World Carp Classic 2013 Official magazine

OFFICIAL WORLD CARP CLASSIC MAGAZINE 2013

MAGAZINE SPONSORED BY PESCALIS

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Welcome.. to the 2013 World Carp Classic

‘‘

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has been involved in the World Carp Classic for making it what it is today.

I have dedicated a section in the magazine to those who are no longer with us and hope that when you come to the pages you can reflect and celebrate great moments that you spent together at the World Carp Classic or on a bank-side somewhere around the World.

Following seven successful years of JRC being the principal partners I am very pleased to welcome and introduce Dynamite Baits to this important position and role. We have a very impressive and comprehensive list of section and support sponsors this year and I would like to thank them for the contribution that they make to the event.

The World Carp Classic enjoys year round media coverage all over the world and working on this publication make me realise how complex it is to produce a magazine and I would like to recognise that and thank them for their help in sharing news about the World Carp Classic with their readers.

This year we will have the biggest on site media team ever and they will be helping to produce and broadcast live TV coverage of the event as well as making sure that all of the catches are seamlessly uploaded onto the vast social network platform that we have.

We have some new competition rules this year, so if you are competing make sure you read and understand them. If you have any questions please ask one of the team before the event starts and they will be happy to help. If in doubt, ask.

The World Carp Classic is a fair-play event run in the best spirit of carp angling with respect for the environment and best practice angling being observed at all times. As the founder of the World Carp Classic I am proud of what the event stands for.

There can only be one pair to come up onto the stage to be crowned 2013 champions, but there will be many other winners. I wish you all the very best of luck and I look forward to crowning the champions this year in this special 15th anniversary event.

‘This year we will have the biggest on site media team ever and they will be helping to produce and broadcast live TV coverage of the event onto the vast social network platform that we have’

‘‘

TOURNAMENT FOUNDER

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Inside..

5 Official Welcome

Message from Dynamite Baits

6&7 Team Presentation

42-45 Frank Warwick

The World Carp Classic Team

‘Blasts from the past’

10&11 Feature by Andy Chambers 13 Official Prize Table 14 Welcome to Bolsena

47 Reuben Heaton

Feature by Andy Race

48-51 Tim Pailsey ‘Mission Impossible’

Message from the Mayor

15-17 Spotlight On Bolsena Around and about the town

18-19 World Carp Classic Section Sonsors 20-21 World Carp Classic Support Sonsors 23 Northern Baits Presentation 24-25 Gladiator Games

Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough

119

52-53 Hobie Fishing Presentation 54-57 Ardy Veltkamp ‘Empire Building’

58 Preparing for the Event

Bianca Venema & Lizette Buenders

60&61 Ray Dale-Smith Carp R Us on end tackle

62&63 World Carp Classic Participants List 64&65 Your Guide to Lago Di Bolsena 66&67 Carry On Camping All you need to know about Bivvy City and the event’s itinerary

66&69 Head Marshal Andy Chambers ‘15 pointers for 15 years’

70&71 Wiley X On sight 72&73 Team Spirit

39 84-85 Poles Apart

Feature by Przemek Mroczek

87 Team Renmar Kulbas Karpis Presentation 90-93 Lee Jackson

39-41 2012 Champions Their story

‘Once Bitten’

95 Banana Rods Presentation 97-97 Shiny Happy People SBS Tactical Baits feature

98&99 Dynamite Baits Presentation 100-103 Ron Van De Bergh ‘Taking the bait’

104&105 Media Mania Worldwide and onsite

110-113 Solar Power

Martin Locke’s thoughts on bait

115 Jetfish 116-117 Sandro Di Cesari & Emilliano Gabrielli

Peg Location and Section Sponsors

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By South African Hennie Du Preez

74 Sylvian Schumacher

‘One competition, One thousand memories’

77 Team Styria 26-27 Hans Sissingh from Carp Connections Like a kid in a candy store

28-29 Feature

Carp Connections Resort, Du Der

30-38 1998-2012 Timeline We look back at champions from the last 15 years

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on their World Carp Classic experience

78-79 2012 Winners

A look back at some of last year’s Prize Winners

80-82 Tom Duncan-Dunlop ‘A classic romance’

83 Carp Connections Official Team Event list

118 It’s Showtime 119 The Fame Game 120-121 Catch of the Day

15 years of mayem & madness

123 Jean Claude Bel 126&127 Pescalis

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106-108 Ross Honey

‘The Angler within’ A personal view from the Event Founder

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Welcome, Benvenuti, Bienvenido, Welkom, Bienvenue, Witamy, Willkommen, Vítejte

A warm welcome from Dynamite Baits, title Sponsor of the 15th World Carp Classic 2013 On behalf of Dynamite I would like to welcome all of you to the fantastic lake Bolsena for the 15th Anniversary WCC – new and old competitors alike I hope you all have an amazing 7 days ahead of you and an exhilarating action packed 114 hours of fishing.

One thing for sure at the end of the week - two of you will be crowned champions of WCC and mark your place in history!

Apart from some of our anglers fishing previous events this is a first for us at Dynamite – and one that we are immensely excited about. I don’t think many words are required for those of you that return year after year for the WCC magic but for the newcomers we can already feel and share your excitement and passion as you register, take in the scenery and bivvy up!

We look forward to meeting each and everyone of you – drop in and see us for a welcome beer and gift and snatch a first glimpse of some exciting new baits for 2014 that are already doing the business.

This year’s event is a great opportunity to get our feet wet and really work hard to make the next event better still - in fact we are so committed to help turn next year in to a more ‘open to all’ event - our aim is to run qualifiers in every country where we are represented – perhaps even as far afield as Japan!

Finally before I sign off it would be amiss not to mention the range of Get free entry to fantastic prizes on offer– although I’m next year’s event! sure for most of you this is secondary For everyone who has entered this to catching lots of great carp, having a year we will pick one lucky pair from great time and meeting up with old and this year’s competitors (no matter how well you fished) to win free entry new friends alike.

Enjoy and tight lines everybody! in to next year’s event when you

The World Carp Classic is a truly recognised world brand and event and as such is a perfect fit for Dynamite – available in over 30 countries. The attention that Ross and his team add to make everything run smoothly typifies our ethos for rolling boilies - only the best ingredients mixed with our expertise and passion.

register this code WCC15DBBOL visit www.Dynamitebaits.eu.com from January 5th 2014 for full details

Daryl Hodges

Export Sales and Marketing Manager

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT

Media Team

MAGAZINE

The 2013 World C

Introducing the people who m

Robert Kiss International Production Director

Steve Hogg Live Broadcast Technician

Zoltan Szotak Production Assistant

Andrew Wilkin Video Editor

Sofia Bazzini Social Media Co Ordinator

Paul Maple Videographer

Tony Wade Producer

Chris Patmore Studio Camera

Max Archer Sound Mixer Adam Fontaine Vision Mixer

2013 Magazine

Editor Steve Howard

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Art Director Lucy Allsopp

I would like to introduce you to the World Carp Classic 2013 team and ask you to consider all of the hard work that they do, often unseen, behind the scenes.

The dedication and hard work of each team member ensures that the event runs seamlessly on a year round basis, not just for the few short days of the competition. There is a tremendous amount of work put in on a continual basis, culminating in a huge effort prior to the competition and again afterwards. I am very grateful for the team that I have, and I would like to present them to you here with my deepest thanks.

We wish you every success and hope that the experience will be enjoyable and create great memories that will last a lifetime.

World Carp Classic Organisers

Marianne Guillois Event Director

Andy Chambers Head Marshal

Event PR & Communications

Nicholas Brown Event PR

Chris Leibbrandt Event PR

Section Marshals

Danny Cooch

World Carp Classic 2013 Agents

Hans Sissingh Przemek Benelux Mroczek Poland

Jaroslav Tesinsky Czech Republic

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Leigh Steele Darren Crane Jem Cocker

Radu Morar Hungary

Victor Hodorog Romania

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

d Carp Classic Team

ho made this year’s event possible

Marshals 1st Response Team

s

Robert Nunn Head of Logistics

Chris Vaughn Shuttleworth Head Marshal

Steve Waters Shuttleworth Head Marshal

Kevin Cartwright Event Communications

Event Support

Event Marshals Alex Bowen Jack Crook Joe Davis Lewis Edwards Patrick Ellis Zac Gronow Louis Horne Mark Jefferies Tom Lee Jack Morton Dan Northwood Josh Roddy Luke Sims Lewis Slack Daniel Sawyer Russell Farrow

Joel Scrivener Joel Dighton Jason Lord Kieran Davies Robert Allsop Martin Carter LLoyd Taylor Joshua Nann Ross Tierney Riccardo Basili Edoardo Basili Tristano Magnani Chiovelli Paolo Emanuele Spina Graziano Paolucci

A BIG THANK YOU ..

Stage Presence Sophie Honey Victoire Honey

Terrence Greenhouse Sharon Lewis Kirsty Hampton

Riccardo Battisti Italy

Event Founder

Special thanks goes to the following people who have contributed to the production of this magazine: l Steve Howard as magazine editor l Lucy at Bang the Drum Designs for design & layout l Everybody that provided photographs and articles l Pescalis for Sponsoring the magazine

Ross Honey

Kobus Lottering South Africa

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by Pescalis Pescalis www.pescalis.com www.pescalis.com

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ADVERTISING FEATURE

CARPSCOPE ADVERTORIAL CARPSCOPE: It’s not a bucket with glass – It’s a scope with class!

Carp Scope is individually made in the UK to guarantee quality. The registered design features prevent light from entering and its construction from polyethylene, with its superior features, guarantee a high impact-resistant, durable long lasting product.

Carp Scope is produced using a moulding process which delivers a ‘matt’ interior; this feature prevents any glare from distracting the view. The Headpiece has been designed to fit the face, therefore averting light from entering the scope.

Base diameter: 300mm Weight: 1.7kg Height 540mm

Carp angling has developed and progressed and the modern approach now takes the angler from the bank to the boat.

In adapting to this approach, underwater craft skills are required.

Carp Scope offers a practical product to provide the angler with a tactical insight into underwater craft. Carp Scope enables the angler to gear their angling around the feeding habits of the Carp.

Its uses include: l Locating Feeding Spots l Bait presentation l Lake bed research l Useful information can be gained from using the Carp Scope.

USER REVIEW:

“Over the years I have written many product reviews for a variety of items, but the carp scope presented me with a fairly unique challenge in that respect.

“It’s not often that true ‘field testing’ becomes such a simplified process but, because the carp scope doesn’t have any mechanical parts, the only aspects to review are the item’s quality and ‘fit for purpose’ functionality. With just one obvious

function, the Carp Scope therefore has no requirement for lengthy user-friendly product usage information.

When it came to writing a review on the Carp Scope, it was especially easy because I believe in the product. With the above in mind, the carp scope is exactly what you see. It’s a very nice bit of kit that is manufactured to a high standard and meets all of our demands and expectations.

“The carp scope has a clean design and is, I feel, the perfect colour, but more importantly it is extremely robust and functional.

“I found that the mask area into which you place your face is more comfortable and fits much better than any other form of bathyscope product I have used previously.

Whilst omitting all light via the mask, the view down through the tough and durable polycarbonate window is perfectly clear.

“I feel that you will be thoroughly delighted with the carp scope and it will serve you well for many years to come.”

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

W

ell it hardly seems possible that 15 years have passed since the first WCC back on Lac Madine and it just gets bigger and bigger.

I never took part in either competing or organising the event during those early years, as competition carp fishing wasn’t really my thing, but it certainly seemed to be in the news. The lake and the Classic being held there was a beginning. I did actually pop over to see what all the fuss was about in 2004, when it was held on Lac Amance, having just finished a session on the nearby Lac Orient.

Ross seemed to think it would be a good idea to hold the competition there and after going through all the meetings with the local authorities permission was granted.

The carp world held its breath as the mighty Orient was one of the top lakes in the world and could possibly throw up a huge fish, especially as so much previously unused bank space was being used in the competition.

The 2006 event on the Orient started with much anticipation and it was also to be the first and only time that I was to fish in the event with the International Carper team, mainly because of my knowledge and experience of this awesome lake. Knowing the lake so well, I knew that a good draw was needed as there were a couple of areas that I definitely didn’t want to draw and one of those was Geradou bay… and yes you’ve guessed it, that was where Mick my partner for the event and myself drew.

With the water going down fast the carp had long since left this area of the lake, the pegs were also very close together which didn’t help, but fortunately the teams either side of us didn’t turn up which gave us a bit more room, but however much room we had, it was still not possible to tempt a carp. The rest of the anglers around the lake struggled, which isn’t surprising given that the Orient is one of the toughest lakes in the world to tackle what with the mud, tree stumps and 1000’s of acres of weed. A few fish were caught but nowhere near the numbers expected and a team from Poland won the event from a swim nearest the dam wall.

‘It would be great if the carp played ball this year and a new Classic record caught.

A 30kg would be awesome.. it is possible and would be the icing on the cake after a fantastic 15 years.’

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After the event, and given the knowledge that I had of the lake, I was asked whether I would assist with the pegging of the lake the following year, when again it would be held on the Orient, which I agreed to.

I arrived at the lake the following year a week before the event started to get a good look at all of the areas, many of which I had not seen before having previously concentrated on Michelin, Bivvy City and Geradou. One of the main problems with the pegging was that the water levels start to drop very quickly at this time of year and, as such, the pegs could be perfectly picked one day yet three days later 100m from the water.

Still, it all went to plan and I was pleased with the pegging and the marshalling. But once again the Orient was just too hard a lake for the majority of competitors and only 5 carp were caught over the 5 days. Although everyone agreed it was a great event and, indeed, a true Enduro which anyone could

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have won going into the last hour of the competition, an event like this needs carp to be caught and a new venue needed to be found.

So back into the frame came Lac Madine, not that far away from the Orient and where the event had begun. Previously, boats couldn’t be used but this rule had now been relaxed and so it would be a completely different event to the previous ones. In the intervening years the carp had grown much bigger and the lake now held a good head of 20kg plus fish.

I’d never fished Madine before and it was a cold, miserable December when I caught my first glimpse of the lake. Is a deceptive lake and is a lot bigger than you think, with the islands, spits and bays breaking it up into various parts.

It took me many laps and boat trips around the lake before I was able to get a true understanding of the lake and how to peg it to get the best results. What results we had that

Andy

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Chambers

We’ve got it pegged!

first year, with some great carp being caught and in good numbers. It was looking like the ideal venue for the event.

The World Carp Classic would return to Madine for a further three years and although you would expect the pegging to get easier each time in fact it got harder, mainly due to the ever increasing amounts of weed which made some areas totally unfishable even with the use of some serious weed clearing machines. Madine yielded more and more good fish, stunning big mirrors and provided new World Carp Classic Common and Mirror records. The one headache it did provide me with was that it was quite easy to work out where the winning pegs would come from, as three of the very big, out of bounds reserve areas held large numbers of carp.

However, these could only be accessed by a few swims, which was a shame. So after four very successful years at Madine a new venue needed to be found and one superb venue was located and in another country – Italy.

Lake Bolsena, not far from Rome, was

more than big enough; in fact it was huge, being nearly 50km around the banks. Not only that, it was full of stunning common carp with a few mirrors as well. The fish were growing fast and were getting close to the 30kg mark, a tasty proposition indeed.

The 2012 event would be the biggest yet with some 160 teams competing from around the globe.

The lake didn’t disappoint, with over 500 carp being caught, again a new record for the Classic. The only slight disappointment was the size of fish, which was down a little on what was expected and no really good fish over 25kg were landed.

That means, with the 2013 event being put back a month, there is every chance the bigger fish will make an appearance, let’s hope so. Like any big lake, Bolsena has its good areas but generally speaking the winning peg could come from anywhere

around the lake. It just depends on the wind direction. There will be a few minor changes to this year’s event; the pegging should be much easier to do now we have one Classic under our belts there.

The 2013 event is already being eagerly awaited and it being the 15th anniversary since the very first one, well, it’s going to be a little bit special with lots of fun activities before the event. It would also be great if the carp played ball and a new Classic record caught. A 30kg would be awesome… it’s possible and really would be the icing on the cake after a fantastic 15 years. There will be some that have been to every event, some who will be there for the first time but, no matter, it is a great family atmosphere and everyone is so welcoming no matter who you are or where you come from.

Good luck to everyone entering the event and I’ll see you in Bolsena.

Oh buoy..

“Contestants should be mindful that the maximum permissible range to place baits, as indicated by the presence of the official marker buoys, will be constantly monitored

by Event Officials”

Andy Chambers

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World Carp Classic Prize Table 2013

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

£70,000 PRIZE TABLE

ition ted edize for all e i m i l A valu ’s pr etitor minimum me p m o c h a D welco ial rs wit angle 80 each ANrom Imper d of £ rovided f p R Us an r p bags Spomb, Ca Baits! , e s t t Bai Dynami

There is a tremendous prize table for the 15th Anniversary event. This will be a very special one to win with a fantastic £70,015 prize table.

