Get to Know the USA Carp TeamPotential Quotes:“I want to say I spent 700-800 hours over the next two years visiting the major tournaments that were in play at that point. I spent a lot of time looking at folks with the eye of a coach.”

– Lee Young, Team Founder

“My ambition is simple but big: I want tohelp Team USA achieve our best ever result at the World Championships. Personally, I aim to fish with discipline, consistency, and intensity so that I can contribute as much as possible to the team effort.”

– Rafal Wlazlo, Team Member

“What I’d like to emphasize most is the dedication of this team. Every angler, coach, and leader is putting in countless hours of work and training to make sure we’re fully prepared for the World Championships. It’s a massive commitment, but it’s one we all embrace with pride.”

-Rafal Wlazlo, Team Member

“We’ve all gone through [a lot] these years to even be able to compete. It’s rough being the way-underfunded underdog, the furthest from the competition every year, which makes practice at the venue next to impossible. The teamis, however, cohesive, full of unbelievable talent, and most of all, HEART!”

– Christine Simpson, Team Captain

In a country where carp fishing is barely acknowledged by the wider fishing industry and authorities, the fact we have an established national carp fishing team feels pretty miraculous. 

Though I’ve seen odd references to the USA Carp Team over the years, I think it’s fair to say they haven’t done the best job in the past of communicating their story. It probably doesn’t help that the one tournament the team is laser-focused on each year—the FIPSed Carp Fishing World Championship—is usually held thousands of miles away in Europe.

With the 2025 tournament scheduled to take place in Croatia between September 17 and 20, and a re-energized Carp Team heading over to battle more than 30 other nations, including many of the best tournament carp anglers in the world, I wanted to find out more about the team, the World Championship, and what it means to represent your country as a carp angler.

Background

What is the FIPSed Carp Fishing World Championship?

FIPSed or the International Federation of Freshwater Sportfishing is a French body that sets the rules for international freshwater fishing competitions. It was formed in 1972 and covers several freshwater fishing disciplines. The first Carp Fishing World Championship grew out of earlier tournaments, but officially dates from 1999. National teams enter six anglers, who fish in pairs within different sections for a continuous 72 hours. Like other international competitions, there are strict rules about anglers leaving their assigned peg, the tackle and baits that can be used, unsportsmanlike conduct, and even anti-doping tests.

Each pair is fishing against the other nation pairs in that section, and cumulatively against each nation across the tournament. The World Championship literally attracts teams from all over the globe and has developed into the carp fishing equivalent of soccer’s World Cup. 

The Championship is scored based on “penalty points,” which isn’t quite how it sounds. The section pair with the highest aggregate weight of carp gets a penalty point of 1; second highest in the section is awarded 2 points, and on down. Extra penalty points can be added for things such as rule infractions or blanking, so the competition is a real test of discipline and fishing to the very last moment. A carp only has to be over 1.5kg (3.3lbs) to weigh, so a shoal of smaller fish can be as valuable as a couple of trophies if you can catch consistently, though there is an award for the largest carp. At the end of 72 hours, the national team with the lowest combined number of penalty points wins the Championship.

Where is this year’s venue?

The 25th Carp Fishing World Championship will be held September 17-20 across two large venues in Croatia, Lake Borovik and Lake Jošava, near the city of Đakovo. To add an unknown element, teams won’t know which of the two lakes they’ll be fishing until just before the draw.  

What is USAngling?

Who’s in the USA Carp Team?

As well as the three pairs of anglers who actually compete, there are two alternate/substitute anglers, and captains and coaches to handle the extensive preparation and logistics necessary to field a competitive team overseas.

• Founder/Adviser: Lee Young (now leads the U.S. Street Fishing Team)
• Captain: Christine Simpson
• Vice Captain: Darius Ani
• Coaches: Bogdan Bucur and Mihai Aciu
• Anglers and alternates:
• Bogdan Bucur
• Mihai Aciu
• Henryk Burza
• Norbert Samok
• Sean Lehrer
• Srdjan Gazivoda
• Tanner Smith
• Rafal Wlazlo

How is the team selected?

Researching this article, the question of how the team is selected came up numerous times, and in a lot of people’s minds is a point of controversy. Both Lee Young and Rafal Wlazlo shed some light (see their interviews to read more), but to summarize: because none of the tournaments fished in the US mimic the conditions, fishing demands, or rules of a FIPSed tournament, there isn’t a formal pathway to selection, rather it’s based on finding/scouting talented tournament anglers who have the drive, discipline, and coachability to excel individually and gel as a team. 

The current lineup has grown out of a core of anglers who originally competed under the K1 Baits banner, who stood out to founder Lee Young as notably disciplined in their approach. Most of the national fishing teams in any discipline are selected in this way: there just isn’t enough competitive fishing in the US to select teams based purely on qualifying events and trials. 

That said, the team isn’t a closed shop; squad members do rotate out for various reasons, and they’re open to assessing anyone who reaches out and expresses interest. Tanner Smith, for example, got into the team under just these circumstances.

How many Championships have they competed in and what is their best result to date?

The team has competed in 8 previous tournaments (every year back to 2016, other than South Africa in 2020 because of covid reschedulings). 

The best overall result to date was 4th in 2018 in Serbia (tied with England for 3rd on points, but slipped a place under tie-breaking rules). Two US pairs came second in their sections in this match. In 2024, the team came in 24th out of a field of 30, though still beating European countries with long histories of carp and match fishing.

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Two of the Guys

Lee Young and Rafal Wlazlo are respectively the founding member and the newest (just announced) angler for the team.They represent the arc of the group’s story from nascent idea to an established fishing team heading off to compete against some of the best carp anglers in the world.

