Meet the Goflyfish Pro Team, all very enthusiastic fly fishers and great ambassadors of the fly fishing sport! A group of friends who are always keen to help with product development, evaluation and tuition.
Jan Šiman (Czech Republic, SUSICE)
I have been interested in fly-fishing since I was thirteen, I prefer fly-fishing in the Sumava rivers Otava, Kremelná, Vltava or Volynka. I also enjoy fly-fishing in Scandinavia, Slovenia and Poland. Trout, grayling and salmon are my favourite species to catch. I prefer fly fishing dry fly, with nymphs and streamers.
I was a member of the Czech national fly-fishing team at the World Championships in Great Britain in 1990 where we won a gold medal in the team competition. I also attended the World Championships in Italy (1992) and Canada (1993).
Professionally, I have worked in fly-fishing since 1990 and my company also manufactures and exports fly-fishing products, I organise courses of Czech Nymph fishing for my Czech and foreign clients for many years and I work as a fly-fishing guide in the Sumava too…
Marcela Madarova (Czech Republic, Susice)
Marcela helps to organise your fly fishing holiday in the Czech Republic. She runs the Travel Agency Manta Travel in Susice. She arranges fishing licenses and permits for you.
Jiří Forejt (Czech Republic, Zichovice)
I come from Žichovice and have been involved in fly fishing since 1989. I started as a self-taught angler and from the very beginning have specialized exclusively in river fly fishing, which for me is not only a fishing technique but above all a way of life based on respect for nature and continuous self-improvement.
My home water is the Otava 6 stretch, and my other favourite rivers include the Teplá Vltava, Volyňka, Blanice and Úhlava. I most often fish with dry and wet flies, evening “buzzer” fishing, and both short- and long-line nymphing.
My strengths include the ability to read water, a deep understanding of fish behaviour, and long-term observation of nature along rivers. An integral part of my fly-fishing life is fly tying, in which I am constantly improving.
By the water, I enjoy helping fellow fly fishers, sharing experience and knowledge, and explaining the basics of fish biology. I have long supported ethical angling, careful handling of fish, and respect for all aquatic life. I actively oppose poaching and irresponsible behaviour on the water.
Kája Sedlecký (Czech Republic, Susice)
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/flyfishing.gang/
Mira Sloup (Czech Republic, Susice)
My first fishing experience was during childhood as a voyager of old fishermen fishing with float. As a teenager I started to catch carp and bream but quickly I became to be dependent on catching of predator fish, mainly pike and trout with any kind of artificial lures. It took almost ten years to start with fly-fishing. A little strangely I started with art of fly-tying and only next year I bought fly-fishing equipment.
First year I participated at fly-fishing competition and I won two of three rounds. Unfortunately I tore off small streamer made of fur of our tomcat and zero in the last round caused that I was ‘only’ 4th among 30 experienced fly-fishermen. And it also caused that I became addicted to streamer fishing in every types of water.
Doesn’t matter if it’s big carp in a pond, asp in a dam or powerful rainbow in a deep stream, with streamers I enjoy all. But to be completely satisfied I like to fish anywhere in clear rivers among wild animals in an undamaged nature.
Vojta Vondruška (Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice)
When I was 5 years old I started fishing with my grandpa , after 8 years I started with fly fishing in local club for kids. Learned basics of tying flies and all techniques for fly fishing. Than I started to attend competitions around the Czech republic. I was more and more interested in fly fishing when I get some achievements. I was member of Czech youth fly fishing team in 2014. We were 3th at the world championship in Poland.
My favourite river is Volynka , I spend a lot of time here because it is near my home. I also enjoy fishing at Vltava , mainly top parts.
Now I study Faculty of Fisheries and protection of Water in South Bohemian university so it means that water is a big part of my life. I work at Jan´s shop over the holidays , tying flie, helping and guiding.
Ciprian Sorin Szikszai (Germany, Munich)
I start with the fishing as i was 6 years old with my uncle in our town river with a wooden rod for small chub and other small withe fish and only in a couple of years i have start with spinning and flyfishing in my homeland region, North Western part of Transylvania.
My first flyfishing experieces i do with glassfiber rod and wetfly for Trout and Chub in my region and North Transylvanian Carpathian Mountains and in short time i start to tie my own flies too. But all this was manny years ago.
