech Republic. Strict fishing rules (fly fishing only, barbless hooks only, minimum size limit 45 cm for brown trout) helps to protect the native population of brown trout which in addition is still regularly supported by stocking. The fishery is also stocked with rainbow trout (30–60cm). In slowly flowing parts and pools you can catch also coarse fish like dace, chub, roach, perch and barbel, all fish species are eligible. The stable water flow of 8 m3/s will be maintained during the competition. The river flows through a mainly forested valley, it varies with a mixture of runs and deeper pools, the river bed also varies between sandy gravel to stony sections, often covered by water macrophytes. The width of the river varies between 20–30 m, depth between 0.5–1.5 m; banks are covered with tree vegetation.
Fish occurrence: brown trout (15–50 cm), rainbow trout (30–60 cm), dace, chub, roach, perch and barbel, sometimes grayling and brook trout. Sector will not be stocked with rainbow trout before the competition. We recommend trying all fly fishing methods to cover all the water and all fish species. The river is very popular with canoeists, we asked the major companies that operate canoeing to make their clients considerate of the competitors.

Sector 4 · Vltava 27 P · Rožmberk nad Vltavou
Bank fishing and wading is allowed.
The river is a little slower under Rožmberk nad Vltavou, and occurrence of coarse fish like dace, roach and chub is higher. This sector will be stocked with rainbow trout (30–60 cm) before the Championship, fish will be stocked from a raft and every beat will be stocked with the same number of fish. We recommend all fly fishing methods to cover the water and all fish species.
The river is very popular with canoeists, we asked the major companies that operate canoeing to make their clients considerate of the competitors.

Sector 5 · Otava 5–7 · river · Sušice
Bank fishing and wading is allowed.
The Otava River is a significant river, whose flow is is not affected by any reservoir, the character is of a natural foothill river with sequence of fast rapids and deeper slower sections with a good natural population of grayling and brown trout with complementary cyprinid fish. On the other hand, its flow cannot be regulated and it is unexpectable. That is why the Volyňka river is prepared as a reserve river, which has a different basin and also in case of rain, high flows will subside more quickly.
The centre of the competition sector will be prepared in the Otava 6 Trophy section, which is regularly stocked with rainbow trout, grayling and also tiger trout, which is a hybrid between the brown trout and the American brook trout. According to the number of registered teams, the competition sector will be extended under and up this section and fish stock will be appropriately supported by stocked rainbow trout, so that the individual sections will be as balanced as possible. To succeed it is, it is necessary to master both fine methods with nymphs and dry flies, as well as the streamer.

You will find more information on the Championship website here>> and also on their Facebook page here>>

Fulling Mill – The 2025 World Fly Fishing Championships: Preparing with Devin Olsen

Follow along with Signature Tyer Devin Olsen, owner of Tactical Fly Fisher, as he prepares for the 2025 World Fly Fishing Championships in May. This year he and Fly Fishing Team USA with be traveling to the Czech Republic to compete with 32 countries from around the world—Including Howard Croston and Team England. In this video we follow Devin as he does some practice for the event on two different rivers, where he dives into wading tactics, his rod and leader setups, and the skills he refines before an event. In this video he does a lot of micro leader euro nymphing, using both single nymph as well as dry dropper setups. A lot of the venues they’ll be fishing are heavy, pocketed rivers, which suit euro nymphing tactics well. In this video, he also dives into how he chooses the right hook to tie all his flies on, and what goes into testing different hook models for his needs at fly fishing competition he enters in.

Country: ENGLAND
Venue: Rutland Water
Dates: 13th to 17th May (incl.)
Match date: Friday 16th May
Accommodation: Best Western Hotel, Rockingham Forest, Corby

AT TEFF was represented by: Frank Sumnall (captain), Phil Calvert, Andy Cottam, Dave Currie, Nick Dunn, Samantha Edmunds, Shaun Gaskell, Mark Macleod, Gary Morris, Paul Roach, Paul Runec, Riccardo Saccone, Phil Shaw-Browne, Rob Toptalo & Paul Angell (manager).

PRACTICE DAY

2025 Spring International Final Practice Day at Rutland Water

MATCH DAY

2025 Spring International Final at Rutland Water

RESULTS

ENGLAND TAKE THE GOLD!!!