Lee Young

Can you tell us a bit about the history of how the squad came together?

I think people in the US fishing industry became aware that I’d done assistant coaching things for other teams, and that I had a love for these so-called trash fish. In 2010 the President of USAngling asked me to initiate, direct, and develop the US carp fishing team, and I did that for 10 years, before stepping down to a secretary role, and now as an advisor. 

I want to say I spent 700-800 hours the first couple of years visiting the major tournaments that were in play at that point. I spent a lot of time looking at folks with the eye of a coach: who was professional in their approach, kept their bait in the water for the maximum time, and didn’t leave their rods unattended; who was properly equipped for different fishing scenarios, and could cast accurately at 150 yards?

I came across the K1 Baits team at a Texas tournament, which was loosely a group of around 10 people and they shared information constantly, and all had the same gear with at least six rods each. The last night of the tournament when many other anglers had crashed out, they were up at 2 am, all gingered-up and mapping out their plan for the early morning bite. I asked to borrow some binoculars from one of them, just as a test of how well equipped they were, and they had them there to hand, ready to scan the water. They swept the tournament—it was like watching men fish against boys, it really was. So this was a group I knew I could work with. 

How has selection developed over the years?

During my tenure, we’d invite people to try out who I felt had potential based on their tournament performances, not necessarily their results. I tested for skill levels, casting and rig tying under pressure. I also had a rule: if you want to fish for us, you have to first come to the tournament as a reserve or an official to experience the whole thing before you jump in the cauldron, experience the fire from the outside. 

One of the best things you could do if you’re really serious about this, is enter one of those big pay-to enter European tournaments as an individual. You’re going to spend a bunch of money, but at least you’ll gain an insight into the level of preparation, tactics, methods, and gear required.

USAngling is a nonprofit, funded by donations and sponsorships, and doesn’t receive any government funding, unlike some of the other national teams. Anglers need a certain level of financial backing to get to practices and the Championship itself. Nobody is getting paid and there’s no prize money, so that’s a big factor people need to understand. 

Anything else you can tell us about selection?

Four or five years ago the squad fished against a team in the US in a one-off event, as a sort of trial. The US team won every section, sometimes by ridiculous amounts. Did it mean the US team are just better anglers? Absolutely not. What it meant was they were way better prepared as a team, and that’s the crucial difference.

One of the great things to come out of that event though, was one of the promising young anglers on the losing team, Tanner Smith, stayed in touch with us and began coming to practices, and he’s now on the regular team.

Rafal Wlazlo

How did it feel to be selected for the team?

Honestly, it’s an incredible honor—and I’m still a little in disbelief at times. To be selected to represent the United States on the world stage in a sport I’ve dedicated so much of my life to is both humbling and deeply motivating. Standing alongside some of the most talented and committed anglers in the country is something I’ll never forget.

For me, this isn’t just about a personal milestone. Wearing the red, white, and blue means I’m fishing for something far greater than myself—it’s about representing our country, our team, and everyone back home who supports us.

How would you describe the selection process?

It’s multi-layered. Every angler must first demonstrate an exceptional level of skill and consistency as a baseline. From there, the evaluation goes deeper: can they endure the preparation, follow structured game plans, and adapt to the unique format of a FIPSed World Championships? Just as importantly, are they coachable, will they put the team first, and thrive under the leadership of captains and coaches? These qualities are non-negotiable.

While the team works under a unified strategy, we also recognize that each angler has their own style and preferences when it comes to gear and accessories. This balance ensures the squad is both professional and adaptable, with each angler contributing their own edge.

As the team doesn’t compete together in the US, what do you do in the year to stay competition-ready?

Our anglers compete in regional tournaments throughout the year, representing themselves and the team in a competitive setting. While these events don’t fully replicate the World Championship structure, they provide valuable experience under pressure and allow us to refine tactics, gear setups, and team discipline. The team is very active together and individually. We hold regularly scheduled meetings and training sessions—some as a full group, others individually on our own time—to make sure we stay sharp and continue building team chemistry.

What do you know about the venues in Croatia?

What makes this year particularly interesting is that teams don’t know in advance which lake they will be assigned to. That means we have to prepare for two different waters simultaneously, each with its own character and tactical demands. In practice, this requires us to develop multiple game plans and be ready to adapt quickly once the peg draw is made. It adds another layer of challenge and excitement, but also plays to the strength of a disciplined, versatile squad like ours.

What are your ambitions for the team and your own performance in it?

My ambition is simple but big: I want to help Team USA achieve our best ever result at the World Championships. Personally, I aim to fish with discipline, consistency, and intensity so that I can contribute as much as possible to the team effort. Success at this level isn’t about one angler—it’s about a squad working as one unit, and I’m proud to give everything I’ve got to that mission.

What is the biggest misunderstanding about the team that you would want to set right?

Rather than pointing to one single misunderstanding, what we really want to do is bring clarity and awareness to what Team USA is all about. Carp fishing at the World Championship level is still a new concept for many in the United States, and the best way to avoid misconceptions is to shine a brighter light on the sport itself.

Through the platform of USAngling and our national team, we’re committed to growing the scene, showcasing what we do, and inspiring others. In the months ahead, we’ll be releasing new content, updates, and highlights that give people a closer look at our training, preparation, and competition on the global stage.

What I’d like to emphasize most is the dedication of this team. Every angler, coach, and leader is putting in countless hours of work and training to make sure we’re fully prepared for the World Championships. It’s a massive commitment, but it’s one we all embrace with pride.