Prizes will be awarded for the following categories OVERALL CHAMPIONS 2x Trophies, £10,015 cheque, 1x Hand Painted original from Tony Coats of fish caught at WCC, 2x Unique Golden Reuben Heaton Scales, 2x pairs of Wiley X sunglasses, 2x Meccanica Vadese Rod Pods, 2x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down vision fish Finder chart plotters, 2x Raymarine Man overboard alarms, half a ton of personalised boilies rolled to their own recipe by Dynamite, 2-week holiday for 2 in South Africa with Carp-Afrique* and the chance to win the Ferrari or 2x Land Rovers

2nd OVERALL 2x Trophies, £3015 cheque, 2 pairs of Wiley X sunglasses, 2x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down vision fish Finder chart plotters, 2x Raymarine Man overboard alarms, £1000 RRP of Dynamite products of your choice*, 2-week holiday for two in Canary Islands with Canary Island Fishing Tours, chance to win the Ferrari or 2x land Rovers

3rd OVERALL 2x Trophies, £2015 cheque, 2 pairs of Wiley X sunglasses, 2x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down vision fish Finder chart plotters, £500 RRP of Dynamite products of your choice* and a chance to win the Ferrari or 2x land Rovers

TEAM CHAMPIONS 6x Trophies, Holiday for 6 at Lake De Der resort from carp connections, 6x Wiley X sunglasses, 160kgs of Diamond bait.

2nd PLACE TEAM

6x Trophies, Holiday for 6 at Lake De Der resort from carp connections, 100kgs Rod Hutchinson bait.

3rd PLACE TEAM

6x Trophies, Holiday for 6 at Lake De Der resort from carp connections, 60Kgs Of Rod Hutchinson bait.

OVERALL SECTION WINNERS 2x Trophies, £500 per section and £2,000 in sponsors products from CCMoore, ATT, PVTV, Jetfish, Northern Baits, Spomb, Pescalis, SBS, Solar Tackle, Klubis Karpis, Club Carping, Rod Hutchinson, Imperial Baits, Carp R Us, plus Wiley X sunglasses, chance to win the Ferrari or 2x Land Rovers

BIGGEST OVERALL FISH

Trophy, Banana rods Custom Rods, Wiley X sunglasses, £500 RRP of Dynamite products of your choice + 3 ACE i-3 alarms & receivers, chance to win the Ferrari or 2x land Rovers

GLADIATOR GAMES WINNERS Trophies, sponsors prizes, chance to win the Ferrari or 2x Land Rovers

CASTING WINNERS

Trophies, Banana Rods products, Wiley X sunglasses, chance to win the Ferrari or 2x land Rovers

EVENT RECORD

Skarp bait boat, Wiley Xsunglasses, Dynamite Baits sponsorship for 1 year and the opportunity to work closely with the team,chance to win the Ferrari or 2x Land Rovers

If you participate and are placed in the top three of this year’s event, catch the biggest fish, win a section or win the Team prize you could become the proud owner of either the Ferrari or two Land Rovers.

The winners of these event categories will be asked to select one envelope in which one WILL have the registration of a car in it. The person who draws that one envelope will remain on stage to draw from one of 100 envelopes – if the registration number inside matches the one you hold, you will become the owner of a Ferrari or one of the two Land Rovers!

As we do not know which continent or country the winner will be from we have an agreement with a UK Ferrari dealer to source and deliver either a Ferrari or the Land Rovers directly to you. The value of this prize is a maximum of £100,000! * Allocation of prizes will apply Section D - Allocation of the prizes in official rules and Terms & Conditions

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

A message from the Mayor of Bolsena

‘‘

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‘‘

Welcome to Bolsena Looking at Bolsena and its lake, the largest in Europe of volcanic origin, you will quickly get the impression that nature is committed in making this unique land, a place where the main elements are fused together by building a unique landscape.

On the threshold of the history of the Villanovan civilization, founded by the waters on opposite sides, were two large inhabited places in Etruscan times.

The lake was fought over between two major cities/ state of Vulci and Volsini were born here and the lives of Santa Cristina and Amalasunta, queens of the Lombards, came to an end.

Here they passed along the Via Francigena pilgrimage route and many great personalities of the Middle Ages paused here.

Bolsena, made famous ​​ by the Eucharistic Miracle (1263) in Corpus Christie, then dominated by the Monaldeschi family, ennobled by artists and monuments desired by Giovanni de Medici, and surrounded by lush vegetation, can be considered the “Lady of the Lake” while offering the opportunity to practice different kinds of sports, hiking, hunting and the enjoyment of countless views.

To you, as mayor, I open the doors of my city, proud to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Carp Classic 2013 at our Teatro di San Francesco.

I welcome you on behalf of myself, the Administration and citizenship of Bolsena, the organizer Mr. Ross Honey, his collaborators, all the staff and the participants, and Media aware of this international event.

I wish all teams’ successful fishing, in respect of our environment and traditions, but also moments of joy and conviviality in the name of our most cordial reception.

‘‘

‘‘

Benvenuti a Bolsena Osservando Bolsena ed il suo lago, il più grande in Europa di origine vulcanica, si ha subito l’impressione che la natura si sia impegnata nel rendere questa terra unica: un luogo dove i principale elementi si sono fusi insieme costruendo un panorama irripetibile.

Alle soglie della storia la civiltà dei VILLANOVIANI fondò presso le acque di rive opposte due grandi abitati, in epoca etrusca il lago fu conteso tra due grandi città/ stato di Vulci e di Volsini, qui nacquero ed ebbero fine le vite di Santa Cristina e di Amalasunta, regine dei Longobardi, qui passarono lungo la via FRANCIGENA del pellegrinaggio e sostarono grandi personaggi del Medioevo. Bolsena, resa celebre dal MIRACOLO EUCARISTICO (1263) del CORPUS DOMINI, poi dominata dalla famiglia dei Monaldeschi, nobilitata dagli artisti e dai monumenti voluti da Giovanni de Medici, ed immersa in una lussureggiante vegetazione, può essere considerata la “Signora del Lago”, offrendo anche la possibilità di praticare diversi tipi di sport, fare escursioni, ricercare e godere di innumerevoli panorami. A voi, come primo cittadino, apro le porte della mia città, orgoglioso di ospitare l’apertura e la chiusura della manifestazione del WORLD CARP CLASSIC 2013 presso il nostro Teatro San Francesco. Porgo il benvenuto a nome mio, dell’Amministrazione, della cittadinanza bolsenese, all’organizzatore Mr. Ross Honey, ai suoi collaboratori, lo staff tutto, ai partecipanti, ai Media, consapevole dell’importanza internazionale dell’evento. Auguro a tutte le squadre una pesca fruttuosa, nel rispetto del nostro ambiente e tradizioni, ma anche momenti di allegria e convivialità all’insegna della nostra più cordiale accoglienza.

Translated from the Mayor of Bolsena’s welcome

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Spotlight on

Bolsena

Dominated by a fortress standing proud above the Old Town, historic Bolsena will be the nerve centre of the World Carp Classic 2013

B

olsena town is dominated by the fortress Rocca Monaldeschi, a symbol of the powerful family that ruled the area during the 14th century.

Since then the old district has changed very little and is still very much as it was.

The lakeside area only began to be developed over the past 100 years or so, when an avenue of plane trees was planted to encourage people to spend more time by the beach.

Potted History: Ruins of a settlement dating back to pre-Roman times can be found on the hill above the old town. The Romans razed this to the ground and evicted its

citizens. Under Roman rule the town flourished and to mark its importance an amphitheatre was built, which can still be seen today.

The most famous citizen was Saint Cristina for whom a church was built to celebrate her martyrdom.

The oldest parts date from the 3rd century after which Bolsena became an important place of pilgrimage in its own right.

Around Town: The Town of Bolsena will be the focal point for a number of important factors during the World Carp Classic 2012 with the Event HQ and Media Centre located there.

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Spotlight on Bolsena

Bolsena.. has a magnificently eclectic array of architecture The Town Square: At the designated times, Contestants will be directed from the Town Square to the start of the Flag Parade which will conclude outside for the Official Competitors group photo.

The Church of St. Francesco, built in the main piazza of Bolsena, is a Gothic construction of the 12th century. It is now the unusual home of the town theatre and cinema… this will be the building we will be using for the World Carp Classic Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

For all designated times please refer to the Event Itinerary.

Interesting Facts: Strange but true… Lake Bolsena experiences visible (so called) “sesse”, which are unexpected and unpredictable changes of the water level. Sesse are very similar to tides and have been mistaken for such.

More frequent than sesse, there are the “anomaly waves”. Originally inexplicable, it presents itself very big and quickly increases ‘til breaking down on the shore. The anomaly wave appears to be the product of climatic spikes in areas of high and low altitude, and is something more normally associated with coastal areas where land meets the seas and oceans.

MARTA

Located on the south-western shore of Lake Bolsena, Marta has a pleasant ‘seaside resort’ feel to it, possibly due the presence of the many colourful boats belonging to the Lake’s professional fishing fleet.

Potted History: The earliest record of the village’s history dates from 726 when its name appears for the first time in a deed. There are some very interesting monuments to visit, in addition to the Clock Tower there is the Renaissance Palace of the Farnese family’s period and the Romanic Madonna del Monte Sanctuary, restored at the end of the fifteenth century.

Marta outlet: The Marta outlet, which leaves Lake Bolsena to the east of the community, is a river which empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea around 46kms away.

MONTEFIASCONE Set high atop a hillside overlooking Lake Bolsena from a south-eastern prospect, Montefiascone is steeped in history and certainly worth a visit during your stay.

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Potted History: Montefiascone is derived from ‘Falisci’ (Mons Faliscorum, “Mountain of the Falisci”). The first documents to mention this city are from 853, when it belonged to the bishop of Tuscania. After the 9th century, as a Papal possession, Montefiascone enjoyed its highest period of splendour as, with the Castle often the residence of Popes, it was consequently enlarged and embellished.

Sights: Montefiascone Cathedral: Dedicated to Santa Margherita, the cathedral was a ruin by 1330 and took three centuries to rebuild. The interior was elaborately restored once more in 1893.

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: The church of San Flaviano was built in 1032 and then enlarged in the Gothic style late in the 14th century.

Rocca dei Papi: The remains of the old Papal

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summer residence where, from the top of the hill, it provides a tremendous view over Lago di Bolsena.

Local Amenities: For those of you who require essential items of tackle or bait the good news is that you can obtain whatever you need in Montefiascone. FreeTime Bolsena is an excellent, fully stocked, tackle shop run by seasoned carp angler Paolo Chiovelli, and whether it’s a baiting needle or a bivvy, boat rental or battery charging, it’s all there, everything you need! Via Teverina, 10 Montefiascone 01027 Viterbo Tel. / Fax. 0761366361 PI 01697450565.

Interesting Facts: In the crypt of the church is the grave of a traveller who succumbed to excessive drinking of the local wine known as Est! Est!! Est!!! The story is that his valet, who preceded him on his journey, wrote “est” (Latin for “It is”) on the doors of all the inns where good wine was to be had, and here the inscription was thrice repeated.

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Gradoli.. home to a wonderful collection

of authentic traditional costumes and artefacts housed within its magnificent museum. Well worth a visit!

GRADOLI Gradoli is an attractive medieval village situated high to the northwest of Lake Bolsena in a hilly position from which it slopes gently towards the shore of Lake Bolsena.

The fertile lowland has allowed local agriculturists to cultivate grapevines and selected olives from which is produced respectively, the wines Aleatico and Grechetto as well as grappa and the finest extra virgin olive oil.

Gradoli.. From lofty positions overlooking Lake Bolsena, its ancient and architecturally magnificent buildings now provide splendid vistas of the area.

These views were originally focussed not on the aesthetically pleasing aspect they now possess, but for defensive strategy purposes

CAPODIMONTE Capodimonte sits on the south-west shore of Lake Bolsena, partly upon a promontory and partly on the flat plains on the northern side of the peninsula.

Potted History: Whilst the historic past of this captivating peninsula provides evidence of human presence dating as far back as the Palaeolithic period and further evidence of habitation in the villanovian, Etruscan and Roman ages, the newer section of town dates from medieval times onwards. As such, along with its modern day additions around the beachfront area, Capodimonte has a great deal to offer.

Bisentina isle: The Island covers 0.17 square km of surface area and provides an interesting excursion with a ferry service and guided tour operating daily. There are delightful views and numerous monuments, for

example the church of Santi Giacomo e Cristoforo of Vignola, the Franciscan convent and the valuable Rocchina, Santa Caterina temple.

In the mid 1200’s, the island became property of the Bisenzio family who burnt it out because of disputes then, in 1261 Pope Urbano IV conquered the isle again. However, in 1333 Ludovico il Bavaro destroyed it again. From 1400 it was property of the Farnese family and it enjoyed a period of prosperity.

Interesting Facts: In the Viterbo region, there are many natural spas’ that produce perfectly warm and stable water temperatures all year round.

These spa’s are likely to have been used from the dawn of human population in the area, and records show that they were popular with the Etruscans, long before any Roman habitation of the area.

Potted History: The principal monuments situated in the ancient village are the Church dedicated to Maddalena and the imposing Farnese Palace of the XVI century. The Church, with its Baroque façade, has a beautiful sixteenthcentury fresco representing the Madonna with the Child.

Construction of the Palace began in 1515 and was entrusted by the Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (then Paolo III) to Anthony da Sangallo the Younger.

It followed the fates of the illustrious family, and when the Dukedom of Castro fell, it gradually deteriorated.

Now, after recent restoration, its ancient shine has returned and it has become the municipal seat.

Interesting Facts: Gradoli was named because of a castle that was built there; the difficult to access castle could only be reached via a series of steps (in Latin, gradus), hence it was named, Gradoli.

Lake Bolsena is a crater lake of volcanic origin, formed 370,000 years ago following the collapse of a caldera of the Vulsini volcanic complex. Roman historic records indicate activity of the Vulsini volcano occurred as recently as 104 BC, since when it has been dormant.

Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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World Carp Classic Section Sponsors One of the very CC MOORE first aims for all & CO LTD competitors within SECTION SPONSOR the event, is to fish A hugely as well as they successful KLUBIS KARPUS JETFISH UK company, SECTION SPONSOR SECTION SPONSOR possibly can, and producing bait to the very A Lithuania based club The official Czech Republic World highest standards achievable. in winning their that brings together Carp Classic agent, Jetfish, has The continual development of fishermen, with its main respective sections the company’s highly acclaimed been a long term supporter of purpose to promote carp range of tried and tested products the Event as Section Sponsors. hope that their fishing, fishing culture and We welcome Jetfish back once is second to none. traditions in Lithuania, the more this year and we know www.ccmoore.com progress on the promotion of environmental that the company will continue ideas, organize fishing to be successful because of its leaderboard may PVTV competitions and to outstanding products.

SECTION be enough to claim represent the team, club and www.jetfish.cz SPONSOR country in competitions. the prestigious & MEDIA www.carpfishing.lt PARTNER title of World Carp Relentlessly, over Classic Champions. land and water, on our constantly The first step on the renewing channel we join forces way to claiming that with masters of their craft, to PESCALIS BIG FISH bring quality entertainment. Our & SUPPORT SECTION SPONSOR title has to be to win many years of experience are the SECTION SPONSOR A large and reputable Italian that your screen will the section, but there guarantee As both Section Sponsor and based distribution company, always be full of adventure and Magazine Sponsor Pescalis team up once more with the UK excitement. www.pvtv.ro is no doubt about has a strong link with the World based Richworth Baits, a family Carp Classic. The French resort, the high-status of run business who believe that only Pescalis, is the premier centre for the finest ingredients produce a Section win in international nature and fishing top quality baits, hence their and is set in the ideal location for statement ” Where quality counts its own right, with both individual and family holidays. “. www.richworth.com www.pescalis.com some outstanding ATT SBS Sponsors prizes SECTION SPONSOR TACTICAL awarded to the The UK based company remains BAITS fully focused in bringing original successful teams.

SECTION and useful products to the table. ATT products speak for themselves and the company’s reputation for quality, functionality and reliability is renowned across the world. www.attackle.com

NORTHERN BAITS SECTION SPONSOR

Producing top quality baits and ground-baits for carp, coarse and sea fishing, and located on Norway’s West Coast, close to some of the most advanced fish processing plants in the world, they specialize in utilizing ingredients, stimulants and attractors developed by the Norwegian fish farming industry. www.northernbaits.com

SPONSOR

A company that was established on the very cusp of modern day carp angling and bait production. Led and owned by Zoltan Kovaks, the company has expanded its range of products and also its facilities which are top drawer. SBS bait was use by the 2012 champions! www.sbsbaits.net

For all sections, please check on a local map 18

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or

ap

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

CARP ‘R’ US

SECTION SPONSOR

SPOMB

SECTION SPONSOR The UK based company Spomb, was launched in 2010 and has taken the industry by storm ever since their products first introduction. Unrivalled as a bait delivery system, the Spomb is now produced in two colours and sizes. www.spomb.com The company that delivers.

A highly innovative UK based company producing tackle founded and inspired by Ray Dale-Smith. During the past few years, Carp r Us International has concentrated on a range of products specifically for those large Continental Carp. www.carprus.eu

ROD HUTCHISON SECTION SPONSOR

CLUB CARPING

SECTION SPONSOR In their second year as Section Sponsors, Romanian based Carping Club offer a fantastic and interesting selection of bait, made in collaboration with Gabi Tomulescu, and other products from leading companies. www.carpingclub.ro

IMPERIAL BAITS SECTION SPONSOR

Imperial Baits Carptrack products and Imperial Fishing Tackle are made for maximum fishing success. Successful since 2003 in 18 countries with the finest carp food and high quality tackle. Carptrack boilies have the best image due to great results by thousands of carp anglers European wide. www.imperial-baits.eu

Rod Hutchinson himself needs no introduction as he is without question one of the finest exponents of the sport around.