1. England 185 fish 367lbs 9ozs
2. Scotland 177 fish 347lbs 10ozs
3. Ireland 108 fish 209lbs 14ozs
4. Wales 99 fish 193lbs 4ozs

Brown Bowl (Best Basket): Tyler Hay (Scotland) 27 fish 53lbs 5ozs
H. Emyr Lewis Trophy (Heaviest Trout): Mark Macleod (England) 3lbs 11ozs

Top 4 Individual Results:
1st Tyler Hay Scotland 27 fish for 53lb 5oz
2nd Gary Morris England 22 fish for 43lb 8oz
3rd Nick Dunn England 21 fish for 41lb 11oz
4th Ronnie Gilbert Scotland 20 fish for 39lb 6oz

England team positions:
Gary Morris 2nd
Nick Dunn 3rd
Phil Shaw-Browne 6th
Mark Macleod 8th
Phil Calvert 9th
Dave Currie 14th
Shaun Gaskell 16th=
Riccardo Saccone 18th
Frank Sumnall 19th
Paul Runec 20th
Samantha Edmunds 25th
Andy Cottam 32nd
Rob Toptalo 43rd
Paul Roach 47th

Paul Angell, Team Manager, reports: ‘Teams representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales assembled at Rutland Water on Tuesday 13th May to begin preparations for the Spring Loch-Style Fly Fishing International 2025. Three days of practice followed where a variety of tactics and flies were tried out by all teams to try to settle on a plan for match day on Friday 16th May. Key to this was also to identify areas holding fish, and more importantly to identify those areas which had few or no fish – vital in a water like Rutland which is over 3,100 acres in size.
Match day dawned with cooler temperatures and a wind which had switched to a northerly. Still bright and breezy, but with more cloud cover at times. Fishing in this competition takes place from drifting boats with two anglers, from different countries paired by ballot, fishing over the front of the boat. In each boat is also a boatman who records all fish caught. The match commenced at 10am with a rolling start from in front of the lodge. It was quickly obvious that most boats headed for the north shore of the south arm, or the end of the peninsula, where practice had found large numbers of fish, many of which had been recently stocked. A few boats also headed to Sailing Club bay.
The England team had found that good numbers of fish were to be found in the upper layers of the water and whilst brightly coloured flies were still attracting fish, more were to be taken using nymph and buzzer patterns in conjunction with coloured blobs or fab’s either straight lined or washing line tactics.
At the close of the match, with all boats inside the harbour by the finish time of 6pm, it quickly became obvious that the match would be decided with a close contest for first place between England and Scotland. At the weigh-in, the gold medal went to England who totalled 185 fish to Scotland’s 177. Ireland took 3rd place with 108 fish and Wales in 4th with 99.
It had been a great team performance with every member contributing during practice and on match day, under the excellent leadership of team captain Frank Sumnall. The team would like to thank the staff and rangers at Rutland Water for their help in running both practice and the match itself, and the staff at the event hotel – The Great Western Rockingham Forest – who went out of their way to help ensure the smooth running of the event.
The team would like to thank Fulling Mill, Guide Fly Fishing, and Snowbee for their continued support for the team, Craghoppers for help with team clothing and in particular Keith Wallace the TEFF Sponsorship and Marketing manager, and his company Envirofil for their continued support and work behind the scenes.’

RESULTS

1st Tony Baldwin (National Champion)
2nd James Stephenson
3rd Andrew Taylor
4th=Frank Daley
4th=Graham Willis
6th Jake Wenman
7th Stephen Peart (Reserve)

All matches fished to AT TEFF Bank Rules
Qualifiers scoring highest in their respective event will be invited to the final.
Fish counted per stand/peg, on a catch & release basis.

Bank Qualifiers

Thrunton Long Crag, Alnwick – Sunday 19th January – enter here>>

Farmoor Reservoir – Sunday 2nd February – enter here>>

Press Manor, Chesterfield – Sunday 16th February – enter here>>

Knitsley Mill Trout Fishery, Northumberland – Sunday 23rd February – enter here>>

Walthamstow Reservoirs, East London – Sunday 23rd February – enter here>>

Westlow Mere, Congleton – Sunday 16th March – enter here>>

Elinor Fishery, Kettering – Sunday 30th March – enter here>>

National Final

Farmoor Reservoir – Sunday 18th May 2025

AT TEFF matches now have an AT membership requirement. If you need to renew or sign up please visit http://www.anglingtrust.net/membership or call 0343 5077 006 (option 1).

Cancellation/Refunds: Please note: If you wish to cancel a ticket, you are able to do via the Angling Trust website. Alternatively, please inform refunds@anglingtrust.net by email, and include your name, the name of the qualifier you would like to cancel, your membership number & post code. We require 3 days’ notice prior to the qualifier in order to process a refund. Any notification outside of this time scale will not be entitled to receive a refund. Please note: There is no secondary market for the sale or transfer of any tickets.

It is with great pleasure to welcome on board Rutland Hall Hotel & Spa. Team England Fly Fishing have managed to secure a deal to provide accommodation with breakfast and leisure facilities to Team England fly Fishing.

