News
He has been to the EWF so many times ...
the first years as a visitor, then as a supporting fly tyer at an exhibitor stand, then as coordinator of the fly tying programme for children and young people, which he took over from Theo Atanassov, and finally for three years he was the contact person for beginners and newcomers to fly fishing!
This year you will meet him for the first time on the fly tying stage, because his streamers and shrimps are unique!
Who else could it be but our dear Rainer Roth from Germany!
Konstantin Karagyozov, winner of the German Open Fly Tying Championship, enthusiastic fly fisherman and fly tyer, will be representing the Bulgarian fly fishing fraction at the 20th edition.
Always cheerful and in a good mood, he welcomes interested visitors to his tying bench and is happy to show them one or two tying tricks and tips.
We look forward to his participation!
The Patagonia Worn Wear Tour at the EWF!
The Patagonia Worn Wear team is back at the EWF! Get your outdoor garments repaired for free and pick up useful tips on care and easy fixes you can do at home or in the wild.
When people talk about fly tying, two names always come up:
Igor and Nadica Stancev from Macedonia!
Two wonderful people, winners of the big international fly tying competitions, authors of 9 fly tying books, jury members at the World Tuscany Open Fly Tying Competitions and the German Open Fly Tying Championships and and and
For 19 years they have been represented at the EWF with their little works of art, as they will be again this year for the 20th anniversary on 5 and 6 April.
You will find the two extremely talented binders together with their daughter in their usual place on the first floor of the Tenne.
The coordinators of the 18th Open German Fly Tying Championship 2025 report that numerous flies have already been submitted!
They are looking forward to many more entries!
A quick reminder for all those tying for the dry fly category: The Klinkhåmer Special by Hans van Klinken should be submitted! Read more ...
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ahrex and Renomed for once again supporting the championship with their sponsorship.
If you have any questions about the German Fly Tying Championship, please contact info(a)e-w-f.de
A call from Adrian Bontza to the fly tying community:
‘A fly for the anniversary’ - the motto of the 2025 fly tying championship
20 years of EWF, 20 years of fly fishing at the highest level and of course no less fly tying, brought to life almost 18 years ago by Gerd-Peter Wieditz. The organising team would be delighted if numerous flies were sent in for the tying championship this time too.
Dear fly fishermen and tyers from all over the world, think about how you can surprise the judges at this 20th EWF in the familiar fly categories. The insect world and your imagination are endless sources when it comes to fly tying.
You still have a few weeks left and as the saying goes: ‘Winter is long’. You can spend the evenings in front of the tying stick and be creative, because practice makes perfect. You never stop learning when it comes to fly fishing and tying, as the famous Sepp Prager always emphasised.
With this in mind, have fun tying and see you at the EWF 2025!
Your Adrian Bontza
We would like to welcome another Icelandic fly tyer to the fly tying stage - Baldur Hermannsson!
He has already been a guest at the EWF a few times and should not be missing at our 20th anniversary!
For the first time Ívar Örn Hauksson from Iceland will visit us and tie his typical Icelandic fly patterns at the 20th EWF!
We warmly welcome him to the EWF fly tying stage!
Dear youngsters - big or small - you are cordially invited to take part in the fly tying competition again this year! The EWF is 20 years old and the motto of this year's competition is ‘Tie a birthday fly’.
But anyone who simply wants to give fly tying a try is of course also very welcome.
The children's fly tying team is looking forward to seeing you!
You can find more information about the programme here ....
The women's programme ‘Women on the fly rod’ is also being offered for the 19th time!
With its long history, the women's programme is still a magnet for many well-known and new female fly fishermen. The fun casting competition, which was once launched by Glenda Powell, is still popular today. Even if the odd male fly fisherman turns up at Ramona's, it doesn't matter - on the contrary: everyone is welcome to chat to Ramona about the most beautiful hobby in the world and test the fly rods.
more about the woman's programme....
Fly Fishers International will be visiting us at the EWF for the 19th time!
Certified single- and double-handed fly casting instructors will be on hand to answer questions about casting techniques, flies, equipment and other topics. Take advantage of the offer and visit the FFI at its stand by the casting pools.
Read more about the details...
Simone Cometti from Switzerland, SIM Suisse instructor, will show his love for fly fishing and casting at the EWF for the first time.