Rod is world famous for his angling prowess and Rod’s company speaks for itself likewise. www.rodhutchinson.co.uk

SOLAR TACKLE

SECTION SPONSOR UK based Solar Tackle are one of the most innovative and proactive companies on the world stage.

Founded, owned and run by Martin Locke, a highly regarded carp angler, the company builds on its success year after year, further extending its highly impressive range of tackle and bait. www.solartackle.co.uk

or refer to our Guide to Bolsena on Centre Pages Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce all of our Support Sponsors for our 2013 event at Bolsena, and thank them for their continued support

PESCALIS

SUPPORT SPONSOR

The French Premier nature and international fishing center, welcomes anglers all year round in the heart of Deux-Sèvres, in Moncoutant in PoitouCharentes. A new concept of resort that brings together all the pleasures of fishing and ecotourism in an area of over 150 hectares. Pescalis continues to support the World Carp Classic by being section sponsors and magazine sponsor. www.pescalis.com

CARP CONNECTIONS

SUPPORT PARTNER & TEAM SPONSOR Carp Connections have been associated with the Event for many years as we believe it helps us to promote our company, bait, and our flagship, Pure Fishing Resorts Du Der as the best all-round carp-angling venue in the whole of France. www.carpconnections.nl

World Carp Classic

REUBEN HEATON

SUPPORT, SIGN & TROPHY SPONSOR We are very pleased to announce that we will be the official Scales and Signage sponsor for the World Carp classic again this year. We have supported the event every year from its inception as we see and appreciate the benefits to us in being associated with a such a major event.www. reubenheaton.co.uk

FEEDUP BAIT

SUPPORT SPONSOR

BANANA RODS

BIGGEST FISH SPONSOR

Banana Rods, a business formed by two friends who shared a passion for quality tackle, is a company based on a vision and turned into reality. Banana Rods offers 100% handmade rods constructed from the best components available in the industry. www.bananarods.com

Never Sleep, is our strap-line. The boilies are the flagship of the range of products and are the culmination of our company policy: quality without compromise. We do not follow the logic of the industry market but only and exclusively the taste of carp. www.feedup.it

RAYMARINE

SUPPORT SPONSOR UK based company, Raymarine, produce an amazing array of top quality products such as fish finders, echo sounders and boat security equipment. Our world-class test facilities put products through their paces on your behalf; we test components to their limit so you don’t have to find out those limits the hard way. Ray Marine is the Official Event provider of Night Vision Equipment for the Marshal Team, and Event Prizes. www.raymarine.co.uk

CYGNET TACKLE SUPPORT SPONSOR

The big fish tripod. Complete stability is achieved via a pressed and moulded aluminium block. Fully adjustable legs, extending from 48” to 90” will allow clearance of even the largest of weigh slings for an accurate reading. We are the Official Event Tri-pod supplier for this year’s Marshal Team. www.cygnettackle.co.uk

HOBIE

SUPPORT SPONSOR Hobie have added pedal-driven flippers to their enclosed hull kayak design enabling hands-free propulsion to drive the craft through the water.

The sturdily constructed mechanism operates like a penguin’s fins, swinging laterally underneath the hull to produce surprisingly fast forward momentum.

Hobie will be providing Kayaks for the gladiator games and event control. www.hobie-kayak.com

CARPCROSSING.COM SUPPORT SPONSOR

Carpcrossing.com is a relatively new but very popular website for carp anglers with a wealth of information, features and blogs. Carpcrossing. com will be providing online support. www.carpcrossing.com

TRAKKER PRODUCTS SUPPORT SPONSOR

CARP AFRIQUE

SUPPORT SPONSOR

We offer anglers the chance to fish at two of the most beautiful venues in South-Africa, the Tzaneen and the Doorndraai Dams. Experience the thrill of catching really big Carp while enjoying the African bush and its game. www.carp-afrique.com

Our aim is simple; to continue to provide a range of angling products that are innovative in design, stylish and value for money. Our commitment means you can be assured that Trakker will continue to manufacture and deliver the best quality products for many years to come. Trakker will be providing all of the Event Official Weigh Slings www.trakkerproducts.co.uk

CYGNET TACKLE SUPPORT SPONSOR

We are an online clothing, tackle and bait store based in Germany. The company has designed and produced a range of clothing for the Official 15th Anniversary Event. www.catchandrelease-shop.de

DAVID COATES (ARTIST)

SUPPORT SPONSOR

P&O FERRIES

BLACK CAT

CARPSPOT. DE

P&O Ferries are our preferred travel Partner and offer reduced cost ferry travel to all Competitors. www.poferries.com/tourist

German based Black Cat, producers of a wide range of top quality catfish tackle, will provide the Event distance markers to delineate the maximum range at which baits can be placed. www.team-black-cat.com

Carpspot.de will be providing underwater cameras to capture footage that will broadcast live, as it happens across the world via the WCC-TV livestream channel. www.carpspot.de

SUPPORT SPONSOR

EVENT PARTNER

SUPPORT SPONSOR

HERTZ

SUPPORT SPONSOR Hertz, the world famous vehicle hire specialist are the Official van and team car hire sponsors for the Event. www.hertz.co.uk

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David joined us as a support sponsor for the first time in 2012 and will be providing a very special and unique prize for the World Carp Classic Champions in the form of an original painting of the winners to commemorate the occasion. www.tcart.co.uk

S

c

Support Sponors INTERNATIONAL PAIRS SUPPORT SPONSOR

International Pairs, the UK based International Event Organisation company is supplying golf products to be offered as prizes for the event. www.golffrontiers.com

MAPPA

SUPPORT SPONSOR

Notably, Mappa got behind our ‘friends of’ environmental projects from the very start, providing specialist gloves to all of the helpers. Mapa Professionnel produces gloves of all shapes, finishes and materials throughout the world More than one million gloves are manufactured daily and sold across five continents. www.mapa-pro.com

SUPPORT SPONSOR

Diamondbaits offers a line of innovative products for environmentally sustainable fishing in respecting the environment and those who use it. The Italian based company, Diamond Baits, will be providing bait for the event prize table. www.diamondbaits.it

SUPORT SPONSOR

At OKI, we create unique, award-winning business printing solutions which empower organizations to communicate more effectively. www.okiprintingsolutions.com

SUPPORT SPONSOR

SUPPORT SPONSOR

DIAMOND BAITS

OKI

WILEY X

SECOND-HAND PHONES Second-hand Phones are the chosen company to provide smart phones for the event marshal team to use when sending data and images to HQ for the live leaderboard. www.second-handphones.com

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

CANARY ISLAND TOURS SUPPORT SPONSOR

Carp fishing holidays on the Island of Gran Canaria. We have been established for 9 years and have fished the lakes here for 21 years.

We have an exclusive lakeside resort in the mountains which offers luxury apartments or you can choose to bivvy up on the lakeside. www.costadelcarping.com

Wiley X will be providing a fantastic selection of their top of the range, highly desirable sunglasses as prizes in their role as Official eyewear sponsors. www.wileyx.com

MECCANICA VADESE SUPPORT SPONSOR

We are located in Fossombrone, Italy, and produce top quality handcrafted rod pods. There are three models in their range: Nick’ 95, Tech-Nick’ 95, and the Evolution.This year’s champions will each receive one as part of their prize. www.meccanicavadese.it

FREETIME BOLSENA SUPPORT SPONSOR

SHUTTLEWORTH

EVENT SUPPORT TEAM

It is impossible to overstate how vitally important to the success of the competition these young men and women are. Along with their Tutors as team leaders, the students of Shuttleworth College help to ensure that the tournament runs smoothly and efficiently. www.shuttleworth.ac.uk

We are situated in Montifiascone just a short distance from the banks of the Mighty lake. To compliment the array of tackle, bait and sundries, our shop is run by the very experienced local angler Paulo Chiovelli, providing several services of interest to the travelling angler. On site fishing equipment will be available in bivvy city and local support also provided by Freetime. www.freetimebolsena.com

SOLENT

SUPORT SPONSOR

Dynamic, exciting and at the forefront of media production and education, the Solent Media School have joined us this year as a media partner. www.solent.ac.uk

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Northern Baits:

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

There’s nothing quite like it!

N

selected and proven spices are added, some to aid digestion, others for attraction. «The Frank», like some other fish meal baits is a boilie that somehow seem to be able to pick out the bigger fish...

orthern Baits was established in 2011, in Haugesund Norway

by Sturla Fjellvang, Henrik Hansen and Kenneth Nordhus.

With our location on the Norwegian west coast we are close to some of the most advanced fish processing industry in the world and have access to absolutely fresh ingredients of the highest quality. By buying these ingredients directly from the factories we also can keep the prices on an acceptable level.

Our countrys huge fish farming and fish feed industry also makes Norway leading in feed technology with a massive amount of research on fish feed, feed stimulators and fish health.

We have close connections to some of the leading scientists on these fields and we use their knowledge to make innovative baits from the finest ingredients available.

Our baits are made solely to catch the fish and not the angler. Whilst many seem to make copies of existing baits and base their recipes on myths, artificial flavours and old wives tales Northern Baits have chosen a scientific approach. Quality ingredients has its price and our boilies is not the cheapest on the shelf, but in our case you actually get what you pay for.

We believe that what you get out of the lake depends on what you put into the lake.

There is 3 different boilies in the Northern Baits range:

Off Season: Norwegian summers are short The Krillers: Our best selling boilie. We

started making those in 2011, before krill was the next ‘big thing’.

High in krill meal, krill hydrolysate, LT94, milk proteins and predigested fish meal this boilie has a very high nutritional value and an instant attraction without any artificial flavours added.

Our bold statement is that «The Krillers» have a higher krill content than any other boilie in the market and this, combined with a few special attractants have made it a bait that has caught everywhere it goes. From Rainbow lake to cold Norwegian lakes and from German canals to the river Ebro the Kriller has proved to be superior.

The Frank: This boilie is named after and made in cooporation with our friend and notorious big fish catcher Frank ‘The Frank’ Mielenbrink.

It is made with 50% high quality fish meal a mix between LT94 and predigested milk proteins and hydrolized salmon. Some

‘We have close connections to some of Norways’ leading scientists and we use their knowledge to make innovative baits from the finest ingredients’

and this boilie is designed for cooler water.

An easily digested boilie high in water soluble proteins, and milk with added minerals and spices that is known for pulling in winter carp. Birdfood and hemp adds fiber to ease digestion and opens the structure of the boilie to release attractants.

The light brown colour fades fast as liquids flow out and creates a trail of smell for the carp to home in on. The fading gives the boilie a light colour making it very visible in the water.

Perfect for late autumn, winter and early spring but still catches more than its fair share in the warm summer nights.

The Future ..

Northern Baits are always researching new baits and we now have the honour of working with one of the worlds leading experts on fish olifactory.

Together with him we have created a bait with a new, scientifically proven attractor package that has shown some astonishing results in the pre-tests. This is something we really have great belief in and thou the result might turn out be the most expensive bait in the world we think the results will make it worth it on these special occations.

We also have a few other innovative tricks up our sleeve and we hope to help a lot of anglers catch a lot of fish in the future.

Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Game for a

There’s one annual event held during the World Carp Classic that strikes fear among the hardest of anglers – an event that separates the men from the boys, the weak from the strong and has been known to drive many to drink (which to be fair, isn’t hard at the Classic). Behold the terrifying Gladiator Games – come and join if you think you’re hard enough!

S

pecial significance projects itself again this year with the Event being held in Italy, and so close to Rome where 42 different Roman Emperors witnessed the carnage at the Roman Coliseum.

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Let’s consider that for a just a moment; The first recorded gladiatorial fight was staged in 264AD when three pairs of slaves were selected to fight at the funeral of a prominent Roman. Back then, Gladiator games were seen as a method to appease the Roman gods and avert Rome from disaster. The last known gladiator fight took place in the city of Rome on January 1, 404 AD, an incredible 140 years after its bloody inception.

Hopefully, there will be no blood spilled in our light-hearted and fun-filled event, and of course, we don’t expect that our gladiators will wish to fight to the death either. Thumbs down to that! (haha). But be warned, though, as we are sure that Hans Sissingh will expect

r a laugh

his pound of flesh when he puts competitors through their paces in a typically madcap array of challenges. This unashamedly wacky event will include all manner of crazy themes and it is certainly a spectacle not to be missed even if you only want to watch. It’s easy to enter and there will be some great prizes awarded to the victorious combatants.

The games are organised for those participants within the World Carp Classic Team Event (the 6-man sponsors teams), but anyone who can organise a team of 6 gladiators can enter. The proviso to that, however, is that there will be a limited number of teams allowed, so please be quick if you want to enter! – Please organise your team of 6 and go to HQ to register it in good time.

This year, as the beachfront of Valdisole is exclusive to the World Carp Classic, we encourage you all to make the most of it!

Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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In an ideal world, each and every one of you would catch that fish of a lifetime while competing in the World Carp Classic, but the reality is, the majority won’t and we should focus on simply enjoying every moment of our time fishing and catching what we can‌ except bream perhaps!

Hans

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Sissingh

A kid in a candy store

B

eing the manager of Carp Connections Holidays & Events, it makes me have to choose between running my holiday venues and running angling events like ‘Tour de Carpe’, ‘Summer Carp Camp’, ‘The Dutch Qualifier WCC’ and ‘The Gladiator games WCC’.

These all became part of our core business, and in sponsoring, competing and helping where possible to organize these it became one of our major marketing tools too.

When I chose to become involved in running events I always had to make up my mind whether to fish or to use my time to market the business. That’s also where the trouble started. Each and every venue where the WCC was organized was a great challenge to fish. When I first competed at Madine in 2000 I was aware that my time would be better placed to organize my marketing but, the angler in me meant that I had to fish just this one event...

The year after, I decided not to compete but to become an event sponsor and organize part of the ‘Little Madine’ kids event. The result was that two touring cars with competitors drove down to the freshwater reservoir, Madine. Then the event had to move venues, no one was happy, everyone was worried. Then, when the announcement was made that the event was moving to ‘Lac Amance’ for 3 years, it eased our worries.

Carp Connections had become the agent for all of the BeNeLux countries and Germany and we decided to do our very best to find as many participants as we could. That year, 2001, stays in my memory, as I decided not to fish for this first year on a new venue and instead promote the Dutch, entering the event.

The result was great, with Thierry Stunnenberg and Richard Bredebeek winning the event!

Then, in 2003 Ross asked me to fish with someone from the press, Parry Vermeulen from VIP media. Not a bad choice and with a 47 lbs mirror and a 36 lbs linear for Parry we came 2nd in the event, missing out by just 12 pounds to win it… what a year, what a souvenir! After that, Amance had to be replaced with a new venue, as the company policy had become ‘to stay no longer than 3 years in a row on one venue’. The news that we had to move to the mighty Orient scared me and not only me, plenty of us.

A very hard water with limited accessible bank space, poor road access and limited facilities… this one was not going to be easy on Mr Honey and his crew! Knowing and loving the Orient, I made up my mind to fish the event from the first year, deciding to invite Michel Rolf the manager of my brand new Basic Instinct Bait factory. How to get my marketing right had become routine, so I trusted to do both, sponsor, market and enter a team of 3 pairs.

This was the year when the idea of using FM radio to communicate to the competitors instead of Walkies Talkies or Navicoms was

We can but live in hope..“One day my dream will become reality, Ross, one day!” conceived but it only became a reality years later! Also, the second year I fished the event, entering two teams (6 pairs), and I was lucky to draw Michelin point on the opposite bank of Jean Pierre Becker who won the event.

I invited my friend Koos Walters to join me - Koos managed Lac de Villedon for me and he had just started KGB baits. From there, because Orient proved not to be a good competition venue, it was decided to relocate the event and return to Madine. Happily knowing the venue so well, everything was routine a things just fell into place. I decided as an extra ‘gig’ to not only sponsor the team competition, but also organize the “Gladiator Games” as an additional marketing tool for those who had entered the team competition.

Ever since, the Gladiator side-event has been a great success.

2008 at Madine was also the year to kick off “Isis radio” FM Radio Madine.

For those who remember, “Gooood mooorning Madine” the breakfast show, “What are you doing on the roof” the hourly news break and adverts-block, “Sunshine reggae” by my mate Mehmet, Robs “Radio Germany Schlager show”, Robert Valkeneer’s interviews’ with “VIP’s on the bank” and other funny items provided us all with some great listening. It’s a shame that the commerce didn’t make it possible to continue this great additional entertainment that we enjoyed so much, we simply didn‘t sell enough commercials to make it happen guys!

The second year my team Carp Connections mate Axel Wacker produced the current WCC record of a 63.5lbs mirror. Not bad for the team competition too! The last year at Madine I was lucky to fish with my regular mate at the Catfish Classic, Mark Huizinga, a former judo champ and great fisherman. In the Carp Classic we both produced some good fish and ended somewhere in upper 20 list.

Is there any venue after Madine? I had some

doubts. 3 years and again 3 even better years made this venue the perfect one... But then again the WCC team had gained experience too!

Ross called me up: “Hans, you won‘t believe this... I have a huge volcano in the middle of Italy full of carp, great facilities etc etc”. Ross had done it again, this one will be very special, risky, but the man can do it, I trust! The first year on another new venue and again, I had to make a decision... it was a tough choice to make, but no fishing for me this year, let’s work! I made a deal with several media in which Karper magazine produced an 8 page exclusive report.

