Young Napier angler set to fly to cast flies

For Napier teenager Hugo Pearce casting a line out into a river has led to his needing to get a passport.

And for his parents it might mean casting a bit more into the house mortgage as the avid and ambitious 15-year-old fly fisherman will be heading to the Czech Republic in August to represent his country.

He is one of two young Kiwis selected to take part in the 2019 World Youth Fly Fishing Championships.

"We are so proud of him because he has done this all himself," his father Jason Pearce said.

"He is so skilled now ... he teaches me to fish."

Mr Pearce said Hugo started fishing when he was 10, two years after the family moved to Hawke's Bay from Wellington.

It was something that emerged naturally.

He had an interest in hunting and fishing and watched fishing shows where spinners and lures were cast across the waters.

So he wanted to try it, and it all quickly started coming together.

"He got some gear and taught himself from watching it on YouTube and it just went from there."

Working at a sports shop when he was 13 alongside some experienced anglers also honed what has now become a very polished angling pursuit.

Hugo is one of 10 under-18 anglers in Sports Fly Fishing NZ's youth development squad and has attended several championships.

Up against older anglers at the Rotorua championships, he finished a fine third and qualified 11th for the nationals.

It will be his first time leaving New Zealand and he plans to spend three weeks in the Czech Republic, along with his family.

"I got into fly fishing about five or six years ago at the family bach in Taupo with my granddad. We would just fish on the lake and when we came to Hawke's Bay I just kept on doing it."

Pearce said he was most looking forward to catching different species of fish while taking part in the competition.

"We only have trout in New Zealand but they have quite a few different ones over there, so I'm pretty excited about that.

"When I get over there I'll have one week of training, then one week of competing."

His mentor and coach has been Cory Scott of Gisborne who is the national fly fishing champion, and it was clear to Scott and other leading anglers that the Napier teenager had what it takes to represent his country at a sport which is huge in Europe.

In the Czech Republic alone there are about 620,000 registered competitive anglers.

"It will be a big challenge but he's up for it," Hugo's father said, adding that his son would get out and fish every day if he could.

"He spends his nights tying flies."

The world championships take place over seven days, with the young anglers going through two three-hour sessions a day, casting for trout, whitefish and grayling — with all catches released back into the waters.

The family will arrive a week before it starts so Hugo can get in plenty of extra training and check out the waters.

It will be a major mission, but it's for his country and that was that as far as they saw it.

"Oh we have to pay to get there but there's no way we'd let this go — we're going," Mr Pearce said, adding they had opened a Give a Little page to help raise some money.