On both days of the EWF Simone will be presenting the Italian casting technique at the casting pool together with his colleague Paolo.
We warmly welcome Simone and look forward to a taste of his casting!
He's coming to the 20th EWF - Ken Middlemist, the last living fly tyer from Alnwick (UK), is tying for our anniversary!
Ken Middlemist is the last living fly tyers who learnt and worked in the old Hardy company in Alnwick.
Many people know him from the film ‘The lost World of Mr Hardy’.
Ken ties his salmon flies without a vice, ‘by hand’ so to speak, and has many, many stories to tell.
A little tip :-) He makes a point of not being called a ‘fly tyer’ but a ‘fly dresser’!
He has fished all over the world, has been a passionate fly fisherman for many decades, is an FFI instructor, author of various articles, has translated books (e.g. by Gary Borger, Jason Borger) into Spanish and loves fishing for brown trout and grayling.
For the first time, Aitor Coterón from Spain will come to the casting pool of the 20th EWF and show us something about dry fly fishing downstream.
We warmly welcome him!
Another fly tying legend is visiting us for the 20th anniversary of the EWF! British-born Barry Ord Clarke, who has lived in Norway for 30 years, is a multiple book author, photographer, winner of several awards and has been honoured several times for his fantastic fly tying skills!
Barry Ord Clarke will be tying his patterns on both days of the EWF and will also have his books with him! Meet the master on the fly tying stage.
He was already on hand with help and advice during the planning of the first EWF. He helped to approach and attract exhibitors. He is always open to new ideas.
Werner Steinsdorfer from Germany, a veteran of fly fishing, fly tyer at the first EWF in 2006 and always a loyal friend!
We are glad to have had him with us for 20 years!
Daniela Mistela from Switzerland, always in a good mood and cheerful, will be tying at the 20th EWF at the Andino stand in the Tenne. There you can stock up on the right flies for your next fly fishing trip. Daniela is looking forward to your visit!
For the 2nd time he ‘presses the tying bench’ at the 20th EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025.
Michael Neitzel from Germany, known for his sensational dry flies, nymphs and realistic flies, will meet you on the fly tying stage in the Stadtsaal. He will be tying patterns that are ideal for fishing for trout and grayling in small/medium streams.
We warmly welcome him!
He has been involved in the EWF for 19 years in a wide variety of roles, whether as a caster or instructor, fly tyer, supporter of the women's, children's or beginners' programme, jury member of the German Open Championship in Fly Tying, filmmaker, photographer and author and, above all, as a friend!
Rudy van Duijnhoven from the Netherlands will be giving casting demonstrations at the 20th EWF and will be a silent observer of the wonderful highlights of the 20th anniversary!
Fly tyer of the first EWF hour - Sacha Pütz from Germany, who had already won the Ken Sawada tying competition in Japan as Grand Prix Winner in 2003, was already present at the 1st EWF in March 2006! Even then he was a magnet for visitors with his unique salmon fly patterns!
And now Sacha has also confirmed his participation in the 20th anniversary of the EWF. "I don't want to miss out on that! Of course I'll be there," he said to the enthusiastic EWF organisers.
He has been an EWF visitor from the very beginning, is a dedicated FFI instructor, whether single or double-handed, has just returned from the Spey Band Community Meeting, has attended each of the 16 EWF double-handed courses - sometimes as a trainee, often as a supporting instructor - and this year for the first time he will be giving demos on both days of the 20th EWF.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming our colleague Thomas Urbig from Germany.
All children and young people are invited to take part in the casting programme for the youth of the 20th EWF!
Young people are invited as soon as they can walk and hold a fly fishing rod - whether beginner or advanced, the EWF casting team is looking forward to seeing everyone!
The EWF casting team will be happy to take you to the 2nd casting pool to cast, test, practise and have lots of fun with the fly rod.
To register, please come to the Tenne for the casting programme for children and teenager!
We look forward to seeing you! Entry to the EWF is also free up to the age of 15!
More information about the casting programme for children and teenager ...
For the first time, the young Swede Robert Hansson will be visiting us at this year's EWF.
Known to us through his YouTube channel, we have invited him to tie his top flies for coastal sea trout fishing at the 20th EWF.
He is not only a fantastic fly tyer, but also an excellent caster and videographer.
You will meet Robert on the fly tying stage.