I organized the Gladiator games on a new venue and also entered 2 teams on behalf of Carp Connections.

‘I will fish the event, enjoy fishing Bolsena for the first time and trust my marketing will function by getting us on that stage again!’

The 2013 anniversary… it will be a busy year for Carp Connections for the same reason as the WCC - we exist for 15 years!

Anyhow, working at Bolsena last year made me realize this anniversary is to be enjoyed, so let’s party and go crazy. I will fish the event, enjoy fishing Bolsena for the first time and trust that my marketing will function by getting us on stage again! And of course, we will challenge you all to take us on in the Gladiator Games and we will kick ass at the Carp Connections Beach within bivvy city!

To all of the competitors, my old friends, former winners, those who have signed up for so long now and all of the WCC crew, good luck with this anniversary match!

I am looking forward meeting you in Italy.

Hans Sissinigh

Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Carp Connections Pure Fishing Resort Du Der

O

ver the past 20 years I have perhaps fished on 40 different venues around Europe, mostly in France, with a good number being in and around the fantastic Marne Valley.

As is the case with the creation of all ancient river valleys, in prehistoric times the river Marne was substantially larger than it is today.

Along the centuries, this once immense river carved out an impressive valley basin of huge proportions, passing through the heart of what is now known today as the champagne region of France. The vast expanse of gravel deposits created by that primeval river system has served France very well in more recent times. The extensive excavation of this gravel has in turn resulted in the creation of a great number of highly popular gravel-pit carp lakes, particularly to the south-east of Vitry-le-François.

Among the more recently developed venues in this region is the Pure Fishing Resort du Der, a complex which, under the management of Hans Sissingh of Carp Connections, is conceptually different from any venue that I have fished previously. Hans suggests, “The focus of our plan is to create a complex where a very specific balance exists between the number of anglers and the fish. We desire to provide top quality fishing that also considers greatly the health and welfare of the stock.” This will be somewhere that, we believe, anglers will be able to appreciate the capture of credible and healthy stock in a much more fish-friendly environment than is normally encountered” Hans spoke very passionately and at length about his aims for the project and I was left in no doubt whatsoever that it will succeed. With a reduced number of anglers and a correctly balanced stock level, the fish will thrive very well.

Both the anglers and carp will benefit from this in several ways; taking the 30-acre Berkley Lake as an example, with an average of 3-acres of water per swim, the total stock of 400 carp provides an average of 40 carp in front of each of its 10 swims.

To further demonstrate the point, the 12-acre Yateley Sandhurst Lake in England is said to hold a stock of 500 carp, and with its 30 swims providing less than 0.5 of an acre per swim, it represents a figure of 125 fish per every 3-acres… which is over three times the level of Berkeley Lake. No further explanation should be required to demonstrate the benefits of a healthy biomass that allows for good growth rates and avoids creating a stress-filled existence with a daily struggle to avoid capture whilst attempting to fill an unnaturally hungry belly.

Pure Magic!

Steve Howard, earned this fantastic trip to the Carp Connections venue when he and his Black Cat team won the Team Event in the 2012 World Catfish Classic

Another interesting concept that Hans proposes for the complex is to retain its open nature, devoid of large stands of trees which could seriously hamper wind assisted oxygenation of the lakes.

I can certainly appreciate this aspect and it was very noticeable that the carp in Berkeley Lake appreciated it too. During our session, my good friend Jeff and I were subjected to frequent changes in wind direction and it was very evident that the carp responded instantly, gravitating to a windward aspect as soon as even the smallest winds occurred.

Of course, being October, some of these winds were uncomfortable icy blasts, driving rain into us horizontally and enforcing prolonged periods of much needed shelter. However, it became very noticeable that each time we took to cover when the wind hacked into us, we were quickly back out in the elements to deal with yet another angry carp that had moved in and found our baits!

Jeff had been first to register a carp, and Hans on hand.. If there’s a job needed to be done, chop chop!

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indeed the second. Both fish were caught on single hook baits (SBS Ace Lobworm) before I managed to tempt a plump mid 20 on day 2 from my baited area. Confident that my area would produce dividends, I perhaps overlooked the significance of Jeff’s third fish, a nice 32lb mirror again caught on a single hook-bait.

However, when my second fish came to a single hook-bait (Ace Lobworm) on day three, despite a (fishless) spell of aerial acrobatics over my baited area, I began to reassess my tactics.

The most successful approach appeared to be in using single hook-baits, with my bed of bait now being rendered ineffective due to the constant wind changes, which kept the fish on the move.

I decided to leave one rod on the baited area and allow the carp to mop up whatever bait remained and place the other bait elsewhere.

My thinking was that as carp had visited and fed over this spot, they would return to find little else but my hook-bait, a 30mm M1 wafter. The other rod (I only ever fish with two rods) was cast out with a 20mm M1 wafter hook-bait and duly produced a nice 24lb common on the following morning. My distance rod, I’m pleased to say, produced a nice 26lb mirror, convincing me that my new tactics were sound.

That process was repeated for the remainder

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

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ic of our week and produced on par with Jeff’s rods, two of which Jeff fished along the margin and one he used as a roving rod, all with Ace Lobworm single hook baits. Although on this occasion I went with the going method, personally, I somewhat dislike using only single hook-baits on the basis that the fish aren’t getting any value out of it. So, with that in mind I fed a spot along my margin with particle and boilies, as did Jeff, so that at some point the fish could enjoy hassle free feeding at their leisure.

Midweek saw a few good fish caught by the only other anglers on Berkeley Lake at that point, with two young Dutch guys banking two fish of 16kg and 18kg.

The very last of their total of 10 fish was a cracking mirror, just a shade over 22kg, which was a new PB for its captor, Koen Septer. Koen and Tijs angled well for their result, recognising and taking advantage of the situation unfolding in front of them as a series of strong southerly winds saw feeding fish stacked up along their near margin. Hans confirmed that the last fish was yet another new 20kg+ carp for Berkeley Lake and almost, bar a few ounces, a new 50lb fish.

With a nice run of mid 20’s gracing my mat, I could only feel that old lady luck just wasn’t

quite on my side where catching a bigger fish was concerned but, with one night left to go the ATT on my distance rod indicated that my bait had been snaffled. Lifting into the fish I instantly recognised that it was a better stamp of carp.

The 30mm SBS M1 wafter boilie had done the business and, to my delight after an epic battle under the rod tip, a fine 34lb 8oz mirror slipped over the cord.

All things being considered, the inclement and, at times, extremely inhospitable weather conditions could have easily seen us suffer a fishless week.

Casting my mind back to other such weeks I was very pleased to have caught the good number of fish that I did because, as we all know, carp can be fickle creatures at the best of times. In all honesty, for us to have banked a few nice fish, under the given circumstances it has to be considered a good result.

This had been only the second occasion that I had used SBS Tactical Bait Products since last using the magnificent SBS Strawberry Jam, over 25 years ago. On both of these recent sessions I am pleased to say that the SBS bait worked extremely well. On the first occasion we won our section in the World Carp Classic, and

First resort.. (top) One of the fully equipped, spacious In conclusion, Pure Fishing Resort du Der, lodges. (middle) Dutch Berkeley Lake had been generous to us and with the excellent facilities on site it has angler Koen Septer to be said that I was greatly impressed by with the lakes first the whole package. ever 50+.

From the spacious under cover bar and (bottom) Steve barbeque area, the superb, spacious shower Howard with a nice block and toilet facilities, to the truly outstanding looking 35lb+ Mirror chalets with comprehensive facilities, the Pure Fishing Resort du Der is without doubt the best carp. here on Berkley, we caught very well in terrible conditions. I don’t need to say much else as the bait speaks for me!

venue of this type that I have ever encountered, and by a considerable margin.

I have no qualms at all in highly recommending this venue to anyone. It is a very professionally run and maintained complex that genuinely has a great deal to offer. This is especially true for those anglers who want to experience a little more comfort, fishing with friends and family from one of the superb, well equipped and spacious angling lodges.

Steve Howard

Pure Fishing Resort Du Der: For more information and booking, please visit www.carpconnections.nl SBS Tactical Bait Products: For more information please visit www.sbsbaits.co.uk or to go to the main website please use www.sbsbaits.hu

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012 On the cusp of the15th Anniversary of the biggest and most prestigious carp angling event, Ross Honey, its founder and organisor, reflects back on how his vision became reality.

Who would have believed that this would be a good idea without any prior knowledge of carp angling? Not many, we would suggest, apart from the intrepid Ross Honey‌

In the

beginning ..there was Ross

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1998

Magnificent Madine.. The spiritual home of the World Carp Classic

I

have always loved being outdoors.

I guess that is why the two sports that I avidly pursued have been golf and fishing.

Having been sent to France for many summers as a boy, I gained a strong knowledge of the French language and on the strength of that, I got a job working for a French cross channel shipping company where I stayed for 19 years. I always had lots of Ideas on how to develop different business opportunities or set up new systems and, the longer I stayed with the company, the bigger the ideas.

One day I went to see my boss at the time, and said “I have done some research and I believe there is a great opportunity to set up a golf program from the UK to France” Eventually, I managed to convince him that it was not just an excuse for me to go and play golf but a real opportunity to create a good sustainable business. His words to me were “I will give you a desk and a telephone, but there is no marketing budget. Let’s see if you can make it work.”

Three years later I had created a business taking over 10,000 golfers a year to play golf in France.

Now, I have always been very principled, and after 19 years and on a matter of principle, I resigned from my position. With no company car, no expense account and no income, what was I going to do? I needed an office, but none of the rooms in my house were suitable so I went outside and passed the coal bunker. I found a big hammer and minutes later I was demolishing parts of the bunker and made my first office… It was just wide enough for a desk, a book case and a filing cabinet, I found an off cut of carpet and drilled a hole through the wall for the telephone wires from my kitchen and I was ready to work. So, how was I going to earn a living?

After countless ideas all based around events linked to golf, I thought ‘hang on a moment... I like fishing as well as golf, how about a fishing event… but what sort of fishing event?’ ‘You know about organising events, but you have never organised a fishing event before!’

I don’t so small, so I decided to contact Angling Times and run an international fishing festival.

The plan was for English anglers to fish in France for 3 days, but not really knowing what type of fishing event to run, I decided to run

several at the same time.

Imagine the scene; 140 anglers all transported on the same ferry to Le Havre, turning up at a locked gate to the entrance to some small ponds in Northern France and me, on my own, directing the Match anglers, Pleasure anglers and Specimen anglers scattered all over, simultaneously!

The Match and Pleasure anglers had hotel accommodation booked locally. Meanwhile, the Specimen anglers asked where they should go, so I directed them to the woods and mounds and off they went, complete with tents, cooking equipment and vast quantities of alcohol.

Later that day, at the start of the Match and Pleasure fishing event, the heavens opened up and the wind reached gale force. I will never forget the sight of the Match anglers, sitting a few feet apart on a totally exposed part of the lake, not being able to keep their lines in the water and having to make a hasty retreat as the waves pounded the shore. The Pleasure anglers, on the other hand, decided that they would be better off back at the hotel in the warm and dry.

Two days later that first ever fishing event came to an end. Both Match and Pleasure anglers were totally miserable, probably due to the horrid time they had. The Specimen anglers on the other hand were really happy, caught some huge fish called ‘carp’, and had a great time… and what’s more, they were great fun to be with.

Returning from that first fishing event rather battered and bruised – not physically but mentally – I questioned whether I wanted to repeat the experience. ‘Not likely! I will never organise another fishing event again’, I thought.

A few days later, back in my coal bunker, several letters arrived from the specimen anglers asking when the next trip would be and that they had really enjoyed the event. I was really touched by this and decided I would further look into what carp angling was all about.

Research led me to talking with lots of different people and companies, and as I believed carp angling was an up and coming sport, that’s when I made my mind up to create something special for carp angling that would be a true international annual celebration… and in 1998 the World Carp Classic was born.

Where it all began, crowning our first champion!

1998 heralded a new, embryonic event ambitiously named the World Carp Classic, a bold and daring statement of intent, perhaps?

This new event to the carp angling fraternity not only inspired anglers by its name, but backed up the audaciousness in being staged on the then, generally unknown but quietly reputed venue, Lac de Madine. Run as a singles match and fished from the bank only, the event was well supported and duly produced its first winner in the form of Paul Rayment of the U.K. Paul drove away after the prize giving in a brand new Rover car as reward for his efforts.

1998 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPION: Paul Rayment, England Weight: 127.15 lbs

BEST LADY:

Cathy Bell, England Weight: 30.3 lbs

BIGGEST FISH:

John Craven, England Weight: 49.5 lbs

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012

Crowning glory.. Dave Poxon &

Mark Redding crowned Champions

2000 RESULTS CHAMPIONS:

Paul Harrison & Paul Watts, England Weight: 81.3kgs

TEAM EVENT:

Team Cobra/GB Baits, England Weight: 114.3kgs With a successful and fruitful event now under its belt, the World Carp Classic became a pairs event when it returned to Lac de Madine the following year, in 2000, to further establish its presence on the world angling scene.

Madine had enjoyed a year of exposure following its raised profile, and the lake had become considerably more widely known attracting a steady succession of anglers from across Europe.

The Opening ceremony was moved to the big sports hall, where it would accommodate an increased number of participants from around the globe, and the event took its first tentative steps towards becoming a truly international competition. To augment the occasion, a casting competition and throwing stick challenge was introduced, and Frank Warwick, sporting a dashing ‘porn-star’

1999 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPIONS:

Dave Poxon & Mark Redding, England Weight: 188.10 lbs

TEAM EVENT CHAMPIONS: Carp World, England

BIGGEST FISH:

Colin Champion & Martin Cronin, Wales Weight: 46.5 lbs

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moustache provided a casting demonstration.

The world famous atmosphere that is now synonymous with the World Carp Classic may possibly have its roots linked with the Dutch contingent in attendance that year… By forming a ‘wagon-train’ style arrangement of bivvies and vehicles, the central area became the scene of a hog roast and the ensuing party from which it is reported, some participants are still recovering from! Fortunately, though, the only poor soul not to make it through the barbeque, was the hog!

When the event got underway a massive

2

What on earth are those mountains of equipment how on earth are we going to get that transported to the pegs in time for the start of the event Let’s make the World Carp Classic a pairs event that’s a much more friendly way to fish

storm moved in over Madine, with bolts of lightning and crashing thunder, it was more reminiscent of a major war scene, not a friendly gathering of anglers! Such storms have become a familiar occurrence during the events that have been held there, but this one was ‘special’! A U.K. participant, Paul Harrison, broke an ankle during the event but carried on fishing, ignoring doctors advice and the pain, but he and his teammate Paul Watts were deservedly rewarded when they won the event from the small island, and the British had chalked up another fine victory.

Lac Amance… phew, we only have to take 6 pairs to an Island, not 56 like at Madine. Shame it tipped down with rain and a lot of cars and vans got stuck in the mud

World Carp Classic goes Dutch The event caused a stir in the world of carp angling when it was announced that it would be moving to a much talked about Lac Amance, a venue known by European anglers to produce some very big carp.

At the opening ceremony, competitors were bemused by the presence of helium filled balloons suspended above each of their seats, but when asked to pop the said balloons, In a challenging contest, Stunnenberg and Bredenbeek from Holland became the first pair to win the event who were not from the UK and the Dutch team that they were a part of won the Pairs Event.

A clean sweep of titles for the Dutch that finally broke the apparent English stranglehold.

2001 RESULTS CHAMPIONS:

T. Stunnenberg & R. Bredenbeek, Holland Weight: 164.4kgs

TEAM EVENT:

Fisherman’s World, Holland Weight: 258.9kgs

BIGGEST FISH:

Sam Oakley & Barry Mann, England Weight: 21kgs (46.2lbs)

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2003 RESULTS CHAMPIONS: “There’s a big party on the little island Ross, and the mayor along with other officials would like to go and see the huge fish that has been caught… its nearly midnight, its pitch black, it’s over the other side of the lake, its muddy and the ladies have high heels”… Ross: “oh well, let’s go!”

Mark Gardner & Jo Gardner, England Weight: 67.35kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Hans Sissingh & P Vermeulen, Holland Weight: 21.6kg Hans, knees and.. the biggest fish. Happy times!

A clean sweep for the Brits For the first time in its short history, the World Cap Classic announced a Title Sponsor.

World Famous UK carp angler Rod Hutchinson placed his faith in the event and backed it by adding the weight of his renowned tackle and bait emporium. Mick Hinson and Tony Kirrage ran out as World Carp Classic champions 2004 and, in doing so, restored and reclaimed the bragging rights for UK anglers, much to the delight of the huge British contingency present.

2004 RESULTS CHAMPIONS: I had better let the competitors know at the opening ceremony that there are a lot of wild boar around the lake and to be careful at night… especially on one of the nights during the competition, as there is going to be a hunt.

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Mick Hinson & Tony Kirrage, England Weight: 85.35Kg

TEAM EVENT:

Birch Syndicate Carp Team, Wales Weight: 20.85Kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Brian Warwick & Michael Perry, Wales Weight: 11.85k

Rule Britannia.. English duo Mick Hinson & Tony Kirrage

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012

2006 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPIONS:

Mariusz Chiach & Jarowslaw Plochoki, Poland Weight: 80.85kg

TEAM EVENT CHAMPIONS: SBS, England Weight: 23.5kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Eddie Matthews & Richard Bradley, England Weight: 23.5kg

Congratulations .. happy days and celebrations with great friends following a catch

2005.. the British do it again!

