8 FEBRUARY 2022 Along with fishing for fun and fishing for competitions, Henry also participates in fishing for a cause with the Casting for Hope Tournament. By Rachael Bouley H enry Wagy started fly fishing when he was just five years old. The hobby grew into a love for the sport, as Henry spent summer vacations fishing in the northwest. While many kids his age spent their summers playing Xbox, Henry was snatching trout out of the cool waters of a Montana river. Now 15, Henry’s commitment to the sport has earned him a spot at the world’s top competition for fly fishing. This July, Henry will head to Italy for the 2022 FIPS (Fédération Internationale de Peche Sportive) Mouche Youth World Competition – the closest thing to the Olympics that fly fishing has. He was selected to represent the U.S. along with five other young men from the USA Youth Fly Fishing Team, which he has been a part of since last summer. When he was 12, Henry was invited to North Carolina to fish with Team F3, the top fly fishing team in the Along with fishing for fun and fishing for competitions, Henry also participates in fishing for a cause with the Casting for Hope Tournament. southeast region. He earned a spot on the team after the coaches tracked his progress and watched him excel while competing against the men. Fly fishing competitions are huge in the south and northeast regions of the U.S., and almost non-existent in the west, according to Henry’s dad, Scott. “Being on the world team feels almost surreal as I have had the goal of making the team since I was 10,” Henry said. “When I first went to train in 2017, I looked up to the five guys on the world team. They were the best of the best. Now that I am part of Team USA and the World Team, the younger guys look up to my teammates and me. It is really fun to work with the next generation at the clinics.” With gold, silver, and bronze medals up for grabs, Henry and his team are getting ready for an epic fishing tournament in the Dolomites, a mountain range in northern Italy where they will be fishing for trout. The area is not completely foreign to Henry. “Fortunately, I traveled to this region four years ago to fish and train with the world champion, Edy Dona. We fished the same river we will be competing in,” Henry said. Henry is one of 15 anglers on the U.S. national team and credits Scott for encouraging his love of fly fishing and being his first teacher. “Dad is an avid fly fisher, and I used to watch him when I was too small even to hold a rod. When I was five, he and my mom bought me a little fly fishing outfit, and I was off,” Henry recalled. “We would go to streams around our cabin in Idaho and Montana to fish during the day, and then I would practice casting in the yard when we got home. I was obsessed.” That fixation has only grown over the years as Henry discovered the thrill of catching carp, one of the biggest fish species in Phoenix. He admires how these bottom feeders help clean waterways, and of course, how much fun they are to catch with a fly rod. “The best part about fishing is watching the fish eat. That is why I love fly fishing, as I get to see the fish eat a lot more often than I would by using conventional gear,” Henry said. Looking ahead to the World Championship, Henry is most excited to meet kids from other countries, as they can bond over their common interests. “I want to see what techniques they use and how they differ from ours,” Henry said. “We all become ambassadors for our country and our team, so this is a serious thing. It is as close to the Olympics as the sport has to offer currently.” Scott explained that the competition is like the Olympics in that each country has a team of the best anglers, all of whom had to intensely compete and regularly train to get there. The teams are sanctioned by their countries and there are strict rules in place that are governed by FIPS Mouche. Henry said he is also looking forward to competing alongside his teammates. “We are a very close-knit group, and we push each other to do our best,” he said. Scott shares the sentiment, noting Henry’s dedication as he took second at this year’s nationals and the team’s strength as a whole. The last two years of national and international fly fishing competitions were canceled, so Scott can’t wait to see what this year has in store for Henry and his teammates after all their hard work, particularly with an outdoor pastime that requires patience, perseverance and grit. “Watching the growth and development of Henry as a fly fisher has been an amazing experience,” Scott said. “I cannot count the number of times I have had to stop and take it all in. Traveling and being in such beautiful places doing something that we both love is more than any father could ask for. I hope that Henry fishes throughout his life and that he passes his knowledge and his passion on to others.” In addition to Italy, the Wagys will fish this summer in the Bolivian jungle. They will be going after species like the aggressive Golden Dorado, which Scott says is a “beast of a fish.” Fishing for exotic beasts at the headwaters of the Amazon sounds like a perfect summer break for a world-class fly fisherman like Henry. USA Youth Fly Fishing Team heads to the Championships The USA Youth Fly Fishing team: Lewis Hirsch, Lawson Braun, Henry Wagy, Noah Shapiro, Kage Kossler and Drew Bone. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCOTT WAGY

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