RUTLAND HALL HOTEL & SPA
Set on the banks of Rutland Water, relax in the timeless charm of this unique lakeside hotel. Choose a room at Rutland Hall Hotel, or indulge in a self-catering lodge or suite, sited a short walk from the Main Hall. On site you’ll find the resort’s excellent restaurant, Blossoms, plus a crazy golf course, 70 acres of parkland to enjoy and direct access to Rutland Water. In addition, this lakeside hotel boasts a unique and fabulous Four Roots Wellbeing experience, 22m indoor swimming pool and a gym.
This resort is set across several different buildings, meaning you’ll need to be comfortable navigating steps and inclines. All areas are accessible and there is a resort buggy on hand to help out where required.
To access this FANTASTIC deal please contact Mr Keith Wallace on kwallace.atteff@gmail.com or Mr Paul Angell on paul.angell1805@gmail.com

PS: They have just put in a new Gym and Swimming Pool and when we book we have FREE use of them in the price.

Elinor Fishery qualifier, Kettering – Sunday 30th March

Bruce Blackshaw reports: ‘Well that’s it for the 2025 Qualifiers for the England Bank National. 12 intrepid anglers turned up at Elinor Trout Fishery to try and secure their place at the National Final in May at Farmoor. Conditions were far from perfect, bright sunshine and brutal winds into the anglers’ faces. The first peg produced a few fish, but it was never going to be easy. Ronald Howard took an early lead, taking 3 fish off his first peg. The rest of the morning session proved tough going, with odd fish being picked up sporadically. At the lunch break 14 fish had been caught by the anglers. With the wind strengthening after lunch, it looked like it was going to be as tough, if not tougher, for the afternoon pegs, but the fish had other ideas, and fish were steadily caught. Coming to the last peg it was still all to play for, with nearly all of the anglers still having a chance to qualify. A late burst on the last peg by Ed Foster, catching 3 fish, secured him first place.’

Results:
1st Ed Foster 5 off 3 8 points
2nd Richard Haines 5 off 3 8 points
3rd Stephen Fish 4 off 4 8 points
4th Craig Compton 3 off 3 6 points

‘Many thanks to Bradley Gifford at Elinor Trout Fishery for hosting today. Let’s hope we can get a day where the wind doesn’t blow, and Elinor shows its true potential. Thank you to the anglers today, but also at all the previous heats. Congratulations to all the qualifiers from all the heats, and good luck at the final. Commiserations to all those who didn’t make it this year. I look forward to seeing you all again next year and hope we can keep the numbers competing growing.
Tight lines and wet nets for the rest of the year. Best wishes – Bruce’

All the Eliminators completed, well done to all our finalists. We will be in touch soon with your invites for the Final on May 18th at Farmoor. We should be able to let you know on which lake and in what area the Final will be fished in the next couple of weeks.

Congratulations: Jake Wenman, Mark Harrison, Tony Baldwin, Stephen Peart, James Stephenson, Tony Fox, Lee Wilkinson, Gareth Tilley, Andrew Stones, Ian Watts, Simon Clarke, Martin Crawley, Andy Taylor, Steve Cullen, Colin Fincham, Dave Morris, Connor Metcalfe, Andrew Taylor, Michael Leck, Josh Shuttleworth, Tim Joyce, Mark Rose, Gary Morris, Frank Daley, Graham Willis, Bruce Blackshaw, Derek Steel, Iain Scott, Ed Foster, Richard Haines, Stephen Fish, Craig Compton.

That’s our finalists for 2025. Best of luck to you all

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Official Trailer

Follow Howard Croston and the rest of the AT TEFF World Championship team as they compete in the 2024 World Championships in France. Details on Fulling Mill Fly Fishing’s YouTube channel here>>

Fulling Mill Fly Fishing: ‘In this Fulling Mill original documentary series we follow Signature Tyer Howard Croston for 9 months as he prepares for and fishes in the 2024 World Fly Fishing Championships in France. We start with his life at home, preparation and team practice, then follow him to France where we cover every moment of the event. The World Fly Fishing Championships is the premier fly fishing competition of the calendar year, and it brings the best anglers from around the world together for 5 days of intense fishing. It is a game of fine margins, and historically it has been responsible for many of the innovations in fly fishing that most anglers take for granted today. This is a six part series, and the first episode will premier February 1 on YouTube.
Howard Croston is a World Fly Fishing Champion (2019) and member of the English International Fly Fishing team. He’s also the Global Brand and Product Manager at Hardy. As one of our Signature Tyers Howard is constantly innovating new flies, and has many proven trout fly patterns in our collection. A brilliant angler and tyer, we’re thrilled to have Howard and his expertise as part of the Fulling Mill team.
Make sure to check out @howardcrostonflyfisher9227’s channel! here>>
To purchase Howard’s patterns, head to our website. UK here>> US here>>
Make sure to subscribe to our channel to see more videos like this. here>>
Make sure to follow us on Instagram! here>>
Video by @patricktillard’

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 1

Episode 1 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston dives into his life, how he got into the world of competition fly fishing, what his life looks like these days, practice for competition and some stories about his life. Additionally, Howard address myths about what fishing at this level is—whether that be euro nymphing, dry fly fishing, streamer fishing, or something inbetween— and what it isn’t. When you compete at this level in fly fishing, it’s an all consuming pursuit that becomes a centerpiece of your life. If you want to be truly competitive, and to have a shot at winning, Howard will show you what it takes.