English pairs continued to dominate the event in 2005, as Keith Turner and Clive Hicks retained the title for the U.K., but not without a problem or two along the way (please read their story for details).

The early concerns for the English pair were eased with some better news, and as a result they set to work doing what they had hoped for, to raise the World Carp Classic trophy aloft.

Team GB Baits put in a sterling performance to lift the Team Title for the UK based company. Not to be outdone, Mavis Unwin not only took on her compatriots but, also the rest of the competitors as she claimed the plaudits in banking the biggest fish of the event with a very nice Madine carp.

2005 RESULTS CHAMPIONS:

Keith Terry Turner & Clive Hicks, England Weight: 35.4kg

TEAM EVENT:

GB Baits, England Weight: 31.6kg

BIGGEST FISH: Lilly in the pink .. John Lilly lands a good one

Mavis Unwin, England Weight: 17.4kg

Ross: “You’ve got a good camera Tim, would you like me to get you some shots of your swim from the air? Tim Paisley: “Sure, let me get the camera for you.”

I then went off to a local airfield where I boarded a kite with a lawnmower engine mounted on the front and was strapped into a plastic chair with a bungee strap.

I survived the experience and returned the camera to Tim. “Ross, you’ve broken my camera”. On closer inspection the camera was fine, but the entire memory card was filled with the 600 high res pics I had taken… Oops, sorry TIm.

The mighty Orient in 2006. I still have nightmares about this one!

A building site of a sports hall (due to have been completed months before), had to be made suitable for the opening ceremony. We had to steam clean the floor after we had swept the debris off it, windows were missing and no electricity so we had to hire an industrial generator, partially operating toilets and that was before the event started. As it was a very hot period the sluice gates were opened to provide more drinking water for Paris… the water level could be seen dropping in front of our eyes and after 3 days and 1,000 lines in the water .. only one fish!

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012

French connection.. A victory for the host Nation as Jean Pierre Becker & Yves Hauk are crowned champions amid excited enthusiasm

2007 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPIONS: Jean Pierre Becker & Yves Hauk, France Weight: 22.100kg

TEAM EVENT CHAMPIONS: Team Carpworld, England Weight: 20.8kg - 2 carp

BIGGEST FISH:

Jean Pierre Becker, France Weight: 22.1kg Leather Carp The second and final World Carp Classic held on the mighty and mystical Lac D’Orient turned out to be a long, gruelling test of endurance in every respect, with only a handful of carp banked during the entire course of the match.

Fortunately, by far the biggest carp caught,

by French Angler, Jean Pierre Becker, was a noteworthy and creditable fish. This victory

for the French pair of Jean Pierre Becker and Yves Hauk, was to be the second successive year and third in total that the Title had been prevented from falling into UK hands, and provided winners for the host nation to celebrate for the very first time. Team Carpworld performed a minor miracle to claim the Team Event Title with an amazing two fish haul, from the only five carp caught overall in the entire event.

English pair A nutter in a plane flew so low that one of his wing tips touched the water and then proceeded to wipe out some of the anglers rods, flying all over the place! Let’s go back to Madine!

It would be a good idea to set up a radio station on site so that anglers can tune in and listen to what is going on… GOOOOOD MOOORNING MADINE!

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2008 RESULTS CHAMPIONS:

Andrew Judd & Peter Truckle, England Weight:140.40kg

TEAM EVENT:

Team Carpworld I, England Weight: 89.60kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Pascal Gallion, Luxembourg Weight: 23.7kg

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Record holder .. Axel Wacker of Germany with the events biggest fish and current record of 28.9kg

2009 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPIONS:

Rob Tough & Tom Duncan-Dunlop, England Weight: 347.50kg

TEAM EVENT CHAMPIONS: Team Carpworld, England Weight: 366.60kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Axel Wacker, Germany Weight: 28.9kg (new record)

Truckle & Judd storm to victory Back to its spiritual home, Lac de Madine, for a second spell, it was immediately noticeable how much the carp had grown on.

With the event now allowing and indeed encouraging the use of boats to place lines and bait, the subsequent results spoke volumes.

Although it wasn’t apparent at the time, another aspect would come into the equation that would to some extent show the venue to be more ‘peggy’ than desirable. But for now, this venue was viewed by most to be the

perfect place to host the event.

Peter Truckle and Andrew Judd of England ran out victorious from a peg in the forest on the big island to reclaim the Champions Title for England and the UK by some margin, maintaining the Brits 100% record of victories on the venue.

Madine indeed seemed to favour the Brits who, by now had assumed unshakable belief that they or their compatriots would succeed.

“Get the big boy scales out, the standard ones are not big enough looks like we have a kipper over 50lbs” are words that I will always remember.

That record stood for 24hours until it was broken again to the current record of 29.8kgs - the night that was and the day that followed.

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012

2010 RESULTS OVERALL CHAMPIONS: George Csonka and John Roberts, England Weight: 216.2 kg

TEAM EVENT CHAMPIONS: Team Renmar, Lithuania Weight: 167.7kg

BIGGEST FISH:

Mikulas Elek and Pavel Snevajs, Slovakia Weight: 27.4kg

A richly deserved victory The unfortunate and courageous John Roberts from England had been a long term sufferer with chronic back problems, and when he aggravated his back when trying to clamber aboard the boat, further participation was difficult.

From that point on, John was in so much pain that he could barely help George at all, let alone play carp! George battled on night and day, with John helping as and where he could.

With little respite and no help from the poor weather conditions, George somehow made it to the finish and somewhat relieved the pair had done enough to clinch a memorable victory.

Meanwhile, Team Renmar was putting in an accomplished display, and on their first showing in the World Carp Classic. The team were involved in a severe test of their skills and mettle but, ultimately, they did enough to lift the Team Title for both Team Renmar and Lithuania.

A massive storm provided a tremendous natural fireworks show followed by some big winds that blew one of the competitors Gazebo away, never to be seen again

Ciao Lake Bolsena, Italy - now this was a challenge, a new country a lake 10 times bigger than Madine and fishing results that matched. With the exception of the biggest fish, every other WCC record was broken, more anglers than ever before caught and the record number of fish caught went from 140 to nearly 500 what an amazing venue! It’s so big that we need to build our own communication system looking forward to this year

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2011 RESULTS CHAMPIONS:

Jens Gassen and Thomas Muller, Germany Weight: 377.6 kg (*New Record)

TEAM EVENT:

Team Deutschland1, Germany Weight: 409.0 kg (*New Record)

BIGGEST FISH:

Aivars Rudzinskis and Varis Lazo, Latvia Weight: 25.3 kg

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World Carp Classic 1998-2012

Sweet dreams

After three frustrating years, Romanians Peter Micula and Norbert Pongracz finally pulled it off at the World Carp Classic to become the proud 2012 Champions

2012 Winners: The Dream Team

A

fter three years of taking part in the World Carp Classic at Lac de Madine, without even catching a carp, this time we had the good fortune to draw a swim in a section that had fish in front of it - PV TV 15.

When we extracted the pot for our order number on stage, 157 of 160, my morale was low, but at the same time I was happy for the other PV-TV team, who extracted peg number 3. I never thought that in those last 4 remaining places there would be one that would give us a chance of catching.

The first day we searched in the area in front of us and found some good spots. There were areas of abundant vegetation on the bottom, which rose in some places from 4 meters deep to 7 meters. We looked for places where there was little or no weed and found three promising areas with depths of 5.4 meters, 6.6 meters and 7.2 meters at 160, 180 and 200 meters distance from the shore respectively.

The nightfall and the rain caught us out on the lake. The other teams already had their rods positioned and by now they were enjoying a glass of wine or beer, under the umbrellas.

We positioned our rods and started with two types of bait and waited for the miracle. Yes, the MIRACLE! After 3-years of silence on Madine, it finally came… at six o’clock in the morning. After a strong run our FIRST FISH had come in the form of a beautiful 7kg common. We had so much joy in caching this fish, our first carp in the WCC! That fish came from the spot at 7.2 meters depth and, in fact, it was to be the only place that produced fish for us until the end of the competition.

We started with three types of bait. Critically balanced tiger nut boilies with a high protein content (usually used in speedy contests in Romania and Hungary) and carbohydrate based boilies - creamy flavoured, sweet and light coloured. The bait was from our sponsor, SBS Tactical Bait Products, who I would like to say many thanks to on this special occasion.

The last bait, C1, was the one that brought the trophy into our hands. From the first to the last fish, it was caught with this bait. During the day we used pop ups (zig rig) and during the night we fished on the bottom. I think the fish move a lot in this lake and it takes a lot of energy to keep it moving further and cyclical.

Bathed in glory.. When Ross informed us that we had won, we took a bath! results. Other Romanian teams were in leading positions in their sections, which we were pleased to hear, and we continued to do our job as best we could.

So I think that they preferred a food-based on carbohydrates. We were informed by some fishermen from Hungary who visited Bolsena a month earlier, that it is not good to feed with small seeds because of the tench (tinca tinca), so we only took tiger nuts and hard boilies with us.

Let’s discuss a little bit about our endtackle. For the main line we used braid from PB Products, the 0.26 Gatorbraid 2-Tone.

For the last 20 meters we used a very clear monofilament (Shield) also from PB Products.

The end-tackle was a combination of: Nash 1.50 m Leader Diffusion Camo (very good for this clear water), 300 gr. Lead and Anti Eject no. 4 tied with 20 cm. of Mussel 2-Tone braid both from PB Products. A big thanks to our sponsors!

We focused all of the rods around this area and the fish came at the same points each day. There were groups of fish that had a periodic movement on well defined routes. In the morning, between 6:00 - 6:30 we had 2-3 fish. Then in the afternoon, around 15:00, 3 more carp, and then between 20:00-20:30, 3-4 others… but during the night, nothing.

Because so many carp were caught around the lake during the first few days, data collection and processing of the catch reports was very slow and this meant that the teams were slow to be informed about the latest

A big change in the weather did it for us… On the Thursday night right through Friday, we caught over 150 kg of carp.

Strong winds blew into our section and that brought the fish from other areas in front of us.

We caught fish outside of the regular hours and, that evening, we caught the biggest fish of the contest, a beautiful Bolsena carp of 22.5 kg.

On the Friday morning we were informed that we were in first place overall and that we had quite a significant lead over the other teams. In total 307 kg. Then from the Friday morning until the end on Saturday morning came a 24-hour nightmare. The wind stopped, the sun shone and with it came the heat. We caught fish at the usual times, only, instead of two or three fish we had just one, and in the intervals, well known to us, we had nothing. We were stressed out by the end of the contest as we had only three more carp on the mat and had accumulated 329.9 kg.

Ross arrived in our swim to give the final signal of the competition and then, it was over. That was the moment when, even though we did not dare to think it, I realized that we may have won. Maybe, just maybe?

Then, YESSSSSSSS!! Ross congratulated us informally and informed us that we were the winners of the World Carp Classic 2012.

For me, it was a dream come true… We had won World Carp Classic! I would like to congratulate all of the participating teams and the section winners, but also spare a thought for those who had no chance to catch a carp. I know very well how it is.

We are delighted to say that we published an article with a video about our carp fishing experiences on the SBS website, where we shared some of our tips and tricks. We also reveal more about the new SBS products available that we used during the World Carp Classic at Bolsena.

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Frank Warwick: My memories of the World Carp Classic

Blasts from C

the Past

arp angling is far more than just fishing for carp, it’s a series of special moments in time that are etched into the memory forever. In fact, it’s a journey where the camaraderie and friendships made along the way in our pursuit of carp make it so magical.

Sometime in 1998 I had a call from Danny Fairbrass. He asked me if I might like to represent team Korda in a big exciting new carp match that was to be held on Lac De Madine in the North East of France near Metz. Without thinking I said “yes”.

I like the idea of both a massive social gathering of like minded anglers from all over the world and the prospect of fishing on previously unfished areas of a known large french big fish water in a competition situation. In fact, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Being the inaugural event there was quite a buzz around the angling world. The event was, I seem to recall, casting only, no boats.

It lasted around 4 days, 3 nights and was not pairs in those days, just individuals.

At Madine we all really fancied the previously unfished big Island and at the draw I was very happy as I drew this Island.

We travelled in a selection of barges and boats that ferried all the competitors like a mini armada across this inland sea to the various Island swims. There was the interesting sight of carp bolting in the shallow marginal water as the barges disturbed the tranquillity of this previously undisturbed sanctuary.

I said hello to my next door neighbours who both happened to be English. I couldn’t help but notice one of these guys was on his hands and knees, keeping a low profile while he was setting up – almost like he was stalking a Deer. Ultra stealth mode!

Oh well, each to their own I guess. This behaviour went on for hours and the chap never stood up, but scurried around on all fours – it was a tad comical.

When the big rockets went off to start the event I was more than a little amazed to see our stealth man flick out two rods, each baited with a piece of floating crust! Perhaps he knew something I didn’t but I kind of didn’t get that feeling.

I carried on with my game plan which was to fish 3 rods at my absolute maximum range over a tightly baited area, as far as I could spod. Tigers, hemp, maize and boilies was the chosen approach.

I guess it was at around 150 yards range where I spodded for some 3 hours plus. The poor chap in the next swim, who I christened “Stealth Man” shat his pants when he saw my bombardment. I did feel for him, as when he crawled around into my swim to ask what I was doing in a hushed whisper, I knew instantly that the poor guy had either been in a coma for 30 years or that he wasn’t a regular carp angler.

“What the hell are you doing fishing two rods with floating crust on at 20 yards, are you crazy?” I asked.

He said “To tell the truth, I’m a Pike Angler… I saw this competition in the Angling Times and thought ‘although I have not fished for carp for 25 years I think I will enter’”.

That explained a lot!

I said “You can use 3 rods, why are you only using two?”. He replied “I’ve been reading Terry Hearns book and he says two is best so you don’t have too many lines in the swim”. I said “There’s 10 grand on this”.

This guy was a highly unusual character, strangely enough he blanked.

I had a very bizarre looking 37.10 mirror that was two tone with some Strawberry birthmarks all over it. This fish came on the second night of the competition and filled me with hope but, despite that, it was my only solitary run, though, to be fair, I was happy enough to have caught. Three anglers caught in my section, myself, Danny Fairbrass and Andy Murray. All of us in the same team, so I guess our ultra long range heavy spodding tactics were right.

Another part of that first trip to Madine that sticks in my memory, is the sight of my good friend Rod Hutchinson arriving with his gear on this strange looking tourist train that runs

on wheels, that was hilarious. I also entered the casting competition and with one good cast, won it. A full set of Daiwa rods was the prize and I had to smile when they played the British national anthem as I picked up the trophy and prizes on stage (I sold them in a matter of minutes to good old Ben O’Connor) haha. I’m terrible at things like that.

It was a monumental competition and I have to say I just knew I wanted to be back the following year to savour the unbeatable atmosphere that these gatherings create.

I could tell you all sorts of dramatic and humorous bits and pieces from so many years of the World Carp Classic - after all, I’ve only missed two of them from the start and that was only because I had other commitments that I couldn’t get out of.

View to a thrill..

A magical Madine sunset… is it just me who feels that, sometimes, fishing is secondary?

The first, much talked about and highly anticipated Foret de Orient competition sticks in my mind for a number of reasons, one was because I was partnered by Ali Hamidi, again the sponsor was Korda.

Now good old Ali, bless him, was full of enthusiasm and was dying to get out there and get fishing. We had a fairly reasonable area; I knew this from my previous pleasure trips to the water. I also knew that in this

‘When the big rockets went off to start the event, I was more than a little amazed to see our Stealth Man flick out two rods, each baited with a piece of floating crust!’

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Frank Warwick: My memories of the World Carp Classic area we would be fishing for one or two bites and that any bait was likely to only be encountered by most probably small groups of good sized carp. So my focus was on finding the absolute best features in my swim. I knew that I would be using very little bait and it would probably be a waiting game.

Having not fished with Ali much before, I quizzed him on his experience of big continental waters. He listed a few but I thought to myself ‘hang on, they are highly stocked commercial waters, not quite the vastness of the low stocked inland sea that was Orient.’ Ali said his plan was to fish long and put in a lot of bait to hold the carp in the swim.

I must confess when I saw him loading the dingy with a number of good sized buckets of hemp, tigers and boilies I did a mental “oh my goodness” or words to that effect. Ali decided to take the baited rod with him and pick a spot, bait up, then lower the rig onto the spot then return to the bank. This of course is standard practice, so off went Ali with the electric outboard on full speed.

One of the rules in the WCC is there is a 200 meter distance limit in place and in the last few years buoys have been placed in swims that have been measured and GPS has been used to ensure accuracy. On this first Orient competition there were no markers but I know from experience approximately what 200 mtrs looks like. Ali, to my amazement just kept going! I thought the motor had jammed full on or perhaps he’d had a stroke in the boat... whatever it was, he was not stopping!

Some of the other teams saw this and became irate asking me what the hell the game was? I said perhaps Ali had misunderstood and had read it as 2000 meters. In the end I needed a bloody good set of Carl Zeiss binoculars just to see what Ali was doing. He looked like an Ant on the horizon; I thought “I bet he’s just having a quick look around with the feature finder before heading back in to position his baited area and rig”.

