Varty was one of 47 of the world’s best kayak anglers from four continents and 20 countries who tussled for the prized world champion title on the waters of Vinkeveen Plassen.

Steve Lessard from Baton Rouge in the US was crowned new world champion, while Kyle Moxon from Ontario, Canada was the silver medallist.

The competition was staged over three days, with fishos given three species to target – perch, pike and zander.

The aim was to catch legal sized fish of each species, which were then photographed and released. 

The largest fish of each species was then recorded and the measures added together to gain an overall points total.

After a disastrous first day where he didn’t catch any legal sized fish, Mr Varty landed a 76cm pike, to be 17th overall after two days of competition.

On the last day he bettered his previous catch, landing a 95cm pike and a 35cm perch to end up with an overall total of 206 points.

He was just 68 points behind second place, while the winner was a further 90 points ahead with a final total of 364.

“It was a pretty amazing experience,” he said.

“I only qualified after winning a tournament about two weeks prior on St Georges Basin.

“I had never caught any of the species before, so it was difficult to know how and what to use to target them.

“After the first day when I didn’t catch any legal sized fish I went back to what I know and use on St Georges Basin, soft plastics, just like I’m targeting snapper, and it worked.

“On the final day I just went back to the same spot I’d been to the previous day and did the same thing, casting under the trees and letting the lure sink to the bottom, slowly hopping it back to the kayak and it paid off, I got my pike at 95cm.”

Then he went after the perch and he nabbed a 30cm specimen but just as he was about to take the photo it flew off the measuring board and “into the drink”.

“I was really panicking then, quickly cast my rod back into the same spot and I pulled out one at 35cm,” he said.

He said the waterway was probably comparable in size to St Georges Basin.

When he heard the local qualifying comp was on the Basin he was pretty confident, so confident in fact his wife had booked a holiday to Korea for the family, but he said he would be in the Netherlands instead.

He has always been a fisherman and enjoys most varieties of the sport but has mainly competed in catch and release comps in the last three years as a member of the Basin Lure and Fly Club.

He said he would be trying to qualify again for next year’s event.