CZN: How do you remember Lapland today, a few weeks after the World Championship?

VS: The first thing I think of is, what a toil it was. Fishing the Swedish rivers is very demanding, take for example wading – imagine a river having a bottom profile like Vltava downstream below Čertovka, but many times larger. I also imagine the landscape, interwoven with splendid waters - in future I would like to visit Lapland privately to fish for salmon and sea trout.

CZN: Have you ever fished in Lapland before?

VS: Not exactly in Lapland, once I was privately in Sweden in the area Hokkensos. There are lakes similar to those in Lapland, but there are rainbows stocked - these are not in Lapland. Especially from Hokkensos I knew, that natural fly patterns would be more effective than lures.

CZN: Did you prepare yourselves specially for the World Championship already at home?

VS: No, most od the experience we gained as late as during the week before the World Championsip right on the spot. But fishing of the previous year in Wales on the lake Llyn Brenig helped me a lot. There we won the second place and there it also showed up, that we were able to be hanging on to the Englishmen, who are still best on lakes.

CZN: What was your goal when leaving for Lapland?

VS: I had no personal ambition. The goal above all was to do the best for the team, especially on lakes, where I was doing quite well recently. And the goal for the team was clear – a medal.

CZN: What tactics did you enter the competition with?

V.Š: Natural pattens of the Czech Nymphs seemed to be best for the river - tied on hooks No. 6, i.e in sizes, usually not used on our waters. The colour ? Green, sandy, some patterns with lurex backs. We had chance to get acquainted with the lakes also thanks to echolot. There we were aiming our efforts at brown trout, we were suspecting them to be near the banks in the reeds and water buttercups. My main fly on the lake was Jungle Cock Viva, that was supposed to be imitating the fry – there was quite a lot of it there. Further on we also tested a combination of a dry caddis and a midge as the dropper and I had also a fly prepared, that was effective on Hokkensos – a Copper fly.

CZN: You were experiencing your first World Championship. Was there any nervousness ?

VS: Not too much. It helped me a lot, that I caught a fish on the lake in the first round – that brought me calm.

CZN: Had you had any crisis during the competition?

VS: I felt most depressed after the second round, that also took place on a lake. I was without a catch and told myself, I had quite spoiled it for the team. The worst thing was, that all the others were 100 km away. It was Tomáš Starýchfojtů who brought me a bit of calm, whom I met as the first one and who had had the same experience from the same round.

CZN: Which moment was the key for your excellent result?

VS: Sure it was the fish on the lake. Generally, the catches on the lake were very scarce and thus every fish caught had an enormous value. I was sitting in the boat with an Austrian and the first one and a half hour I was the captain (i. e., it was up to me to say, where the boat would go). I was fishing with a floating line and a combination of caddis and midge, but without success. I wanted to try one place more, but at that moment the Austrian looked at his watch and said „I am the captain now !“. He directed the boat against the wind and … went to urinate. That was a blow on me. „What now?“ I was sitting in the water buttercups but was unable to cast. I changed the floating line for an intermediate at least and bound the Copper Fly and a Jungle Cock Viva on the leader. Afterwards it was the Viva I had two takes on and the second one meant the important fish.

CZN: What style was there used on the rivers of Lapland?

VS: We did not use streamers at all. Most fish I caught on a long and short nymph, or even a nymph tugged against the water. I did not use any dry flies, although my friends did. There even was a Rumanian, who won one competition on a small river with dry flies only. It was not good to stick to one style only. I caught some of the graylings by casting over the rapids to places, where I would never cast to at home, but there the fish were rising to the fly sometimes up to the water level.

CZN: What tackle did you use?

VS: I had Loomis rods – for lakes class 8, length 3,05 m, for rivers class 4, length 2,75 m. Lines Airflo for lakes 6 and for rivers 3 AFTMA.

CZN: When did you begin to think, that you could hope for a medal?

VS : Approximately during the last but one round on the spot, where the Slovak Bienek was fishing on the previous day and won the sector with 33 fish. I was afraid, that there would be no fish any more, therefore the coach Klíma went to the sector with me. The place showed off as an excellent one and I took up the position one. The coach helped me a lot, I was his prolonged hand as a matter of fact.

CZN: In what way can a coach help a competitor?

VS: He can, e.g. to point out mistakes in controlling the flies, or give an advice what to do in a different way or simply send one to another place, when one had already been too long somewhere.

CZN: What were the feelings of a winner?

VS: During the proclamation of winners everything was OK already. I felt best in the course of the last round, when I had already known I caught fish enough and members of our team were predicting, I woud have the gold. Suddenly it came to my mind, what I had had to sacrifice to flyfishing and there were even some tears.

CZN: Does not the world champion lose the motivation for future competitions?

VS: There is still a lot of competitions to be won. A motivation for me is also the future round of our 1st league – there are, however – lots of excellent competitors at home.

CZN: And what about a celebration – was there one?

VS: We had the beer Gambrinus in Sweden, but for 15 swedish crowns apiece, and thus there was no grand celebration as yet.

CZN: We thank you for the interview and wish further success not only to you, but to all our representatives.