Wrong! Through my binoculars I saw the water erupting as he showered it with copious amounts of food! My god, what the hell was he thinking? Then I saw the swish of the rod as he dropped the rig.

Ali was on his way back in, paying the line out as he came towards us – ‘us’ meaning me, the marshals and complaining fellow competitors. He got to around 120 metres from the bank and ran out of line on the rods - he hit the knot at the base of the spool “whooops”. A swift Yellow card followed by a good bollocking off me and he decided distance fishing wasn’t for him after all.

How could I mention Orient and forget about the next year’s special treat!

We were happily minding our own business watching the rods on a glorious sunny lake on about day 3 of the competition when I heard the whirr of propellers on a light aircraft. All of a sudden, at a ridiculously low height, the plane came over our heads missing the trees behind us by a matter of feet. It then careered past with its wings hitting the lakes surface, bouncing from one wing tip to the other! Any second, I thought, a wing tip will dig into the lake and smash the aircraft to pieces.

It was in massive difficulty we thought and the pilot looked to be fighting to regain control.

The engines seemed to be stalling then picking up again, spluttering. A big crash seemed a certainty. He made it across the lake then disappeared near a marina in the trees, to be honest I was waiting for the explosion.

I heard more buzzing of propellers then it comes crossways in front of our rods missing the rod tips by inches. The pilot looked just

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skimming the water... Kurt panicked and did a Tarzan style swallow dive into the lake. ‘Bloody hell, nice dive Kurt’ I thought to myself.

A bit later, after being repeatedly buzzed by this maniac he vanished. Apparently my great friend and competition organiser Ross Honey had decided that some incidental photos from a professional photographer being flown around the lake in a light turbo prop aircraft might well be a good idea to be shown at the trophy presentation.

Buddies.. My great friend Ardy Veltkamp, a friendship that has stood the test of time.

like one of those Japanese zero fighter pilots you see in that Pearl Harbour film. I saw him laughing as he gave us the universal hand gesture for “shaking a sauce bottle” and noticed he had a companion sat by him taking photos! I had to laugh at how crazy the whole situation was.

About 130 metres out in the bay, I saw my dear old friend and fellow competitor Kurt Grabmeyer out in his boat baiting up. The aircraft careered towards Kurt at speed and

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The only problem was that the French pilot had been drinking Pastis and Brandy all morning before he took off and he was pissed as a fart!

Get this; he flew so close that at least 5 teams taking part had their rod tips smashed by the wings on the plane. In one of the shots you can actually see the make and brand of beer being held by open mouthed Rob Tough as the plane cuts his rod tips off.

The pilot got so close, I could nearly smell his breath as he flew past. I think he was arrested upon landing and saw the error of his ways in the local prison cell. Never a dull moment at the WCC. I know we have had participants from all over the world in the WCC, but how about the record for the longest travelled spectator?

That honour must surely go to my friend

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Jova Nedeljkovic from Belgrade in Serbia, a distance of 1500 kilometres. Long enough when you’re travelling in a car, but imagine doing that journey by bus and on foot both ways like Jova did. It took Jova two days and nights just to get there by various coaches and busses and he walked the last 25 kilometres as there was no other way to Madine.

All he had with him was a small trolley with some clothes, food and a lightweight sleeping bag. I couldn’t believe what he had been through just to get to the event and he wasn’t even fishing. Truly amazing!

Of course Ardy, Jason and I took him under our wings and looked after him for the week to make his stay more enjoyable. We gave him a spare bivvy, bed chair, food and whatever we could. He loved the whole event and despite being a very keen angler he at least got to feel as though he was part of the event. We felt a lot of sadness when the competition was over and we had to leave Jova to his long arduous homeward journey.

The following year Jova joined us as our runner and drove to the Madine venue from Belgrade in his Taxi. We ended up in a heavily forested area in a slow part of the lake, made all the more uncomfortable by what had occurred on my arrival.

Actually, it all began back at my house in England.

As you can imagine, we all do multiple check lists of gear for the competition during the build up and I had volunteered to bring the rods, 4 big pit reels, spare spools with various breaking strains of braided mainline, 4 bite alarms including spares and of course my big tackle boxes full of all the essential gear for making rigs etc. head lamps, hardened hook baits the lot. All of my stuff was meticulously arranged in the dining room of my house for my early morning departure. I had this little lot in a big green barrow bag.

Enterprise? Do you have any with you?” Of course my friend”, I said! I reached over to my big green barrow bag and from habit knew exactly which zip up pocket my box of imitation baits were in.

As I unzipped it my face must have looked a picture, my heart missed a beat and panic set in as I frantically unzipped the main compartment to find a shitty old tackle box full of mouldy rigs and other assorted crap - empty crisp packets, silver paper from my sons sandwiches and a few pots of 12 mm pop ups and a well thumbed copy of Mayfair. To The previous evening, my eldest son Guy say my pee boiled instantly would be a slight came home from a 24 hour carp fishing understatement. How had the silly sod gone trip and dumped his gear next to my and mixed my bag up with his? Same make, carefully arranged Madine gear. Spotting but mine was much heavier (not from multiple this, I said “listen son, shift all your crap copies of Mayfair). I had to laugh at the irony of into your bedroom so it doesn’t get mixed it all. Luckily our fellow competitors took pity on up with mine”. our plight and sorted us out with some spare He did as I asked so I thought no more of it gear, well, enough at least for us to fish half as I loaded the van bleary eyed in the morning. cocked for the week.

Fast forward to the boat launch area to go to This is the highlight of the year for me the island and wooded areas at Madine. and the regulars and long may it continue.

A group of Russian anglers wanted photos You’re all one big family, it’s as simple as with me and to swap shirts etc. I was happy that. to oblige and one of the guys said “Hey Frank Frank Warwick can I see some of those plastic baits from

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Record breakers..

Jason Caan held the new record, but not for long, as Axel Wacker claimed the new, new record!

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Rueben Heaton:

15 years as a heavyweight champion

I

Weigh to go..

World Carp Classic scales dating back to 2006 (far left), the WCC 10th anniversary scales (middle), a set made specifically for the new Italian venue, a specimen Hunter Classic set and the new 15th WCC Anniversary scales for 2013

magine you are motoring across the vast expanses of a huge freshwater lake in the dead of night, guided by a mental map (only 24 hours old) of a 4000acre lake complete with islands, weed beds, 200 or more anglers’ lines, rocky outcrops and other such hazards.

Your head is lying on the side of the boat so that you can silhouette the bank against the moonlight in a bid to find some reference point that will give you some idea of where you are.

“Any minute now we are going to hit something” I say, “but we need to get over to the reception, the town elders and all of France will be there” comes the reply, “Bugger the reception, I can’t see anything”, “yes, but you know where you are, roughly don’t you?”, “Somewhere in France” I suggest.

Finally we round one of the headlands and luckily the lights are still on in the bar at the side of the marina “that’s where we’re going” I say, “we really need to go to HQ to get the car to go to the reception” comes the suggestion. “Isn’t the reception in the bar?”, “No” “Well you’re on yer own then”. Finally, after the reception we return to the hotel at some ungodly hour and after some 72hrs with little or no food, we consume the only sustenance available, champagne.

Since receiving a phone call some 16 years ago from an unknown event organiser, promising world fame and recognition for my brand, as well as “a good laugh”, I have worked 72hr shifts, driven boats in pitch black conditions, witnessed a sheep using a portaloo, dealt with unexploded bombs and provided

the scales that helped to weigh in hundreds of tonnes of carp.

Having attended the first dozen or so events and having been involved, in spirit at least, with the last few, it seems to me that after 15 years of trying, Ross and his team are somewhere near to achieving his goal of having “a good laugh” and by all accounts a pretty good event too.

As we complete the last of the Anniversary presentation scales, I look back at the original idea behind the event, which was to create a true international festival of angling, drawing the best carp anglers from all corners of the globe in a celebration of angling and the spirit of friendship. A good name for it would be Angling Spirit, but anyway, here’s to 15 years more, and judging from the size of Bolsena, good luck to the poor sod who drives the boat. COOOOOMMMMEEEEEE

OOOOOONNNNNNNN

‘I’ve worked 72-hour shifts, driven boats in the pitch black, witnessed sheep using portaloos and dealt with unexploded bombs ..’

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47

Irish Proverb: Bad luck is better than no luck at

Mission impossible R

oss Honey puts me through the wringer each year, and almost inevitably I fall for it.

He has the gift of the gab; dripping with insincerity. “Tim, our magazine just wouldn’t be the same without you appearing in it.” That’s totally untrue, but we all have an ego buried inside us somewhere and when a writer’s is being massaged by a master of the flattery technique it’s easy to get sucked in. You agree, then you put the phone down and realise that yet again you have just let yourself in for mission impossible. Explore the capture of two carp in thirteen years? I’ve been down that route at some length; ad nauseam some might say (though fortunately not to my face). The development of the Classic from its tentative beginnings to the wonderful kaleidoscopic gathering of the nations that now takes place annually? Been there, done that in the rather well received – though I do say so myself – ‘From Vision to Reality’ of a couple of years back. (I’m on safe ground claiming that it was well received because it was very well received

by Ross, and why wouldn’t it be: 2,500 words of blowing smoke up his posterior?) So, not for the first time in my life, it has to be said, I’m about to embark on a bit of a ramble simply because I have half a dozen themes jumping around in my head, none of which would stand alone in terms of fulfilling the suggested word count. You have been warned…

Frozen moments in time... A very important piece of equipment in my angling armoury

and Lee Jackson, all of whom can catch carp for fun. So I think it is fair to say that a return of three carp between us from the 70 days and nights we have spent fishing in these events is an indictment of the unkindness of the draw and not the ineptitude of my partners!

It was the first World Carp Classic in 1998 In terms of the draw Madine became a that instilled in me a love of fishing big, tad predictable. If you weren’t in one of two big waters. possible winning swims then forget it. Get out I didn’t know it until then but for me there is there and try to catch something in the hope a real buzz about bivvying with water stretching of a team, section or biggest fish success, out before me as far as the eye can see, which meant that well over 100 pairs knew that although carp being present in the swim does they weren’t going to win it. In advance of the enhance the view. Almost all the swims I’ve Bolsena event in 2012 there was still an air of fished in the Classic at Madine, Amance, the mystery about exactly what was a good draw, Orient and Bolsena have fulfilled at least one of and while some areas were being talked-up as those criteria. In the absence of carp to keep likely winners no one knew for sure where the me occupied I love photographing dawns winning peg would be. The fact that this year’s and sunsets and as a rule the big waters offer event starts a few weeks later than last year’s more beautiful waterscape opportunities than means that there will still be an air of excitement smaller ones. The Classic is in its fifteenth year at the draw simply because the timing is and my memories of the events are brought different and the carp’s preferred areas may sharply into focus when I look back through my have changed slightly. huge catalogue of pictures. Pictures are simply Prior to last year’s event we were told that reminders of moments, and fifteen years of the essential ingredient to location was deep Classics add up to a lot of moments, and a lot of beauty. On the other hand, while the dawns and sunsets may often be a thing of beauty, as far as the Classic goes the draw rarely matches them. In fact as I’ve always got a very capable partner fishing with me I think it’s safe to say that our results over those fifteen years have reflected the fact that the draw has been decidedly unfriendly. The first Classic was a singles event. I had a good draw, and caught, although the long-term significance of those twin strokes of good fortune was lost on me at the time. Since then I have fished the match with Simon Crow, Steve Briggs, John Lilley

‘There will still be an air of excitement at the draw simply because the timing is different and the carp’s preferred areas may have changed slightly’

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water, which threw many of us because it turned out not to be true. In fact it wasn’t until our final team talk that Bruce Ashby came up with the information that he had been in correspondence with a couple of anglers who were familiar with the water, and they disagreed with this idea. Apparently what we needed was weed, although it would have been handy to have this information available to us when we made our tours of inspection!

According to Bruce’s contacts it was more important to have weed in front of you than deep water, and I suspect that will hold true for this year’s event.

The fact that this year’s draw is a single peg one with no agonising over an alternative choice means that home work is unnecessary.

You draw a peg and go out and make the best of it. If you finish up camping for a week then so be it: there can be few lovelier places in the world to spend five days on the bank!

What is undeniable is that while many of the competitors will simply be camping for the week there will be many more pairs in with a chance of winning after the draw than was the case at Madine. And it is important to know what you are looking for when you come to assess your swim. As Briggsy and I had no fish in front of us last year we can’t help you there, although I suspect that if you have weed within fishing range at a depth of 8-15 feet then you could be in with a shout.

I make no secret of the fact that one of the big attractions of the Classics for me is the weekend building up to the event. I’ve been fortunate in gathering around me in successive Carpworld teams a group of people who

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ck at all (at all)!

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Tim Paisley: Mission Impossible have never grown up. Not growing up is a carp fishing syndrome, and not growing up at all is a big, international carp-match syndrome.

Year after year you see the same hopefuls assembling, wearing that tortured look which suggests that they hope that this might be their year, but half-knowing that it may not be. You go there in the vague hope of catching a carp, and nursing the even vaguer dream that you might, one day, win the thing. But between you and the reality of the draw lies ‘le weekend’, as the French unimaginatively refer to Saturday and Sunday. Le weekend at Bolsena 2012 was very special, and just about worth the 2,600 mile round trip. Time spent in the company of Ian Chillcott, Martin Locke, Tom Duncan-Dunlop, Bruce Ashby, Lee Jackson, Steve Briggs, Gary Peet, TV cameraman John Dunford and some of our womenfolk had to be special, and was. We indulged in the crack to the usual nonsensical limit, had our boats checked for about the tenth time in the life of the event, dutifully queued up to register, and joyously explored the gorgeous area of Italy it was our good fortune to inhabit for a few days.

I exaggerate. Once we had tried to find the swims we settled for a daily trip to and from the supermarket and the on-site, excellent restaurant.

I am always nervous of big match draws, and last year my nervousness was accentuated because of a simple but decisive moment during the weekend. One of our group had undertaken to transport the team clothing out to Bolsena with him, and this was distributed to the members of the team during Saturday morning. We were all thrilled with it and appreciative of the support given by our generous clothing sponsor Stuart Wilson of Diem. Included in the clothing were two pairs of crocs per person, and this was where the whole trip came unravelled. I was otherwise engaged (probably pouring drinks) when the clothing was distributed and mine was placed on the veranda table, along with my crocs. Now I don’t want anyone to get the impression from what follows that I’m unduly neurotic, or over-superstitious, but if there is one superstition to which I bow down it is the one about shoes on the table. Putting any shoes on the table is bad enough: new shoes on the table can be terminal. I’m inclined to believe that walking under ladders may simply be dangerous; that a black cat crossing my path is lucky (for the cat) if it makes it across the road intact; that it is only sensible to throw spilt salt over my shoulder; and I’m very comfortable with the number 13 on the grounds that it can’t be unlucky for everyone.

But shoes on the table…There is no alibi for that, and no escaping the consequences.

The team blanked. I rest my case.

‘I don’t want anyone to get the impression from what follows that I’m unduly neurotic, or oversupersticious, but if there’s one superstition to which I bow down it is the one about shoes on the table’

The evening of the draw was an entertainment in its own right and almost worth the trip, and the hangovers, just to see Frank Warwick dressed as a centurion, and Mr. Universe, Ardy Veltcamp undressed as a eunuch (or was it as a gladiator?).

I thought Peter made a convincing Caesar, too, although if the draw had taken place on 15th March and I’d had shoes left on the table

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What a croc.. Brits on tour in the Bolsena market place – with a couple of pairs of crocs in evidence (above) a

I would definitely have passed on that role!

(That may be lost on some of you… Julius Caesar was assassinated on 15th March, the Ides of March, although history hasn’t recorded if that had anything to do with shoes being inadvertently placed on the table.) Because we didn’t really know the water the draw wasn’t as inauspicious as I feared in advance and Steve and I came out of it thinking we were in with a shout of catching. Perhaps if we have a new venue to fish every year we might all live in a fool’s paradise for at least a couple of days into the event.

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It is possible at this stage that those of you who are still with me may be thinking that the fuss about the new shoes is unwarranted, so it’s as well that I put that into perspective and recall the impact their injudicious placement on the table had at the start of the match. In the midst of seven days of heat wave Chilly and Jacko’s encampment was under siege from the word go.

First they were told they weren’t supposed to be there and would they please bugger off.

And then, when that confrontation had sort-of been resolved by the under-siege

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

we had no signs of fish in front of us and we felt that our only hope was that fish would come in to feed from the deeper open water out front.

The fact that we now had a net positioned between us and the open water, seemingly to intercept any fish willing to come our way, didn’t seem to enhance our chances! For the second time that day I was on the phone to the beleaguered Ross and, to be fair, within a matter of minutes he and his Italian right-hand man were out inspecting the nets. Come first light next morning our fisherman friend was out there again, away to our left, recovering the nets, which involved another couple of hours of disturbance. We were later told that he promptly went and repeated the exercise on another part of the lake and was eventually locked up for his indiscretions! We must have been good for the local tourist industry but not everyone welcomed our presence on the lake!

