A year after the World Championship, I finally sat down to write this piece and share my experiences from New Zealand — sixteen unforgettable days that felt like a dream come true. My final ranking might not have been remarkable, but that hardly mattered. Being there was everything. I learned so much, met incredible people from all over the world, and, most importantly, had the honor of flying the Bulgarian flag for the very first time at a Fly Fishing World Championship.
I wasn’t alone on this journey. I was joined by my good friend Stoyan Filipov — my regular fishing companion — and his wife. Stoyan took part in the event as a judge for the New Zealand team, who needed international officials. But let me start from the beginning.
The rules, shortly
One of the most memorable days was on a small river called the Waiho, where Stoyan and I caught more than 100 fish in just four hours, ranging from 18 to 45 cm. Interestingly, two of the rivers we fished held only rainbow trout. It’s worth noting that every fish we caught was wild — something that made the experience even more special.
My favorite and most exciting fishing, though, was on the Tongariro River — known locally as the trout fishing capital of the world. That’s where I caught the 70 cm brown. During both training and the competition, I mainly used small pheasant tail nymphs tied on size 14 and 16 hooks. Often, I fished a dry fly with a nymph about a meter below it. Most takes came on the nymph, but there were always surprises — the big brown took the size 14 fly.
Every afternoon, thousands of mayflies would hatch, and the pools of the river would come alive. The first time I saw it — hundreds of trout rising in a pool nearly 200 meters long — I was speechless. It was a sight I’ll never forget.
We also explored several smaller rivers where we targeted rainbow trout that had escaped from Lake Taupo and moved upstream to spawn. These fish were tricky to catch, but rarely under 50 cm.
And so, the blissful days of free fishing passed one by one, until the time came for the championship to begin.
Practice Sessions and the Championship Opening
This time, the official practice was limited to just one day. Far from ideal when you need to prepare for five completely different sectors — four rivers and a lake. Most teams arrive at the championship area at least a week in advance. We didn’t have that luxury. Still, we managed to organize ourselves and arrive in Liptovský Mikuláš, after a long, exhausting wait at the borders, just one day before the official opening. That left us enough time to fish for a full day, then a half-day, followed by the opening ceremony, and then the official practice. In total, two and a half days.
I think we did very well during the training sessions. We quickly assessed each river and the lake, drew our conclusions, and built a strategy — one we were determined to stick to throughout the competition.
Everything was incredibly tiring. After traveling 1,100 kilometers from Sofia to Liptovský Mikuláš, there was no time to waste. We had to fish during the day to familiarize ourselves with the waters and tie flies at night. Honestly, I doubt anyone slept more than four hours a night during the competition week.
The hotel where all competitors stayed, and where the opening ceremony was held, was the Grand Hotel Permon ****. We were all impressed the moment we pulled back the curtains. From our rooms, the High Tatras unfolded in breathtaking views, the rapids of the region’s most beautiful river — the Bela — shimmered in the sunlight, and a small lake behind the hotel was alive with huge rainbow trout swimming beneath the surface.
The Championship and Its Sectors — From Our Perspective
Everything passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for the competition itself. Here are my impressions of the sectors and how we performed as a team.
The Bela was a fast, high-mountain river, very much like the Iskar back home. The only difference was the predominance of graylings. Unfortunately, on the Bela — and on most of the rivers — the fish we caught were very small. Many were between 180 and 199 mm, but only those over 200 mm counted. The judges were strict, but there were also subtle biases against us, perhaps to favor the Slovak team. For example, my judge on the Bela waded into my sector two minutes before the start and began turning over stones, supposedly to show me what insects were in the river! Later, when I caught my first fish, he stepped into the shallow run where the fish were coming from and released it there. I asked him not to enter the water again — thankfully, he listened.
As a team, we probably performed best on the Bela. I fished the first session there and finished tenth in my sector with seventeen fish. They were mostly small, and five other competitors who caught a similar number of fish had the advantage of slightly larger specimens — bad luck, really. Lucy stole the show, finishing second in her sector after Luboš Roza, who landed sixteen fish. Lucy managed twenty, including several around forty centimeters. Martin fished the final session on the Bela and placed fourth in his sector. This river suited us best. Most of the fishing was done with nymphs, though several fish were also caught on dry flies during the afternoon sessions.
The Vah was calmer, more like the upper stretches of the Struma. There were truly excellent sectors along the river, but also many poor ones. As is often the case, the draw had a huge impact on final results. Still, the top three in each sector were usually the same. Most of the fish were graylings, caught in shallow runs using small red tag nymphs on sizes 18 and 16. In the afternoon sessions, dry flies played a major role. I fished the Vah on the morning of the third day and landed thirty-one fish, following a Slovak angler who had caught eighteen. My thirty-one fish placed me third in the sector. Luboš Roza took first with thirty-three. Alexander Metodiev also caught thirty-one fish on the Vah, finishing fifth in his group. Overall, we performed well on this river too.
The Poprad proved challenging for our team. During practice, we fished the lower sections and did well, catching dozens of graylings. During the competition, however, graylings were present only in the last ten sectors, while the upper sectors had only stocked browns and very few wild ones. The river has changed dramatically since the 2013 European Championship. Today, the Poprad resembles a canal, with ledges and few promising fishing spots. To make matters worse, a strong wind blew throughout, making fishing even more difficult. Alexander and Lucy achieved the best results for our team on this river.
The Orava was massive, comparable to the Maritsa, with wide, slow stretches in places. Fish were abundant, but each species held specific positions. Graylings, our main target, were mostly in the fast runs, while the chub — which only counted on this river — stayed in its usual spots. We chose not to focus on chub, unlike other teams, and instead targeted grayling and trout. Alexander even managed to fool a taimen. Overall, we all did well on the Orava.
Dedinky Lake was a small reservoir nestled among rolling hills. It had been stocked with rainbow trout between twenty-five and forty centimeters, which became the main target for the competitors. Our team set a goal that each of us would catch at least one fish on the lake — and I’m proud to say we achieved it. I was the only one to fish from a boat, but the others performed wonderfully during their first-ever lake fishing from a boat. We couldn’t have expected more, given our limited preparation. Lucy, a master of streamer fishing, performed best on the lake.
Final Results and the Championship Closing Ceremony
After the first three sessions, we were holding tenth place in the team standings. In the fourth session, we moved up to ninth, and in the fifth and final session, we performed well enough to finish seventh in the world. We beat many of the sport’s top names and established powers — countries like England, Italy, Slovenia, Finland, and the United States. And yet, this was our very first time competing as a full national team!
Individually, we also performed relatively well. Each of us recognized our mistakes, but as they say, only those who fish make mistakes.
Here are the final team and individual standings: First — France, Second — Czech Republic, Third — Spain, Fourth — Slovakia, Fifth — Australia, Sixth — Poland, and Seventh — Bulgaria!
With Special Thanks
On behalf of the entire team, I want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us and helped turn this dream into reality. Our deepest gratitude goes to the main sponsor of the national tournaments, Isosport drinks, and to Filstar, who assisted us with equipment and gear. Thank you also to BFC, who have always supported us and stood by our side once again, and to Basecamp stores for their backing. We are equally grateful to everyone who contributed to the fundraising campaign for the national team.
A special thank you goes to Dr. Mihail Penkov for providing the flies that helped us catch so many fish, and to Angel Grigorov for everything he did to support us. I also want to sincerely thank my family and my fiancée, Pavlina, who have always supported me and helped me achieve my dreams. Truly, thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
I am proud that we were able to show the world that Bulgaria can fish as a united team. Even in our very first championship, our teamwork and determination proved that we are strong — together, we can accomplish great things!
