Fly fishing is Ollie Bassett’s passion, and now the Tauranga local is preparing to represent New Zealand in France for the World Fly Fishing Championship.

After winning the New Zealand Lake and River Nationals, Ollie qualified for the 2024 world championships in France.

This year, the 22-year-old is in a team of two and looking forward to his third time attending the senior world championships.

The championship will be held in June in the Pyrenees and includes five days of competition with 150 competitors from 30 national teams.

Ollie lives and breathes fishing and has several national fishing titles under his belt.

Ollie is excited about the world championships in June, but for now, he’s focusing on his studies.

Ollie is studying for a master’s in environmental science at the University of Waikato and is finishing his thesis on marine acoustics.

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He has been fly fishing for eight years and is excited to see what fly fishing is like in France, having previously competed at the youth world championship in the Czech Republic and the senior world championship in Spain and Slovakia for the New Zealand team.

“It’s really cool to travel, have new experiences and compete again at the world championships.”

He has travelled to France before but has never been fishing there. “It should be a cool experience.”

“It’s really cool to travel, have new experiences, and compete at a world level.”

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Ollie will be receiving his trophy for the New Zealand fly fishing national title this weekend at the Sport Fly Fishing New Zealand AGM and awards ceremony.

Ollie is also a fly fishing guide and teaches classes in order to fundraise for the world champs. If you are interested in coming along and trying the sport, you can contact him at olliebassettflyfishing@gmail.com.

You can also get tips and tricks from Ollie’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@olliebassettflyfishing.

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“My videos aim to share some of my fly fishing adventures on New Zealand’s rivers and lakes to help provide tips and tactics to help you make the most of your time on the water,” he says.

Keep up to date with Ollie’s journey by visiting his Instagram @flyfishernz.