Today we introduce EFFA Master Flycasting Instructor, Valerio Santagostino

Characteristics
Nickname:    BALBOA in www.pipam.it (redactor)
Place of residence / Country:  Milan - Italy
Job: Textile agent
Age:   56
EFFA-Member since:   2004
EFFA Function:    Country‘s delegate

Your favorite water/where do you prefer to fish:      fresh water

We asked Valerio a few questions:

Since when do you fish with the fly and can you remember exactly your first litters?
Fishing since I was a little boy, fly fishing since 1999, first litter?….a stupid trout in a horrible lake

Who brought you the fly fishing / accompanying you?
I was spinning in a lake and next to me was a friend who was casting with a fly line….it was a blow !  From that moment, only fly fishing…..like many colleagues and friends.

How did you discover fly fishing and what fascinates you about it?
Since the beginning I understood the cast should be my goal. I came from TLT, the technique invented by Roberto Pragliola.  After, I started to travel around Europe to casting with many and many outstanding casters.  So I practised to became Basic and after that Master instructor of EFFA.

You have the title „EFFA Master Flycasting Instructor“. The highest qualification at EFFA. How long have you been preparing for this exam? What does this award mean to you?
I did 750 hours of training in a year and a half.  It was hard but I was used to it because I came from very tough endurance competitions (marathons and marathon in the desert, many Ironman and a triple Ironman...)
What does it mean? A lot of satisfaction and a wonderful network of friends!

Is it also a privilege?
When I got the Master I really felt like GOD…..but after a while I understood I was at the beginning of a long trip. Last year and the year before in fact  I tested  myself again.  I reached GAIC and APGAI double hand certifications.

How did you get to EFFA?
The world of casting is big but little too.  A good friend of mine Günter Feuerstein did the rest.

Fly fishing has become a big trend. Where do you see the reasons?
The no-kill first off all, the respect of the nature and the environment, the harmony of the cast, maybe emulation too…..

There are many things that speaks for but also against our fish waters - environmental protection, bird protection, nature conservation, etc. How do you see the development of fish waters in Europe?
Very hard question!
Maybe a keen mix between public and private waters and more and longer no-kill stretches.

But in Italy it will never going to happen!