ABOUT

Michal Komara has had a fishing rod in his hands since before he could walk. He grew a love for fishing on the urban lakes and streams around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; fishing for sunfish, bass, and the occasional stocked trout. At eight years old, he was given an old fly fishing setup from a relative, and has barely picked up a conventional fishing rod since. 

For the first few years of his fly fishing journey, Michael figured things out on his own, with some help from the local fly shops and a few lessons from guides on the waters of Central Pennsylvania. At thirteen, he attended a clinic held by the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team, which was based not far away in State College, Pa. After a great experience there, he competed in his first Fly Fishing Competition just a week later. 

After a few years in the competitive fly fishing world, Mike made the U.S. Youth team. Shortly after he participated in his first Youth World Fly Fishing Championships in Slovenia (2017), where he and the team earned a bronze medal. He went on to compete in two more Youth World Championships before aging off the team: Poland (2018), and the Czech Republic (2019), with the team earning a silver medal in the Czech.

Michael continued fly fishing and competing while earning his B.S. in Material Engineering and Polymer Chemistry from Penn State. Finally living near the amazing fishing the limestone streams of Central Pennsylvania offered allowed him to hone his skills even more. It also gave Mike the chance to found Fringe Fly Fishing, the precursor to innovative angling. Sadly, the Covid epidemic took away the chance to qualify for Fly Fishing Team USA during that period. 

After graduating from Penn State Mike was able to make Fly Fishing Team USA and join the World’s Team after finishing third overall in the 2022-2025 cycle. He competed at the 2024 World Fly Fishing Championships in France, and helped the team win bronze, the third team medal in Team USA’s history. Mike is now preparing for the next World Championships in the Czech Republic. 

Outside of competitive fly fishing, Mike loves the exploratory aspect of fly fishing. He has fished in eighteen states and nine countries, including a few month stint in South America. To date, he has targeted and caught 100 species on the fly. Though his heart is with trout, Mike loves getting anglers to explore the diversity of fly fishing opportunities in their own backyards. 

Today, Mike works as a R&D Chemist for CCM in Carlisle, Pa, and spends his free time sharing his passion and knowledge from his fishing experiences across the globe through Innovative Angling.