The 17th double-handed course - the Highlight after the EWF 2025
Directly after the EWF 2025, the annual double-handed course will take place for the 17th time.
This year, the course will once again take place with the two instructors Tom Brown from Scotland and Thomas Urbig from Germany!
Date: Monday, 7 April and Tuesday, 8 April 2025
More information about the Double-Handed Course...
A must at the casting pool of the 20th EWF:
Mathias Lilleheim from Norway, multiple gold medallist and product developer at ArcticSilver since 2019. Mathias will be bringing a very special topic to the pool for the 20th anniversary, as he will be presenting an excursus on the truths and myths of fly casting.
With more than 45 years of experience, his explanations and visualisations are based on the practical physics of fly casting.
We are looking forward to his always highly interesting and exciting demos!
He has been to fly fishing events all over Europe, but not yet to the EWF!
This will change at the 20th EWF - we are particularly pleased to welcome Jan de Haas from the Netherlands, who has been an enthusiastic fly fisherman and fly tyer for 30 years. You will meet Jan on both days on the fly tying stage in the Stadtsaal.
It will soon be 16 years since Juergen Friesenhahn took on the role of casting coordinator!
We welcome him back to the EWF casting pool on 5 and 6 April 2025, where he will support the individual casters with moderation and translation!
Again and again, he inspires the audience at the casting pool and accompanies the many different demos - because the internationally renowned casting professionals come from all over the world to show the EWF visitors their casting tricks and techniques and to offer an entertaining show with lots of fun, joy and passion for the most beautiful hobby in the world - Jürgen is always the likeable and competent presenter and commentator at their side.
He also has no problem taking the mickey out of himself, making the audience laugh and seeing fly fishing as one of the most beautiful leisure activities in the world that shouldn't always be taken "quite so seriously".
At the 20th EWF, we will once again be providing a stand for Glücksmomente e.V. on the upper floor of the Tenne!
Donated fly fishing products and accessories will be sold here and your donations will be gladly accepted in order to realise encouraging moments of happiness for seriously ill children and young people.
We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all the donors who made donations at the 19th EWF! 2,146.40 euros have already been collected there!
Winner of the ‘Dry Fly’ category of the 17th German Open Fly Tying Championship will tie his fly patterns at the 20th EWF! We warmly welcome Luka Jezovšek from Slovenia to the EWF fly tying stage on 5 and 6 April 2025!
We are delighted that he will be doing a casting demo again!
Klaus Frimor, the Loop rod and line designer from Denmark, will once again be at the casting pool at the 20th EWF to show visitors tips and tricks relating to the Scandinavian casting the Scandinavian casting style with his vivid and impressive demos on both days.
Howard Croston, Hardy Brand Business Manager from the UK, will visit the 20th EWF and give presentations on fly fishing for rainbow trout in small stillwaters. A former tournament fisherman, Howard has represented England at international level, winning more than 90 professional casting competitions. Howard later turned to competitive angling and has represented England 15 times to date. We are looking forward to his visit!
Fabio Federighi from Italy will be back at the EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025 after 10 years and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary with us - the always cheerful and likeable fly tyer will be showing his fantastic fly patterns on stage. We are very much looking forward to seeing him again!
Another prominent guest from the United Kingdom, Charles Jardine, will be at both the casting pool and the fly tying bench on 5 and 6 April 2025. We are particularly looking forward to his participation!
For the 20th anniversary of the EWF, Roman Moser will be our guest of honour!!
He has been shaping the world of fly fishing for more than half a century, has taught hundreds of fly fishing courses, founded his own fly fishing brand and was the first German-speaking fly fisherman to be inducted into the New York Fly Fishing Museum's Hall of Fame in 2009.
Roman will be at the EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025, both at the casting pool and at the fly tying table. We are happy about his participation!
And once again we have a visit from a Spanish fly tyer at the EWF. Javier Peña is travelling from Madrid to tie his wonderful fly patterns at the 20th EWF. His flies can already be found in the fly boxes of some European fly fishers and are fished worldwide.
We warmly welcome him!
The world champion in Spey Distance Casting and multiple medal winner Tellis Katsogiannos will visit the EWF for the first time on 5 and 6 April 2025!
As rod and line developer for Guideline you will meet him at the Guideline stand or at the casting pool, where he will show a casting demo on both days.
