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U.S. 9th at Fly Fishing Championships
Erickson casts to fourth to pace American team.

By Michael Pearlman

Buoyed by the fourth place individual placing of area fishing guide Pete Erickson, Team USA finished ninth Sunday at the 24th annual World Fly Fishing Championships in Slovakia.

The American team's performance and legitimacy were recognized by the typically dominant European teams after the competition. After witnessing the Americans' performance, Team USA was extended an invitation to compete in the European Fly Fishing Championships for the first time.

"The American Team has reached a long sought after respect amongst the European nations who typically dominate these annual championships," wrote team manager Jack Dennis in a press release, pointing to Team USA's two consecutive top-10 finishes at the World Championships. "The Americans are now recognized as legitimate competitors and can no longer be written off as insignificant."

Team USA finished eighth at the 2003 competition held in Spain.

Erickson, a Boise, Idaho, resident and second-year team member who guides in the Jackson Hole area for Worldcast Anglers, caught 38 fish in three hours on the first day of competition to help him finish fourth among 115 international anglers. He said he owed his success to plenty of practice before the event.

"We learned a lot of good training techniques during this championship by keenly observing the pre-competition preparations made by the Czech, French, English and Slovakian teams," Erickson said in a release. "We'll incorporate what we have learned into our training program for the 2005 World Fly Fishing Championships in Sweden."

Team members fished five, three-hour sessions on three different rivers divided into sections, scoring points based on the size and number of fish caught.

The World Fly Fishing Championships is an amateur competition sanctioned by the International Federation of Sport Fly Fishing. Fly fishing enthusiasts from around the world compete annually in this catch-and-release tournament, which is hosted each year by one of the member countries. The last time the competition was held in the United States was in 1997, when Jackson Hole was the host.

Slovakia won the 2004 event with the Czech Republic finishing second and France placing third.

Team USA members included Erickson, Jackson resident Jay Buchner and Jack Dennis Fly Shop Manager Jeff Currier, who lives in Victor, Idaho. Norman Maktima of Santa Fe, N.M., Tennessee resident Keith Bean and Sam Paul Mavrakis of Sheridan rounded out the team. Dennis served as the team's coach while Jackson resident Ed Opler captained the team.

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