Kalyn Hoggard | Monday, 12 January 2026
I did it… I started a “gofundme” to help fundraise some of the expenses to go to the fly casting World Championships in Italy this August. The entire endeavor of competition fly casting is a humbling experience in many ways. Anyone that has spent much time trying to throw a 5wt fly line 100 feet understands all of the ways that your flaws can show up in a loop not traveling far. If you stand in the grass long enough, and you want to throw the MED as good as anyone, then you will need to overcome a certain about of shame. (maybe like me you struggle with it all the time) Let us not forget accuracy. You must take that same MED and false cast as straight as possible with your chosen loop and figure out, while false casting, how far you need to cast that tiny little fly so that it will land in that hoop right there, and then that one, and then that one, consistently. Now, I fancy myself as a pretty darn straight caster… until you make me perform 100 false casts in a round of accuracy. I would be ecstatic if 85% of my false cast loops did exactly what I wanted them to do, but heaven forbid a delivery cast get out of sync. That would be completely unacceptable. Maybe if I make myself a cat of nine tails out of busted leaders, flies, and rods, and I flog myself repeatedly every time I don’t make straight false casts, I might more clearly focus on my tracking concerns. (somehow, I have figured out how to threaten myself)
It may not make much of a difference for everyone, and I have my suspicions that I might be the type of person that feeds off of it, but no matter how much you practice and no matter how strict you are with the floggings for poor performance, the pressure of a competition is real. I find it delightful at times, but it certainly influences my timing and rhythm. My how humiliating it is to show up to a competition, you have been telling the team how much you’ve been practicing, and the butterflies of the big show beat you into submission. (If he has been practicing that much, you’d think he’d do better) That will really bring you down a peg or two. Heck that might make someone eat crow. How bout a slice of humble pie? (my favorite) An experience like that will cut you down to size. I mean I’ve never had that experience before, but I heard a story like that from a friend.
Then there is that other problem. That problem you would like to just not even talk about, because it hits too close to home. It is certainly possible that you put in the work, have the right equipment, show up to the events, deal with anxiety without any issue, and you just aren’t physically or mentally capable of winning. Sure, if you work hard, stay disciplined, learn casting mechanics, and have the right coach most people can become a good caster. I believe it takes a little something more to be a World Champion. Of course, not everyone practices casting and competes in competitions just to have a chance at winning a medal. Many people want to better themselves, are happy when they notice improvement, and will keep competing even if they do not perform well every time. I certainly need to work on that. (Just Win Baby Win!)
I suppose “putting up or shutting up,” is a part of all things competitive. It does seem that there is a large group of those who fly fish that wildly overestimate their abilities with a fly rod. This group does inspire me to put on and be involved with casting competitions. So… I’ll give them that. But it is difficult to say, “I’m one of the best at throwing a baseball,” when many cities have baseball teams from 5 years olds to professional teams, and the games (I’ve watched my nieces and nephews play many sports online) are readily available to watch. Americans are exposed to good ball throwing even if they don’t like baseball, and don’t go out of their way to watch it. “No, you are not a good pitcher. I’ve seen you pitch!” But I digress…
The other slice of my pie relates to raising money. I would assume that it is common to want to be able to do everything on your own without any help. I think I’ve heard it called Machismo. I have and will be guilty of it from time to time. It may just be how I was raised, but I don’t even like owing someone a favor. However, this is an expensive game, and they do not pay out in money yet, but I’m working on that.
I have matured (been humbled) to the point that I can look at the books and gladly accept all the support that I can get. Flights to team practices and competitions, hotels, rental cars, entry fees, equipment that is awesome, but does not cast as far or as straight as this new one I tried, light as possible line holders (reels), don’t forget you need a back up for everything, layers of long underwear and gloves for winter practice, rod boxes, reel boxes, containers of all types, line cleaners, lets not talk about lines and leaders, I could tie up a cast net big enough to capture the moon, and time are just some of the expenses that pile up while playing this game. I’m hoping that being new to the sport means that everything is expensive to get started but is maintainable over time. I would love your support. It surely would not come unneeded.
Kalyn