We lived on in hope, enjoying the view, the sun, the ice creams, the cold drinks and the sun bathers but our entire section blanked (sorry about the shoes guys…). For me the unfolding dawns and the astonishing views were a consolation and I was out there before first light with the camera on tripod each morning hoping to catch something memorable through the lens, if not via the end tackle. I was successful in the photographic exercise at least!

evidence (above) and our ageing, immature party weighing up form and sampling the local wine during the pre-event weekend.

Ross, their encampment was obliterated by a whirlwind. Jacko’s wife Jayne suffered a few airborne seconds in the flying Oztent and it took her a couple of days back at base to recover from the ordeal, and some of their tackle and living accommodation was never the same thereafter. Fortunately Briggsy was first of our pair out on the water to explore his side of the swim and position baits and the eye of the storm narrowly missed him. He just got drenched to the bone instead.

By some simple twist of fate all three of our team’s pairs were drawn in the same section –

which I accept can have had nothing whatever to do with the shoes on the table incident – and Tom D-D and Lockey were pegged 200-300 yards to our left. So the baits went out and we settled in to the waiting game. We were fishing to markers, as is the wont of big water anglers, and come early evening we noticed a boat working a line 50 yards or so beyond our markers, starting way beyond Tom and Lockey and finishing up in front of us. What was that about? It was a commercial fisherman who was studiously ignoring the half-mile offshore limit and dropping his nets. Now at that stage

Not in the bag..

‘Better bad luck than no luck at all.’

Gary disagrees! (middle). Dawns and sunsets always give me a buzz and the variety at Bolsena was remarkable

Meanwhile in the section that I really fancied the moment I saw it, on the beach at Capodimonte, our friends Bruce and Gary, who weren’t part of our team but were part of our aging immature party, were doing alright.

By the final morning they’d lost a couple of fish but had caught enough to give them a chance of a section win, until fate intervened at the eleventh hour. Gary had a 30lb+ carp in the sack which would have given them a section win. When he went to retrieve it for the weighing its head was sticking out of a split in the sack, and… Well, afterwards he figured out what he might have done, but he didn’t do it, and it escaped. Turns out it was a 20-year-old ‘lucky’ sack, although as Gary is one of the partners in one of the biggest tackle shops in England, The Tackle Box at Dartford Kent, one might be forgiven suggesting that not only was it not lucky, but it was also well past its sell-by date! Or was it that moment of insanity when the shoes were placed on the table that was coming back to haunt them six days later?

My piece about the event in last year’s World Carp Classic magazine finished ‘What you don’t do is give up. Either you want it or you don’t.’ So how come I’m not around this year? Well I had an operation in December and I think that one of the by-products of that was that negativity set in, hopefully on a temporary basis. Could I really face a 2,600-mile round trip for a couple of days of the crack? Was that negativity, or reality, or was it really mission impossible?

Now I’m wavering, but have other commitments and Jacko and past-winner Toughie are flying the Carpworld flag. I’ll miss it. Bolsena is special, the people who run it and fish in it are special, and the event is especially so.

My real problem is that I know how long the bad luck from a broken mirror lasts (a mere seven years), but I’m not sure of the long-term effects of shoes on the table. Enjoy it guys, and maybe we’ll be there next year, God willing.

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Tim Paisley

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Empire Building Ardy Veltkamp shares his years of blood, sweat and tears at The World Carp Classic ... and that was just applying the baby oil!

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Bring me my Chariot.. Ardy looking every bit the part in his role as a fearsome charioteer

W

here did my love for carp fishing come from? From the time I could first walk, my father took me fishing for different species, this I will never forget. By the time I was 15 I was really dedicated to carp fishing and I think once the bug for carp fishing has bitten you, you’e hooked for life.

Back then, there were no alarms – it was a totally different ballgame. We fished on the surface with bread and did a lot of stalking; fishing with one rod and using maize as bait.

I remember staying up all night sometimes, using boiled potatoes with the hook buried inside. Although we were young, we were innovative, using silver paper in an empty jam pot around the line as an indicator and to prevent the line from moving around in the wind.

As you get older, staying up all night gets more difficult and I’m glad that times have changed now with alarms and indicators, which makes fishing a lot more relaxed.

A great new change came when the hair rig was invented, as the fish hooks itself. Together with hair rigs, boilies also started making their appearance, giving you a much better chance to catch more and bigger fish.

I will never forget Lake Raduta in Romania in the year 2000, when I caught my first really big fish – a 31kg common from Raduta on a full moon. At the time it was really rare to catch such a big fish, but the following year, the same fish was also caught by Tim Paisley, weighing 34kg plus, which was then the new world record for common carp.

My favourite yearly event is The World Carp Classic. I can recall talking with Ross Honey many years ago at one of the Carp fishing shows in Monthlucon when he told me he was trying to get the WCC off the ground.

Since then and after so many carp shows throught Europe for my sponsors, I have made

a lot of fishing friends and reunite with most of them every year at the WCC along with new lifelong friends.

I love Italian food, the Italian lakes and the Italian people (and of course the cars and clothes) and, after all those years in France, I’m delighted the WCC is now being held in Italy at Lake Bolsena.

One thing I learnt from one of my best fishing mates is that you can catch a big fish maybe once or, if you are lucky, several times in life, but friendship is forever and I think that is a very important thing. It’s not always about the big fish or catching the most fish.

Of course, I would love to win the WCC and catch the biggest fish, but to see anglers from all over the world once a year makes the event a very special meeting that I wouldn’t miss for the world. The WCC is the most special carp fishing event ever! The amazing atmosphere generated between the different anglers when they help each other to keep morale up when things don’t go according to plan.

My most memorable fishing moment at the WCC was at Lake Madine – fishing on the right side of the big island with Frank Warwick and Jason Cann as our runner.

I lost a very big fish which I had been playing for over 35 minutes and it was not a catfish.

Bubbles came up from the bottom and the fish fought very slowly. I have been lucky in the past, catching four fish over 30kg in three different countries (which all fought the same way), so I know roughly what it feels like having a good fish on the end of the line. It’s a shame I lost that big fish after a long, hard fight when mussels cut my mainline just beyond my thick nylon leader of 15m. I really hated that, as it would have been the perfect moment to catch a monster carp in the WCC – but that’s fishing.

The perfect organisation that goes into planning the WCC, especially the opening and closing ceremonies, is always something

‘One thing I noticed at Bolsena was that the fish follow the wind and, especially when the wind was blowing constantly towards us, we knew we could get ourselves ready for action.’

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55

Ardy Veltkamp: Empire Building

very special and I get goose bumps when I see all the flags arriving on stage representing all of the countries and all the press and TV from all over the world, makes me feel united with the rest of the world and makes our sport more global every year.

In 2011, Ross told me the whole event would be moving to Italy and asked if I would like to join in the opening ceremony as the Gladiator from Ben Hur, riing on a chariot pulled by white horse.

I said that I would only want to do that if I could get into the best shape ever. In the past I was Dutch Champion Body Building, but after more than10 years not doing any competitions, it would be a real challenge to see if I could get back in that shape again. So, after a diet of 4 months and real tough, hardcore training I arrived in the best shape of my life to do the opening ceremony. I will never forget that, everyone was so enthusiastic and wanted to take pictures with me which went all over the world, it was amazing. THAT made all the years of effort in the gym worthwhile and gave me the same feeling as when I became Dutch Bodybuilding Champion.

The biggest surprise was just before I went on the chariot and I saw my best mate, Frank Warwick, dressed as a Roman Soldier. I didn’t know he was going to be in the opening ceremony walking behind the chariot so this was really a special moment in my life.

I want to thank Richard Simeonis, my fishing partner in the WCC for all his knowledge, support and great friendship. The competition in Bolsena went well for us. I am also grateful to my sponsors PVTV and WileyX, who helped me to compete at Lake Bolsena as without them it would have been impossible. Strangely enough, my seat in the airplane was 13C and we got to draw our swim in 13th order and then, drew the CC Moore peg 13… lucky 13?

Our swim was on a beach, close to the harbour and as we arrived it smelled of carp. I felt pleased with what we had drawn. We found water plants and were fishing close to them in the clear spots. We started pre-baiting a reasonable amount of mostly different particles and boilies, about 1kg per rod. We pre-baited more spots than we fished so when a spot was

56

not producing or not producing anymore, we could switch to another pre-baited spot, which worked out well.

One of the things I noticed at Bolsena was that the fish follow the wind and, especially when the wind was blowing constantly towards us, we knew we could get ourselves ready for action.

The fish at Lake Bolsena fight really well and the clear water meant that when you caught fish during the day you could really see them come up. I also used leaders and rigs covered in fake weed, but the fish are not pressured, so I do not think it is really necessary.

What I will advise is to use big leads, 13oz-15oz which come off easily from the lead clip, so, when you are fighting a fish, the fish surfaces quickly and doesn’t stay low in the water plants. When you go out with the boat, do not put pressure on the fish at all, just keep the line tight until you are above the fish and only then put pressure on. This is because as soon as the fish feels you are pulling it away from the water plants, it will try much harder to go the opposite direction, towards the water plants.

You have a much better chance of keeping fish out of the water plants when you are above them. This was how we managed to get most

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of the fish out, even though we fished tight to the water plants.

I used the white “Fruit Juice” Popups or Yellow “PH Special” on top of the Fruit Smoothy boilies from Frank Warwick Baits as a snow man. This was the best combination for me.

I used the white and yellow popups for the visibility and Frank Warwick pop ups have a high leakage of special essential oils that leaks constantly and have high attraction. What makes this pop up special is that it consists of more than just colour and flavour.

If I use a single hookbait, I like using Frank Warwick’s Wafters, because they are lighter in weight than normal boilies. So when the fish sucks up the baits, the Wafter will be one of the first into its mouth. No matter where I fish in the world, I have found that this combo always produces and, a lot of the time, also the bigger fish. I am fully confident with the bait I use and that is also a very important aspect.

I fished with Berkley’s Whiplash Fireline (floating braid) which is my favourite braided line in combination with a 20m monofilament leader that I got from my partner, Richard Simeonis. The leader is manufactured in Japan on 5000m spools made for tuna fishing and have 20% stretch. It’s important to have a leader with good stretch so when the fish starts shaking its head, the line reacts like a bungee and the hook will not eject too easily. The leader

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE Mussel bound..

Ardy not only displays a great passion for angling, he also possesses the ability, the inner strength and the sheer grit and determination of a warrior. Make no mistake, to compete against Ardy you will need to possess all of those qualities, and a slice of good fortune wouldn’t go amiss!

Whilst Ardy’s appearance could strike fear into the hearts of his adversaries, the truth is that he remains a humble man with a very pleasant disposition… although, of course, it would probably be prudent not to provoke him!

A Big Thanks to Ricardo Battisti who showed me Rome after the competition and took pictures of me with Richard Simeonis and also in the gladiator outfit in front of the Arena with my rods as weapons. into our swim and that’s when Richard landed a 16.2kg carp. Not long after that I was also rewarded with, believe it or not, also a 16.2kg carp. Our last fish was a 14.5kg and added up to our grand total of 190.9kg caught in the event. We had 18 fish in total and I am proud to say we won the CC Moore section and came in 5th overall.

is also a high abrasion line and sinks well on the bottom.

The second part of the leader consists of a 1m piece of PB Free fall material, made from Kevlar. This is a hollow braided line that can be spliced easily, so you have no unnecessary knots. It is a fast sinking and extremely supple material that takes on the contours of the bottom. PB Products has now brought out a new version of the leader material, called Silk Ray. It’s the same as the old version but it is

much thinner and stronger and even better sinking.

At the start of the competition, the wind was blowing towards us and the fishing was good, but then the wind changed and the fish went away from us, with the wind. Our luck turned around near the end of the competition when the direction of the wind changed again for the better. This was when the bigger fish came

It goes without saying that I will be joining the 15th anniversary of the WCC in 2013 and remember, 13 was my lucky number last year.

I am excited to compete again and to see all my friends who I have met during the past WCC events. The best part is always the starting up party and the finishing party!

Because it’s the 15th anniversary of the WCC, this year will be even more spectacular than the years before. I can’t wait!!

And last but not least I want to thank all of my sponsors who give me the opportunity to travel all over the world and do what I love the most - fishing. Thank you for all the products you provide me with to try out, which I am 100% confident to fish with and for all your support.

Hope to see you all in Italy at lake Bolsena.

Ardy Veltkamp

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57

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Preparing for the Carp Classic Bianca Venema on how delighted she is to be taking part At the time of writing, there are less than six weeks to go before the biggest and most popular event in the history of carp angling; The magical, unique and amazing World Carp Classic.

Armed and ready.. with baits from the

best bait company in the world and the best gear for the best event. Dutch angler Kelvin Groenendijk, above

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A unique event and location with our bait sponsor Dynamite Baits as title sponsor. Amazing! That, along with our sponsors Shimano, Ace, Sufix and the Italian company Hotspot Design; the leading fishing clothing manufacturer, makes it all extra special for us to join the WCC. More teams will compete on behalf of our sponsors with top anglers like André Piters and Craig Wood.

Our preparation for the WCC started right after the moment that our participation was officially confirmed by Ross Honey. It’s the very first time that we will join the most prestigious carp angling event in the world. This is a great honour and we’re very proud. As part of our preparation we searched every bit of information we could possibly find about the history of the WCC. We were very happy to find information about where all the fish were caught at Bolsena last year. That gives us information about the whereabouts, swims, quantity and weights of the carp. Since we’ve never fished at Lake Bolsena before, this information was particularly useful. We follow the WCC Twitter and Facebook account so we keep abreast of news.

We have studied the rules, watched many videos’ about the lake, including the live streams, and contacted other participants. It’s amazing that the atmosphere between the participants is so good, relaxed and friendly. Everybody is willing to exchange information and together we’re looking forward to seeing each other in Italy. The anticipation is great!

It’s a competition with a spirit which fits well with our views and already makes this event a successful one for us. Participating to us is more important than winning. As we understand that it’s important to complete the team with a runner, we asked our friend and Dutch top angler Kelvin Groenendijk to join our team and he instantly agreed.

Together we made or own script for the WCC which contains information like all of the gear we

need, things to do, the days and times we have to register including locations, everything about the boat inspections and the extra gear we need like a generator and mandatory safety items. In consultation with Dynamite Baits we assorted the baits, groundbait, pellets, liquid attractors, dips and particles needed and the new baits that we will be especially testing during the WCC. It’s wonderful to note the expertise from the people who work for one of the best bait companies in the world and all the support we’re getting from them! Lizette went to the UK last week to discuss the baits and took them in our van to Holland. Special transport.

To prepare for fishing at a lake like Lake Bolsena we planned several specific sessions. We explicate the speed of navigating our lines with boat and bait boat, adjusted the fish finders, developed unique Dynamite feeding balls, created killing ACE rigs and arranged a team task partition. In this way a special strategic approach of the WCC competition arose.

Our team spirit is, strong and to get used to the location we will arrive a week before the opening ceremony starts so we have a vacation week to explore the banks at Lake Bolsena at the same time.

From our sponsors Shimano, Ace and Sufix we received the best of the best materials like, the Shimano XS1 rods, the Aero Technium 12000 XTB Mgs reels with Technium nylon, Shimano bags and pouches, the ACE i-3 alarms, the X-tenda landing net and ACE carp fishing tackle. Hotspot Design sent us their whole clothing collection and friends helped us with a spare boat in case something happens to our own boat. We are very grateful for that and we want to thank them all for making our dream come true.

We are delighted that we can join you and we wish everybody a great event, tight lines and lots of fun.

See you there!

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Carp R Us: Our development for co

A

t the very beginning of Carp r Us in the UK, in 1993, my main intention was to create new products which were a total revolution on the carp scene.

At the sharp end..

A few of our superior hooks and links including the Continental Hook (top), the Longshank Nailer and stiff links (above) and our Dragon Fly Larvae Brown Kopie (right)

I believed that there were many products which were needed, not only different but highly effective in rig and bait presentation. A range of high quality and reliable items were developed and rapidly became recognised by many carp anglers as a new beginning.

The first of these were 3 specialised hook patterns which were far more effective than those which were generally available and have now become world famous. The centurion 2000 snag hook, the long-shank nailer and the cranked hook designed by my old friend Frank Warwick. These hooks were used by so many anglers with total success because of their strength and incredible hooking ability.

A range of rig bits soon followed and new rig designs and presentations – the withy pool rig, long-shank nailer, blowback rig, longshank reverse hair rig and the centurion snag rig system. Carp anglers were now expecting more innovations from carp r us.

Fluorocarbon was launched onto the market - we were the company to first introduce this product for carp angling - and it completely revolutionised mono rig and leader presentation. Fluorocarbon is now used worldwide but our very special product is made by the Japanese pioneers of this product and we are fortunate to have the very best of their range, due to our long term relationship. Our Clearwater fluorocarbon is and will always be the best on the market.

Our next innovation was the simple to attach ‘mouthsnagger’ line-aligner grub made from a unique material which absorbs amino’s and minerals present in the water. As usual, this has been imitated by other companies (made from rubber) but none of these copies can equal our lifelike grubs. This product will make any straight or down-eyed hook rotate so rapidly when a fish tries to eject the hook it create amazing hook-holds… and, they are reusable and can be moulded into different shapes by using steam.

I decided that I needed an even greater understanding of the different conditions that continental anglers faced and what products would be accepted by many of the leading continental anglers, items that they could use with confidence to help them handle the larger and strong-fighting European carp.

