HAVING to stand for hours in ice-cold, fast-running rivers is guaranteed to test any sportsman’s dedication.

Anyone prepared to do that as a matter of course since the age of four without loss of appetite or ambition, deserves all the success that comes his way.

So it came as no real surprise to those in the know when Atherton teenager Terry Mann was selected for the England team to compete at the World Youth Fly-fishing Championships next summer.

The 17-year-old has been on the competitive circuit for many years and has already represented England’s youth team in major events in Wales, Ireland and the Czech Republic, where the world championships will be staged next July.

“I’ve fished in some good company in the past but this will be against the best of the best,” said a delighted Mann after making the six-strong team.

“I was quietly confident because I know the manager’s got a lot of faith in me, but it was still amazing when I found out I’d been selected.”

In fact the England selectors have even higher hopes for the local youngster and run the rule over him tomorrow when he fishes in a final eliminator for the full international team for next year’s senior world championships.

“Fly fishing is everything to me. All my family are into it – that was why I started when I was four,” he added.

“It can be a real test of dedication. I finished second in the Europeans – England’s top rod – recently on the River Dee at Llangollen. The temperatures were as low as minus-five and we were out there all day. We left the hotel at 7.30 in the morning and only got back at 5.30pm.

“It was cold, but I don’t let things like that bother me.”

Seven months seems a long time to wait for the big event but Mann, whose favourite location is the River Wharfe in Yorkshire, will spend his time productively, raising funds for the trip – including an essential week of pre-tournament fishing on the river the teams will compete on – and making sure his equipment is in top condition.

“It will cost a couple of thousand (pounds),” he explained. “We do get a bit of help from the English association but we have to pay for more or less everything, including our travel.

“That’s just the way it is. You just have to get some fund-raising work done.”

Working at an angling supplies shop in Hindley helps, but Mann’s fly-fishing career is very much a self-help enterprise. Like many enthusiasts, he makes his own flies and devotes hours of his time to practice, amassing as much knowledge as he can on the characteristics of the rivers he fishes.

“Fly fishing is about concentration, a lot of practice and learning all you can about the rivers you are fishing,” he said.

“We’ll go to the Cech Republic for the week before the world championships and practise on the river as much as we can. It will be knew to the six of us but it’s up to us to adapt our methods as quickly as we can to the conditions. It’s demanding but it’s exciting.”