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| Team USA and Coaches |
The horn sounds. I swing the 12 foot pole in a giant sweeping motion flinging a delicate float into the water 25 feet in front of where I sit. I wait for the slight twitch of the float, and with a single lift of the rod the 4” fish that took the tiny bait, swings right to me. I unhook, toss the fish in the net and cast again, all in one motion. It’s a rhythm I have been practicing for months. To my right there is a woman from Russia. To my left there is a woman from England. The three of us, along with 85 other women from 17 countries, are on the bank of the Tisza River in Szolnok, Hungary. We are fishing in the 17th Annual World Championship Match Fishing Tournament. If you would have told me one year ago I would be doing this, I would not have believed you.
The tournament consists of 2 days of fishing, four hours per day. I have four teammates who are also on the river bank. We all are wearing red, white and blue fishing jerseys that represent Team USA. We’re all sitting on a “seat box”. The legs adjust for the slope of the river bank giving us a stable
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| Kristen Monroe on her seat box. |
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| Bucket of Bleak |
Small fish are plentiful. It’s a time consuming struggle to thread thin bloodworms onto the tiny hooks due to what seems to be my oversized fingers. I feel my coach’s anxiety behind me and I know I am taking too long for this part of the game. I switch to a longer pole, hoping to get out further to get to the bigger fish. It works! Soon I am swinging back stout Catfish. Catching them as they pendulum swing back towards me on the 14 foot pole is a challenge. More than once I feel the pick of the dorsal fin stab me in the hand. My hands and shorts are covered in blood, but I am not fazed. My stress mounts and I try not to watch the woman next to me operate an even longer pole like it’s an extension of her body. She is swinging fish after fish out of the water like she is participating in an ancient fishing goddess dance I have never seen before.
Rewind 9 months...I am talking to Mike McNett, board member of the US Angling Confederation. Mike was telling stories about his experience fishing in the World Championship Ice Fishing Tournaments. “There is nothing like it”, he says. I see the dreamy look in his eyes as he recalls the fond memories of fishing for the USA and winning the World Championship. I had heard of “Team USA” and had been following the Ice Fishing Team over the years.
Our conversation took a turn and the subject of women anglers competing in World Championships came up. The US had never sent a team. The only competition for a women only event is Match Fishing, which is not well known in the US. Being an advocate for women anglers for the last 14 years, my mind began to race. My conversation with Mike unlocked the door and opened the floodgates.Team USA was assembled. Our team, consisting of professional angler Shelly Holland, outdoor writer and avid angler Kristen Monroe, two experienced Match Anglers, Penny Smit and Elise De Villers, and yours truly. We would make the trip to Hungary along with our coach Mike McNet. Hannah Stonehouse Hudson was the alternate in the event something happened and one of us couldn’t attend. Another coach, Atilla, Agh, was already in Hungary visiting family and he would be meeting us on arrival.
We set our focus on practicing this finesse style of fishing and needed to raise money to finance the trip. Penny and Elise reside in Florida and practiced on their own. Their prior experience representing South Africa in another World Championship put them way ahead of the rest of the team. Shelly, Kristen and I, travelled to Chicago to meet our coach, Atilla Agh. Atilla is a Match Fishing Champion, originally from Hungary who now coaches sports in the USA. His coaching experience along with his Hungarian connections would be a great asset to the team. His help with logistical issues and obtaining high quality bait was invaluable. Mike rounded off the group as Team Captain. His experience with US Angling events would be a huge benefit.
We met in Chicago to practice. A municipal pond held carp and bluegills with plenty of shoreline to fish.
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| Practicing in Chicago |
Size 22 hooks, weights the size of pinheads, special floats and fishing line as thin as a human hair. Total finesse fishing...which is not my strong suit. We each were issued four telescoping Trabucco poles from 8 to 14 feet long, which are basically high tech cane poles. A crash course in technique was given and we hit the water.
The practice was interesting. We lost a lot of fish and had a lot of hooks in the brush, but managed to land a few. One pole was pulled in the water by a carp and Atilla jumped in after it. Shelly broke a rod and I fell in the mud. We laughed a lot and it was humbling, to say the least. I quickly went from being a confident angler to feeling like I had never fished before in my life. We left that practice thinking, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”.
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| Kristen Monroe with her catch net |
Our practices continued. We shared videos and pictures and put in as much time as possible. We needed to raise $3000 per angler to attend so the fundraising was quite a burden. In addition to reaching out to fishing companies, we held a fundraiser in Oxford, WI, small town USA. The support from the local community was overwhelming. It seems as if the whole town came out, most wearing USA shirts. They cheered us on, donated money, sold brats, and rallied behind us like we were headed to the Olympics. It made me feel so proud and happy. The big fishing companies I work with really came through with donations. Clam Outdoors, Hot Spots Maps, Bast Durbin Advertising, World Wide Marine, Vexilar, Jiffy, Badger Sportsman, Off Shore Tackle, Stormy Kromer and Two-Way Fillet. Gemini Jerseys provided our Team USA jerseys and Frogg Toggs gave us rain gear. We looked like the real deal!
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| Team arrives in Hungary |
Before we knew it, we were on a plane headed to Hungary. The first week there would be more practicing. It paid off as we doubled our weight in fish daily. We all caught lots of fish including catfish, carp, roach, bream, and skimmers. We were optimistic. Finally, tournament day arrived. Elise beat others in her peg. Penny caught over 300 bleak in one day. Shelly and Kristen both caught hundreds of fish. At the end of the 2nd day, we didn’t catch enough in weight to beat anyone. We were exhausted, our fingers were bleeding, and we couldn’t have tried any harder.
After the tournament, we got cleaned up and went to the awards ceremony where we were treated to dinner and celebratory toasts. One by one, teams were being called up to the stage to be introduced. Due to all the chatting and laughing, I didn’t even realize this was happening. Then I heard the announcer call “Team USA”. Just then all heads turned towards our table and they began to stand and clap. They were giving us a standing ovation! This did not happen to any other team, not even the winners. It gave me chills and I was never more proud to be an American. The other teams witnessed our efforts, skill improvement, our hard work and dedication, which left an impact on them. All the other countries were happy see that the USA sent a team. I felt so honored. It was an extraordinary adventure.
While I am happy to be back home and fishing out of my boat, I was honored to have been chosen. I made memories for a lifetime and I am proud to have represented our country. US Angling has many teams that compete and I challenge you to go their website. You may find a team that you would like to try out for and create an experience you will never forget. www.usangling.com
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