Regardless of the sport, it is an honor for athletes to represent their country at an international competition. For Michael Komara that was especially true.
Komara, a North Allegheny graduate, competed in the 43rd World Fly Fishing Championships at four sites in the Occitanie administrative region in France, which contains the Pyrenees mountains in southern France and borders Andorra and Spain.
“It’s really been kind of a lifelong goal ever since I was 12 years old. To finally be able to do it at a senior level is a big thing for me,” Komara said. “Being able to go over and do well, of course, means more. It was really special.”
The world championship gathered approximately 130 fishermen from 30 countries to compete across five days from June 22-30, and it was far more intense than similar fishing events. From rushing to fishing locations to rigorously scouting his area, Komara carefully prepared strategies to wrangle fish in a notoriously difficult environment.
“France is known for being one of the toughest events in the world for competitive fishing. The rivers are really clear and the fish are very finicky,” Komara said. “As for the competition, it was probably the most challenging that I can think of.”
It was not just the competition that was more intense. Between fishing sessions, Komara and his fellow fishermen had to hike between fishing sites. Some of those trips took up to two hours.
Komara was a clutch member of the United States team that placed third behind champion France and runner-up Spain. Komara earned a key second placement in the fifth and final session to help the U.S. fly fishing team secure its third ever medal.
“It was very special for all of us. Everyone was pretty elated because we were able to maintain third place throughout the competition,” Komara said. “We were texting each other, we all knew that we were doing well, and when it finally hit, everyone was on cloud nine. Some of the guys have been doing it for a long time (before winning).”
Individually, Komara finished 24th out of 115 competitors from 23 countries in his first men’s world championship appearance. While he acknowledged that he could have performed better, he also remained satisfied with the outcome.
“You always want to do better, but it always comes down to one fish. In my first two sessions, if I caught one or two more fish, it would have bumped me up a bit,” Komara said. “In every one of those sessions, you’ll probably come in contact with a fish that would have gotten you (up a few more places). However, overall, I’m very happy about it and as a team of course.”
Komara competed in three junior world championships previously with the United States. He took fourth place in the world as an individual junior in a 2019 Czech Republic event, which is the location of next year’s championship.
Regardless of achievements or accolades, Komara will always remain fond of fly fishing.
“It’s definitely my way of relaxing. It’s my escape from reality. It’s what I’m really passionate about,” Komara said. “It gives me a goal to strive for outside of work. It gives me something to do at the end of the day.”
Matthew Purucker is a TribLive staff writer. You can reach Matthew at mpurucker@triblive.com.