Flycasting World Championships
distance · m

Seatrout Distance

About this event

Single-handed shooting-head distance.

Seatrout Distance steps up the power. The rod can be up to 10 feet, and instead of a standard taper, casters use a shooting head — a short, heavy front section (up to 27 g) attached to a thin running line that shoots through the rod rings with very little friction. The setup is inspired by coastal sea-trout fishing, where a dense head is needed to cut through wind and carry the fly over breaking waves.

The court is a straight lane 5–10 m wide and at least 60 m long. Casters have 6 minutes, split into two rounds of 3 minutes. The longest valid cast wins, measured from the stand to where the fly settles on the water, rounded down to the nearest half metre. Ties are broken by the second- then third-longest cast.

Official World Records

Official World Records have only been tracked since the 2024 World Championships in Åhus, when separate Men's and Women's record categories were first established under the new rules. Earlier results listed below may exceed these values but are not eligible as official records.

Men · WR
51.0 m
Women · WR
40.0 m

All-time best athletes

Men

#AthleteNationScore (m)Competition
1Ranel KõmmitsEstonia flag57.02018 · Cumbria, UK
1Bernt JohanssonSweden flag57.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
3Steve RajeffUnited States flag56.02018 · Cumbria, UK
4Henry MittelUnited States flag55.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
5Sakari SiipilehtoFinland flag54.52018 · Cumbria, UK
5Peter ThainGreat Britain flag54.52018 · Cumbria, UK
5Martin NøklebergNorway flag54.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
8Jan Vidar JosephsenNorway flag53.52018 · Cumbria, UK
8Bjørn KnutslidNorway flag53.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
8Fredrik HedmanSweden flag53.52012 · Fagernes, Norway

Women

#AthleteNationScore (m)Competition
1Maxine McCormickUnited States flag50.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
2Anna HedmanSweden flag48.02018 · Cumbria, UK
3Birgit HanssonEstonia flag47.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
4Tina MengkrokenNorway flag45.52018 · Cumbria, UK
4Audrey WilsonUnited States flag45.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
6Anna-Karin WiklundSweden flag44.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
7Tracy ThomasGreat Britain flag42.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
8Anita StrandNorway flag41.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
9Karoline OlsenNorway flag40.02018 · Cumbria, UK
9Sue MacnivenGreat Britain flag40.02018 · Cumbria, UK

Veteran

#AthleteNationScore (m)Competition
1Thorgeir GustavsenNorway flag50.02018 · Cumbria, UK
1Chris KorichUnited States flag50.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
3Larry AllenUnited States flag49.52018 · Cumbria, UK
4John WatersAustralia flag48.52018 · Cumbria, UK
5Nils Øyvind MæhleNorway flag48.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
5Mauro PanzeriItaly flag48.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
7Helge GustavsenNorway flag46.02018 · Cumbria, UK
7John ReynoldsGreat Britain flag46.02018 · Cumbria, UK
9Valerio SantagostinoItaly flag45.02022 · Gaustablikk, Norway
10Ants MardisteEstonia flag44.52022 · Gaustablikk, Norway