Mission
The mission of Fly Fishing Team USA (“FFTUSA”) is to educate and train men and women in the sport of competitive fly fishing on both national and international levels, and to promote the conservation of our fisheries, lakes, rivers and streams. FFTUSA will select a team of qualified anglers to represent the United States of America at national and international fly fishing competitions, including the World Fly Fishing Championships held each year by the International Sport Flyfishing Federation (“FIPS-Mouche”), an arm of the International Angling Confederation (“CIPS”). The team selected by FFTUSA will represent the USA with honor and dignity and will display sportsmanship to Olympic standards with respect for their fellow members and competitors from around the world.
History
Fly Fishing Team USA began representing the United States at the FIPS Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship in the late 1980s. Over the first decade, the team was generally picked by appointment and success at the championships was typically low. When the World Championships came to Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1997, Fly Fishing Team USA assembled the most talented anglers we felt were available at the time. The team still finished near the bottom of the standings in the championship. This became a defining moment for us which forced the realization that a competitive system of qualification was needed to improve our finishes at the World Championships.
In the early 2000s, we began hosting our first domestic fly fishing competitions. In 2006 we hosted the first US National Fly Fishing Championships and formalized an initial system of smaller competitions leading up to the national championship in an effort to find and develop the best competitive fly anglers in the country.
In the years since, we have continued to try and improve our qualification process. Our success at the World Championships has improved dramatically as a result. We earned our first team World Championship medal (silver) in 2015 in Bosnia and followed it with another (bronze) in 2016 in Colorado. We have narrowly missed medals in multiple years since with 4th and 5th placings as well. We also have had three individuals earn bronze medals at the World Championships including Jeff Currier (2003), Devin Olsen (2015), and Lance Egan (2016). We look forward to continuing to represent the USA at the World Championships as successful ambassadors of our sport and hope to continue adding to our podium finishes in that pursuit.
Board
Jerry Arnold, Bret Bishop, Jay Buchner, Lance Egan, Pete Erickson, Glade Gunther, Devin Olsen.
Contact
Email: Teamusaflyfishing@gmail.com