Now i live from manny years in Germany and i fish mostly there but also in Czeck Republic and Austria, and for sure at home when i am in holiday .
I like to fish mostly with dry and wetfly but where and when is necesary i do with nymphs or streamers. My biggest love is the Otava river, there i feel like to bee at home.
I love to tie manny flies and to try New paterns, i love to share my knowlege and experieces with other flyfishermann. Most important for me is to protect nature, p ut fish carrefuly back and help the next generation flyfishers to start and fish right way.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/szikszai.ciprian
Markus Greif (Switzerland)
I started fishing at the age of 14 and soon after I discovered my passion for fly fishing. Well-known waters in Switzerland and in the Black Forest, Germany, helped me improving my skills in fly-fishing. As a young man I worked for a Swiss branch of Marryat. During this time I worked as a guide and instructor as well as in sales and fly tying. I got to know lots of people helping me getting better and gain a lot of experience.
I was especially interested in fly tying with CDC which has a long tradition in Switzerland. Trips to Austria, the USA and Canada showed me that with these CDC flies one can catch fishes everywhere but were little known back in the 80s. However fishes from Bow or Deschutes River did love the delicate flies.
Meanwhile I focus on fishing in the Black Forest waters and often visit Jan Šiman in Czech Republic. Wherever I am – be it at home or while traveling – I share my experience with young people and interested fly fishermen. Fly tying became more and more important for me and I’m seeking for a mixture of old traditions and new possibilities. Observing and then imitating at the fly-tying vise is a fascination I’m passionate about.
I’m looking forward to every single day I spend at the water fly fishing and I love the trips to the wonderful waters in Sumava National Park. There I meet Jan and the other fishermen from all over the world to exchange experiences.
Petri Kemppainen (Finland)
I started fly fishing in the early 90’s, at the age of 10. Although there have been times during my life where I focused more on other things than fly fishing, fly fishing has without a doubt always been my most consistent hobby and interest. I believe this is because there is always something new to discover, and the fish still continue to elude you in some way or another. The other reason for this is that fly fishing encompasses so many different aspects that all offer their own challenges: fly tying, casting, and more recently filming (http://bit.ly/2jlsJgU) guiding and instructing. In parallel to fly fishing I grew up doing sports at a national level and subsequently started working as a coach.
My profession is research (evolutionary biology and genetics/genomics), which means that I also have long experience of tutoring from many different university courses. These skills translate well to fly fishing, in particular for guiding and instructing. My research background also allows me to think outside the box with respect what can be done with a fly line, rod and some flies; some times even with some success…
In particular I enjoy combining fly fishing with hiking, always seeking new remote areas in the northern Scandinavia to explore, often by myself. There is nothing that beats that feeling of fishing a run several days of hiking from the nearest road, where only a handful of people (or preferably less) fish each year, and hooking onto that monster trout on the first cast.
Mark Patenaude (USA)
Mark was born and raised in New England region of the United States, and this is where he honed his fly fishing skills. He purchased his first fly rod around the age of twelve and after catching his first trout from the river that ran behind his home, he knew immediately that he would dedicate himself to all aspects of the sport. “I am blessed to have been raised near some of the best trout water in New England and learned how to flyfish both freestone rivers and tail waters, which very greatly in terms of technique, and this helped to round out my skills on these very different types of water.”
Mark is also a self taught fly tyer and began this aspect of the sport in 1992. He is a currently the owner of ProTye Fly Tying, and a pro-staff member for a number of fly fishing and fly tying companies. Additionally, his fly tying work was sought after and is now included in the Masters Fly Collection of the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum. This collection is comprised of fly patterns of approximately 400 fly tyers from around the world and includes virtually all of the greatest fly tyers of both the past and present.
Finally, in addition to being a member of the Federation of Fly Fishers, and Trout Unlimited, Mark is a very strong supporter of catch and release fly fishing, the use of barbless hooks, and use of the proper ethics and etiquette while on the water. Mark also supports a number of charitable organisations that have a focus on using fly fishing as a way to heal the mind and body, and does this through donations of large numbers of flies for use by these organisation’s.
Contact: fishes-with-fly@comcast.net