We warmly welcome him!
Today, 5 December, is the International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development, IVD!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Aihan Sali-Oglu, who has been actively supporting us at the EWF for years with the coordination and organisation of the charity stands, be it the Ambulance Childrens Hospice Munich and, after 10 years, now Glücksmomente e.V., and is always the main contact person for the EWF at these stands for two days! Many thanks for that!
The official poster and flyers for the 20th anniversary of the EWF have been finalised!
We look forward to your visit on 5 and 6 April 2025!
We would like to thank Jonas Schnürch for the wonderful, atmospheric picture!
Our friends, Caroline Emmet and Chris Reeves, are coming from the UK to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025!
Meet Christof Menz from Austria at the EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025 !
18th Open German Fly Tying Championship
Next year the German Open Fly Tying Championship will take place for the 18th time, whereby the Klinkhåmer Special by Hans van Klinken needs to be tied in the dry fly category. Good luck! Read more ...
Many thanks to Amanda Hoffner for this wonderful review of the 19th EWF - a little appetiser for the upcoming 20th EWF, which we are currently working towards at full speed!
Our Austrian friends must be there too! Meet Franz-Xaver Ortner and Heinz Zöldi on the fly tying stage on 5 and 6 April 2025 at the EWF!
Rod designer and builder Tomo Ijuin from Japan will be visiting the EWF for the first time on 5 and 6 April 2025

Stuart Hardy with his impressive Kelson exhibition at the 20th EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025
After 10 years he will come back to the EWF on 5 and 6 April 2025 and present his new book ‘The Klink’ - Hans van Klinken from the Netherlands!
We are looking forward to his visit for our 20th anniversary!!
Read more about Hans van Klinken ...
After a short break, we have now started preparations for the 20th EWF, our anniversary event. Today we start with a short review of the 19th EWF.
Enjoy viewing the EWF photo galleries 2024!
We mourn the loss of Theo (Todor) Atanassov!
On 13 and 14 April 2024, Theo Atanassov visited the 19th EWF for two days despite his serious illness and was thus able to fulfil a heartfelt wish. Accompanied by his closest friends, he visited the EWF exhibitors, sat with all his long-time friends and was in the foyer of the Tenne, where he was actually still tying flies.
Now Theo Atanassov has closed his eyes forever on 4 July 2024 and the fly fishing world has lost a great fly fisherman and friend. For over five decades, he fished with enthusiasm all over the world, taught himself how to cast and tie, tied his fly artworks to absolute perfection and gave casting courses.
As a trained ship mechanic and later a professional musician, he had special fine motor skills that he knew how to use perfectly for his fly tying and rod making. He was a real tinkerer and always found a solution to produce his fly patterns and fly rods, various accessories and tying equipment etc. to a high quality.
After leaving Bulgaria in 1975, he chose Berlin as his new home, worked there as a car mechanic until his retirement and intensively pursued his passion for fly fishing in his free time.
Theo Atanassov attended many fly fishing fairs, fly fishing meetings and regulars' tables in Germany and abroad and was always happy to socialise with his fly fishing friends. Among other things, articles on his fly patterns were also published in various fly fishing magazines.
He was often invited to Bulgarian fly fishing meetings as a guest of honour and always enjoyed the Bulgarian fly fishing community.
Theo Atanassov launched the EWF fly tying programme for children and young people in 2007 and has coordinated it with great dedication every year since then. Back then, he started the fly tying programme with three children and was able to introduce up to 130 children to the passion and art of fly tying at times in the years that followed, before retiring from the children's programme completely in 2019. He was also a member of the jury at the Open German Fly Tying Championships four times. Theo was an integral part of the EWF team until the end.
Theo Atanassov will live on in the hearts of his fly fishing friends and we will all remember his anecdotes and stories, which he loved to tell in convivial company. We will miss you!
EWF Images in chronology from 2007 to 2024
Important appeal for the 19th EWF!!
The company Renomed - Scissors manufacture, asks all persons who bought Renomed products at the stand in the Stadtsaal at the EWF to get in touch with us: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone +48-61-8685533
You are also welcome to contact us directly and we will pass on the contact details.
Thank you!
Please note: This is not a recall!
Wild Salmon Without Borders – energising international collaboration for the restoration of wild Atlantic salmon.
