28th Fips-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships, 2008

2008 World Fly Fishing Championships

Nineteen fly fishing teams from around the world plus four individual anglers representing a further four countries compete for team and individual championship titles in the Rotorua region of New Zealand's North Island from 22-29 March 2008.

Rotorua Lakes Ecology and Restoration Programme

A conservation symposium on the Ecology and Restoration of the Rotorua lakes is being held at the Kingsgate Hotel in the Hangi room on Saturday 29th March from 10am-12.30pm. This event is free and open to the public.  Find out more....

Sport Fly Fishing NZ (Inc.)

Kingsgate Hotel

Fenton Street

Rotorua

The official website for the 2008 world champs is:

www.2008worldflyfishingchamps.com

The table below outlines the programme. For the full programme please see the 2008 World Fly Fishing Champs website.

Jill Mandeno

President SSFNZ

International Organiser WFFC 2008
Phone: 09 630 8826 (home)

Fax : +64 9 630 7170 (home)
Mobile: 021 638826

Email: jillmandeno@attglobal.net

Paul Dewar
Vice President SFFNZ
Captain, NZ Silver Flies

Mobile: 021 63 88 26

Sports Fly Fishing NZ (Inc)
PO Box 745
Wellington
New Zealand

Phone 64 4 472 7827
Fax 64 4 472 9982

The organising committee for the 2008 world champs comprises:

Ian Gibbs, Dave Pirrit, Peter Scott, Steve Brown, Kiyoshi Nakagawa, John Murphy, Strato Cotsilinis, Jeff Fuller, Kay Stanbury, Hilary Prior, Verna Langslow, Rob Vaz, Dan Reagan, Dave McLellan and Roy Richardson.

The 2008 champs are based in the central North Island of New Zealand in the Rotorua, Taupo and Lower Waikato regions.

Venues

Sector I: Whanganui River

Genesis Energy Sector II: Lake Rotoaira

Genesis Energy Sector III: Lake Otamangakau

Sector IV: Waihou River
Sector V: Waimakariri Stream

Reserve river: Ohinemuri River

Reserve lake: Lake Kuratau

View further details at the 2008 World Fly Fishing Champs website.

A map of the fishing venues is provided at the 2008 World Fly Fishing Champs website.

See also the nzfishing.com maps for the:

- Eastern/Rotorua region

- Taupo/Turangi region

- Auckland/Waikato region

and the nzfishing.com access and topograpical maps for each river or lake

Venues

The five river and lake venues where the competition takes place are known as "sectors". Each sector is divided into beats of at least two hundred metres, with the same number of beats in each sector as the number of participating teams. The beats are selected to provide all competitors with equal fishing opportunities and to ensure that noone is either advantaged or disadvantaged by the quality of the beat.

Scoring

Following two practice days, the three days of competition begin. Over the three days, each individual angler fishes at each venues for a three hours session. Anglers are fishing against the clock and, if a fish dies before it is released, no points are awarded. Catches are measured and scored, and the team scores are calculated by combining the 25 individual session scores. All team members are also entered in the individual championships.

Sector judges conduct and supervise the competition, while volunteer controllers measure the fish and ensure participants adhere to the rules.

Results

Results are posted at the end of each day's competition at competition headquarters and on this website.

Flies

Participants can use any fly they want so long as it includes no more than one bead at the head. The bead can be no longer than four millimeters. Flies can be weighted, but the weight must be concealed within the fly. Competitors can use up to three flies at a time, as long as the flies are 20 inches apart on the fishing line.

Boat fishing on the lakes

Lake fishing will be conducted from identical New Zealand-built Stabi-Craft 389 Frontier aluminium pontoon boats. powered by 25hp Yamaha outboards, some two-stroke, some four-stroke. Supplied on standard Stabi-Craft trailers, the boats will also be used at the 2008 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in Hawkes Bay the following week. 

For the world champs, anglers fish from a drifting boat which must be capable of getting to any part of the lake within the 10 minutes pre-competition motoring time allowed. The boat must also accommodate three people in comfort and safety: two contestants and a controller.

After the events, the boats will be offered to competitors and other interested parties at special prices and to the general public via Stabi-Craft's extensive dealer network.

Find out more at the Stabi-Craft website.

The use of felt-soled (footed) boots or waders is prohibited during the world championships in order to help prevent the spread of didymo to North Island fishing waters.

Find you more about didymo.

• Genesis Energy
• Hills Hats
• Marley New Zealand
• Ricoh NZ Ltd