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 2

In Episode 2 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston joins the rest of the members of Fly Fishing Team England for a day of practice a few months before the competition. Here, we dive into the team component of competitive fly fishing, and how this group of anglers works together to get not only the best team result, but to improve their personal standings as well. Howard is both Captain and Manager of the English team, and he has over 20 years of competition experience to pass on to the other members. In this video you’ll see the teammates not only working on their nymphing skills, but some advanced dry fly fishing as well.

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 3

In Episode 3 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston he completes his final practice in the UK, packs an absolutely massive pile of gear, and then heads off to France with the team. Howard dives into the little details in fly fishing that can be magnified to make a huge difference when you’re at the highest level of competitive fly fishing. They then spend a week practicing at various lakes and rivers around France in advance of the World Fly Fishing Championships, before we joined up with them a few days before the competition started. They do some fly tying, gear prep and Howard walks us through some of the things they learned in their week practicing there, what their nightly fly tying looks like and how they’re feeling in advance of the competition.

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 4

In Episode 4 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston we follow Team England to the opening ceremony. Then, the following morning we join Howard for the captains meeting, which is a discussion of the rules before the event begins. It’s now time for the competition to begin. After some final preparation and a short night’s sleep, day one begins. On this day we follow Howard to the Aude river, where he fishes two beats for both trout and grayling. The first is in a town center, and the second is well down a valley into some wild and overgrown terrain. Howard walks us through what gear he has, what rods he rigs up, and what flies he fishes—single nymph, double nymph, dry dropper, dry fly, big nymphs, small nymphs—and the puzzle as he tries to work it out. This is an amazing insight into all the variable these anglers are working with in such a short amount of time on new water. Even for anglers who don’t see themselves competition fishing, this is a great lens into fly fishing at it’s most technical limit.

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 5

In Episode 5 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston we cover sessions 2 and 3 of the World Fly Fishing Championships in France. First, we head to the Vicdessos river. There, Howard fishes what looks to be two lovely pieces of this small, paced river. What he finds are an extremely low number of fish and lots of great looking water that doesn’t appear to have anything in it. This makes for extremely thin margins where every single trout is critical, and mistakes are amplified. On this river you’ll see Howard fish both single and double nymphing setups, as well as a dry dropper setup to cover the calmer water and fish at greater distance.
On day 3 the venue changes drastically when Howard heads to the Carlit Lakes, which are a series of alpine lakes in the French Pyrenees. There he finds incredibly clear water, technical fish, but extremely fun and rewarding fishing. This sector, in contrast to the rivers, is almost all dry fly fishing with long leaders and light tippet. There’s also some sight nymphing as well. Howard breaks out decades of UK stillwater trout fishing wizardry for this one!

The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Howard Croston | Episode 6

In Episode 6 of The World Fly Fishing Championships ft. Signature Tyer Howard Croston we cover sessions 4 and 5 of the World Fly Fishing Championships in France. This is the final installment of our six-part series. In this episode we head first to the Têt river and watch as Howard has some serious breakthroughs in his understanding of how the French rivers and trout work. Then, on the final day we head to the Camporells lakes, which are a series of alpine lakes in the French Pyrenees. They’re much like the Carlit lakes, and Howard again shows us what decades of stillwater fly fishing experience can do for you in these technical fisheries. In this final day of competition Howard really gets in his stride and shows us how you have to take every day as a new one, and fight to the last second. As with the first series of lakes, Howard fishes a lot of dry flies and shows us an advanced understanding of how stillwater trout feed.

The 2024-2025 Bank Home International was fished at Ellerdine Lakes, Telford.

AT Team England Fly Fishing was represented by Bruce Blackshaw, Jim Burtle, Tony Fox, Gary Morris, Tony Smith and James Stevenson.

Congratulations to Ireland on taking the Gold.

Draw & Peg Allocations

Results
Session 1

Session 2

Final Results

Ellerdine Lakes are still looking for a few marshalls for the Bank International on Wednesday 5th March. ‘If you can spare your time, free breakfast and lunch and a sport ticket, plus you will pick up some fishing tips on the way.’

Further details on their Facebook page here>>