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The ‘Wild Salmon Without Borders’ event, part of this year's 19th International Experience the World of Fly Fishing (EWF) fly fishing show in Germany, took place over the weekend of April 13th and 14th and successfully brought together key individuals and organisations from across Europe to motivate a renewed focus on international collaboration for wild Atlantic salmon restoration. The Atlantic Salmon Trust, together with EWF show organisers, worked together to create and host the event. Expert speakers from all across Europe were brought together, including representatives from the Atlantic Salmon Trust, Missing Salmon Alliance, North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF), Norske Lakseelver, World Fish Migration Foundation, Fario e.V., Wanderfische ohne Grenzen e.V., Danmarks Centre For Vildlaks, and Patagonia.
This lineup of speakers ensured that wild Atlantic salmon representation came from a range of countries, including Iceland, Norway, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and Ireland, with speakers highlighting a variety of issues affecting wild Atlantic salmon. These included the dangers and risks posed by open net pen salmon farming, red skin disease, and barriers to migration. However the event sought not to dwell on the many problems facing wild Atlantic salmon, but to create a platform to offer positive solutions with which we can move forward. This included sharing habitat restoration case studies, successful barrier removal campaigns, the success story of the restoration of the River Skjern in Denmark, as well as how to successfully raise public awareness against unsustainable open pen salmon farming practices.
Several short films were shown at the event, aiming to highlight the cultural importance of wild Atlantic salmon. These included the French animated film ‘Salmo’ by Paul Pajot, British animated film ‘Wild Summon’ by Karni Arieli and Saul Freed which was nominated for a BAFTA and shortlisted for an Oscar, and Patagonia’s latest film ‘Laxaþjóð | A Salmon Nation’ which tells the story of growing opposition to open pen salmon farming in Iceland.
Through the newly forged international links and relationships between individuals and organisations across Europe, initial collaborations have already been planned. The aim of the symposium to promote greater cross-border co-operation and action for the recovery and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon stocks was achieved.
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Important information!
Dear fly fishermen,
An e-mail is currently circulating in which the participant contacts of the International Experience the World of Fly Fishing 2024 are being offered for sale. This has nothing to do with us as EWF! Be careful, this is NOT our business!
With kind regards,
EWF organisers
Winners of the 17th German Open Fly-Tying Championship 2024! Congratulations!
Category: Dry Fly
1st Place - Luka Jezovšek- - Slovenia| 2nd Place - Andrea Pegorin - Italy | 3rd Place - Enrico Reinert - Germany
Category: Streamer
1st Place - Robert Wolhorn - Germany| 2nd Place - Christian Kölle - Germany | 3rd Place - Miha Sternad - Switzerland
Category: Realistic Fly
1st Place - Manuel Chapa Martin - Spain| 2nd Place - Christian Kölle - Germany | 3rd Place - Charly Streif - Germany
Many thanks to Ahrex, Renomed and YETI for the Sponsoring!
Many thanks to the jury and the coordinators!
Read more about the winners and their flies...
Thank you very much for visiting us at the 19th EWF on 13 and 14 April 2024!
In bright sunshine, we were once again able to welcome many exhibitors and visitors from all over Europe and the world. The atmosphere was great and the programme was overwhelming. In the beer garden we met many cheerful fly fishermen with their friends over a beer and pretzels. The children's and youth programme with tying and casting was sensationally well attended. Despite the beautiful weather, more than 1000 visitors listened to the demonstrations. The women's programme was again a complete success.
We would like to thank the Atlantic Salmon Trust for choosing the EWF as the starting point for its salmon initiative "Wild Salmon Without Borders".
More than 2,000 euros were raised for our new charitable endeavour - supporting Glücksmomente e.V.. A big THANK YOU at this point too!
Thank you to the Veranstaltungsforum Fürstenfeld for their active support, so that the EWF could run so beautifully and perfectly.
We are grateful for the many gifts - culinary delicacies, fine wines, cakes, sparkling wine, fly fishing articles and beautiful souvenirs - that we received from visitors and exhibitors. THANK YOU!
The entire EWF team, some of whom have been with us for 19 years, wish you all the best and look forward to a healthy and happy reunion on 5 and 6 April 2025 - at the anniversary edition of the EWF!
Best wishes from the EWF organisers
Robert and Michaela Stroh, Armin and Nicole Pijawetz