To aid my expansion into Europe I first approached Karel Nikl and his team, who

were a leading group in the Czech Republic in the heart of Europe. I made my first presentation at a carp club meeting at Lake Rozkos, and I felt that if they were prepared to accept some of my new ideas it could be a solid beginning… and they did! Carp r us was off on a fantastic journey, and with Karels help we have become one of the most famous names in end tackle design ever to trade in the Czech Republic.

We have now expanded our markets into Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and a central distribution depot was established in the city of Kolin in the Czech Republic for ease of transportation. There was still a long way to go, so a massive investment was made to produce a range of hooks which were stronger and sharper, to cope with the European carp - to achieve this I needed the aid of the finest hook tempering company in Japan, if I was to truly succeed. I had approached this company many times to make my hooks and at last they agreed You may ask “why is the heating and cooling of a hook so important”? If the tempering is not consistently correct the hook can be either, too weak and open out under strain, or snap because it’s too hard and with lack of durability. A new anti-glare finish was also needed but I did not want Teflon on my

‘a massive investment was made to produce a range of hooks which were stronger and sharper, to cope with the European carp’ hooks. You may ask why?

To apply Teflon to a hook it has to be reheated to a very high temperature, and if it is not cooled properly it can develop faults and suffer rapid loss of sharpness during use. We consider our new European hook range to be the finest on the market and so do those who have tried them.

My main goal has always been to deliver constant high quality and that is why the majority of my products are made in Japan and Europe. I definitely will not change my mind on this issue.

The word has rapidly spread and now the highly successful German based company “Imperial Baits”, led by the industrious Max Nollert, have decided to distribute carp r us throughout Germany and Austria. Max has also assisted us to obtain a solid base in Italy.

We do not want to stop there! We want to expand further into many other countries… such as Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Romania, Turkey, Kazakhstan and other surrounding countries.

This year we will sponsor a section in the World Carp Classic, which is not actually the first time and I am very excited to be there with my team to be part of it. As usual, we are in the process of designing more new and revolutionary ideas which will continue to make us an increased major force and strengthen our hold in the market.

Good luck to all participants taking part in the Event.

Ray dale- Smith

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or continental Europe

Hooked

On Carp Owner Ray Dale-Smith reveals his future plans for Carp R Us world domination

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Section Guide to Lago Di Bolsena

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

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REFER TO THESE PAGES FOR MORE INFORMATION

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Event Itinerary

Your guide to all the events for this year’s 15th World Carp Classic competition Thursday 26th September l Participants begin to arrive and set up

in Bivvy City at Camping Valdisole. l 17.00-19.00: Boat check opens in Bivvy City

Friday 27th September l Participants continue to arrive and set

up in Bivvy City. l 12.00-19.00: Boat Check Open in Bivvy City l 12.30-19.30: Registration Open in Bivvy City

Saturday 28th September l Participants continue to arrive and set

up in Bivvy City. l 09.00-12.30 & 13.30-19.00: Boat Check Open in Bivvy City l 09.00-19.30: Registration Open in Bivvy City l 18.00: Accuracy & Distance Casting competition sponsored by Banana Rods plus Gladiator Games commencing with the Kayak racing competition l 19.00: Gladiator games continues with Wader Run and Tug of War l 20.00: 15th anniversary party and presentation commences - food and beverages provided l 20.30: Entertainment provided with Ibiza DJs

Sunday 29th September l 08.00-12.00: Boat Check Open in

Bivvy City l 08.00-12.00: Registration Open in Bivvy City l 16.00: Opening ceremony parade in Bolsena Square l 16.45: Parade and Photographs in Bolsena Square l 17.15: Competitors enter the official opening ceremony in Bolsena l 18.00: Official welcome followed by the peg draw in Bolsena

Monday 30th September l 07.00: Competitors proceed

to pegs and set up l 14.00: Event commences signalled by rocket launches and sounding of horns

Saturday 5th October l 07.00: Event Rockets launched

and horns sounded to signify the end of the event. Competitors return to Bolsena l 13.00: Official prize giving ceremony

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As everyone who has previously attended a World Carp Classic will confirm, the atmosphere generated in the build up to the opening ceremony is unique and charged with emotion… we do not need to say any more than that because, if you are reading this, you are already here and you will be as excited as everyone else is!

This year, we made the decision to alter a few things. We felt that it would help to promote an even more special atmosphere if we contained as much as possible within Bivvy City itself. As a result, registration will now take place, not in Bolsena, but within Bivvy City. We believe that contestants will benefit from that in several ways as there will be much less need to leave the site.

Because of the slightly later date set for the event this year, we will have exclusive use of Camping Valdisole and all of its facilities. As a result, Bivvy City residents are free to pitch camp wherever they wish and, with all of the caravans being moved from the beachfront for the occasion, there will be plenty of choice to set up camp in prime locations.

On the Saturday evening preceding the event, the 15th Anniversary Celebrations will

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include a presentation in the form of an historic look back at the Event over the years to kick things off, followed by a food and beverage.

And then it’s party time with Ibiza DJ’s rocking Bivvy City ‘til the early hours! For those who would prefer a relatively quiet night, it might be prudent to pitch camp a little further away from the festivities to ensure a sound night’s sleep. l A Guide to Bivvy City Camping Valdisole provides us with an exceptional site, and with a large number of contestants, runners, sponsors and other attendees, Bivvy City will be a thriving community prior to fishing. With the unique atmosphere of previous events in mind, Bivvy City 2013 is set to become legendary, and if there was ever any doubt that World Carp Classic contestants know how to enjoy this period of free time, this year will surely end all speculation!

l How to get there ‘Camping Valdisole’ is situated on the northern shore of the lake, 5km from Bolsena to the southeast. Camping Valdisole, 01023 Bolsena, Via Cassia 117 North (Viterbo), Italy.

Telephone: +49 (0) 761 797 064 To get to Bolsena from Camping Valdisole: Turn right onto Via Cassia Nord/SS2 and continue towards Bolsena.

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Cool surroundings...

Camping Valdisole, relax in the shade with a cold beer after the boat check!

Bivvy City Activities Friday to Sunday

Carry on

Camping Bivvy City at Camping Valdisole will be a hive of activity preceding the event; enjoy the opening night party and entertainment, the Gladiator Games and competitions all with exclusive use of the campsite and its facilities l Onsite Insight On the site there is a large supermarket, a bar with a clubhouse and restaurant, a football and a volleyball court.

The site, covering 7ha, is divided by a network of tree-lined groves which extend right down to the shore. There is an extensive shower block with wash basins, wet room etc.

There are also bungalows to rent. l Onsite Carp Classic Activities Boat Check: As always, as part of the registration process there will be a full inspection of all boats and boating equipment.

Please refer to the Event Itinerary for times and don’t forget that you must go through the boat

check procedure before you go to registration.

Carp Connections Gladiator Games: On the glorious sands of the beachfront, Hans Sissingh of Carp Connections will once again be the master of ceremonies as entrants are put through their paces. In this highly entertaining not-to-be-missed spectacle, the typically madcap goings on are certain to attract attention… Don’t forget to enter this light-hearted and fun competition… with some nice prizes for the victorious Gladiators it’s very much a case of he who dares wins!

l Participants Registration. (see Itinerary for times) l Friday: Team Registration (see Itinerary for times)

Thursday to Sunday

Boat & Equipment check. (see itinerary for times)

Friday to Saturday

l Gladiator Games l Registration (bookings taken at HQ before Saturday evening) l Saturday 18.00: Accuracy & Distance Casting competition sponsored by Banana Rods l Gladiator Games @ Bivvy City Beach – commencing with kayak racing l Saturday 18.00: Gladiator Games continues with wader run and tug of war. l Saturday 20.00: 15th Anniversary Presentation l Saturday 20.30: Bivvy City Party Night including food & beverage plus entertainment

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Event round-up..

We have included a few things here that will hopefully be helpful to you. Should you have any enquiries other than emergencies, please refer to your copy of the official rules in the first instance before contacting HQ. l Flag Parade Please remember to bring your national flags along with you for the flag parade, which will take place just prior to the opening ceremony. Be proud that you are representing your country in an international event!

Upon registration at Bivvy City, you will be provided with a wristband to aid event officials to instantly identify you as a competitor. It is important to wear the identification bracelet at all times. You may be denied access to important proceedings unless you are easily identifiable, such as the opening ceremony and draw, or even prize giving!

l Parking in and around Bolsena Parking in and around Bolsena.

To avoid causing congestion when visiting Bolsena Town Square, please be advised that there is extremely limited parking space for vehicles in and around the square - you are therefore advised to use the large ‘pay and display’ car park on the main road, adjacent to the town square.

Around: (See Rule M02) The World Carp Classic organisers have endeavoured to ensure parking as near as possible to the pegs. Competitors must respect all official temporary parking signs and park only where assigned. Please adhere to all permanent roadside signs and residential signs at all times.

l Boat & Inventory Check List To ensure that your boat and safety equipment conforms to the organisers and local authorities requirements, competitors must arrange to present their boat and equipment to be checked at the designated times. After everything has been checked and approved, competitors will receive a form which will enable them to proceed with check-in, please note, you cannot register your team until you are in possession of the form.

When taking your boat and equipment to undergo the official boat check, please

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ensure that you have the following available: Boat (if it is an inflatable it must consist of 2 or more air chambers), oars and rowlocks or paddle (even if you have an electric outboard), anchor or mud weight with no less than 25 metres of rope, bailing equipment, 2 lifejackets complete with whistle and emergency light source, horn and 360° light source (lamp)

l Emergency procedure In any situation where emergency services are required (See boat rule K01) Anyone who experiences problems of a concerning or emergency nature, either on board or overboard in the water, should immediately use their whistle to alert people on-shore.

(See boat rule K02) Anyone on-shore must immediately advise in this order: HQ if marshal not already on-site (dedicated distress phone number provided), Neighbouring swims and relevant Local authorities (emergency phone number provided) For all other, non boat related emergencies, please phone the HQ and inform them of the nature of the emergency and who is involved, the exact location, i.e. your peg number, and provide your name and contact number.

l Keep Your Distance!

Contestants are reminded that there is a 300 metre maximum limit to place lines this year. The distance will be clearly defined by large marker buoys set all around the fishing zones just beyond this distance so that they do not interfere with your fishing. Any participant who sets out with the intention of breaking this rule will be given an automatic yellow card and a red card for any subsequent offence.

Blatant offences following ‘friendly warnings’ may result in a straight red card, please be aware! *Please read, digest and adhere to all event rules, ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for breaking them.

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Whilst there are many more than 15 rules for the competition I want to take this opportunity to point out 15 in particular that I will be looking out for in this year’s event l The Rules The most important one of all is that you read and understand all the rules before you start competing; the set of rules provided to each team is comprehensive and covers everything you need to know. If you break one of the rules and try to come up with the excuse that you hadn’t read or understood the rule, that will not be acceptable. You will no doubt have come a long way and spent a lot of money, so don’t jeopardise your place and earn an early exit by disqualification. l Distance One of the most important rules for the competitors, as it dictates how much area you have to fish, although in the case of Bolsena distance is less important given the depths of the lake. The further out you go the deeper it gets and the carp will simply not feed there.

I think it is a mistake to think you have to go out as far as you can, as carp prefer to feed in the shallower water. The allowed distance for competitors to fish has been raised this year, so I will be very strict on anyone who thinks they can go beyond this limit. I have rangefinders and night vision for myself and my team of marshals so be aware. l Boats Lake Bolsena is big, very big, and even an average wind can create very choppy water, your boat needs to be up to the job and it needs to have all the safety equipment that is required.

We have been having boat checks for long enough now that you should all know you need to have proper lifejackets, horns, bailer, anchor and anchor rope plus, of course oars to row the boat should the battery run out for the electric outboard. So make sure you have a boat to do the job as the guys at the boat check this year will be much stricter. l Boat Propulsion The only means of propulsion for your boat is either by rowing or using an electric outboard.

You should ensure that you have enough battery power to last you the competition plus a means to recharge batteries. We are not able to provide charging facilities for you.

Some competitors have no idea how long a leisure battery actually lasts when going out into the wind to place baits, I have said this before, rowing will save the life of your battery

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Andy Chambers:

15 pointers for15 years of The Classic considerably, leaving you enough power to use when they are really needed – when playing and landing of fish. Not making proper use of your batteries and running out when the carp go on a feeding spree could cost you dearly and even the chance of becoming the champion.

l Carp Care

Lake Bolsena can be very prolific at times, with multiple catches, so make sure you are prepared, with enough retaining slings and sacks to manage the situation. Any carp caught must be notified to your local marshal as soon as it is landed so that the fish can be weighed, recorded, photographed and returned to the lake as quickly as possible. It goes without saying that the safety of the carp is of the highest importance and proper unhooking mats must be used, the fish wetted if necessary and not kept out of the water for photographs/ filming etc. any longer than is necessary.

l Boat Safety Safety whilst out on the water is a major aspect in the rules and lifejackets are an absolute must, not just occasionally but every single time you go out on the water. More yellow cards are given to competitors for not wearing a life jacket than any other broken rule. It really is quite simple - be prepared; given how quickly conditions can change on the lake there will be no warnings given this year, the first time you go out without a lifejacket, you get a yellow card, if you do it again then it is disqualification. l Boat Time Something else that always seems to crop up each year and I do not know why… This is the allowed time when competitors can go out on the water. It is quite simple; when the hooter goes for the start of the competition! There is no period when you can go out on the water to try your echo sounder or to put markers out, so stay off the water ‘til it is time. l Team Runners I remember the last Madine event when not only did we have a team runner who was under 18 out in a boat (No competitor or team runner under 18 is allowed out in a boat for the competition) but he was also playing and landing fish. This is completely wrong and the team was asked to pack up immediately as they had been disqualified. Don’t let this be you.

dispute, then I will cut down the amount of water you are able to fish considerably. So it’s simple, sort it out as you really do not want me to come and do it for you. There will also be competition markers out in the lake marking the maximum range you are able to fish. If you remove any of these markers you will be disqualified immediately – you have been warned.

l Rods Competitors may only have four baited rods in the water at any one time and two reserve rods, but these must be broken down. Each rig used by the competitor must only have one hook and all hooks must be micro barbed or barbed, which is generally the case these days with hooks from the major brands like Korda, Fox and Nash etc. l Respecting Bolsena If you have been to Lake Bolsena before you will know how well kept and clean the lake is, and we want to keep it that way. It is disgusting the way some competitors think they can leave their swim after the competition and if I had my way every single one of them would be banned for life. There is no excuse for this – remove your rubbish and put it in the rubbish bins or the designated rubbish areas which will be signposted. If you’re still not sure, ask your marshal.

l Weighing The minimum weight of the fish that may be recorded for the competition has been raised this year to 5kg as there are many small carp in the lake and not all of these are of the strain l Peg Markers cyprinus carpio so this new minimum weight will l Play Nice Your peg marker indicates the spot where you eliminate the problem of another species being It is a friendly event and rarely do we get any nastiness, I want to see competitors getting must place your rods, and you have disgression mistakenly recorded. on with competitors.There will be rivalries and to have them no more than 3 metres to the left, battles but let’s have those in a fair and open right, front or back of the peg. Any further than way. Also, I want each and every competitor to that and you will be asked to move them. There treat the marshals with respect and I will come may be an exceptional reason why this is not down hard on anyone who doesn’t. possible and in that case you must get the okay from the marshal that is looking after your peg. l Have Fun Lastly, and not really a point on the rules but to l Markers wish everyone fishing in the event good luck, Competitors may use up to six permanent have fun and fish well. It is a great event which Oar power.. markers in their swim and no more, and these has formed many friendships over the Rob Nunn must be removed at the end of competition. years from carp anglers all over the world shows us how The markers must be placed within the confines who come to fish, and long may it it’s done of your swim; Some competitors try to extend continue. See you at Bolsena 2013. the boundaries of their swim as much as Andy Chambers possible into the water of other pegs. If you cannot sort out the boundary of your swim with your neighbour and I have to be involved in a

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Hennie Du Preez on the South African way

Proud moment... A beautiful Bolsena common carp of 18.6kg

held by Andries Maree, with Founder Ross Honey and Hennie du Preez’ joining him for the trophy shot

Team Spirit T

he number of participants from South Africa in the World Carp Classic has grown over the years since that first participation by the pioneers Hennie du Preez, Gilbert Foxcroft, etc.

They were the first representatives from the African Continent to compete during the early 2000’s in the competition which was organised

by Curt Crabmire. It was known then as the World Carp Champs.

During 2006 Hennie and a friend first took part in the WCC. It was after this that Hennie made the decision to continue with participation in the WCC because of the structure of the event and the rules.

Participation in the event was previously coordinated by Hennie Du Preez and later supported by Andries Maree because of Hennies previous experience in participating in the event.

Over the years none of the South African pairs managed to end up on the podium for winning a sector or the event. However the

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pair of Hennie and Andries was, since their combined participation the most successful SA team to date at the WCC. Hennie and Andries joined as a pair for the time in the WCC at Lac De Madine in France.

During the three events they attended at Lac De Madine, two of the results were far above average and the one result was not good at all. They also started to compete in the amateur World Carp Angling Championships during 2007 which falls under the hospice of FIPSed. During 2009 the pair of them was blessed to become the World Champions during an event in France where 25 countries took part.

‘For us the WCC was always the highlight on our angling calendar because during this

event we had the opportunity to rub shoulders with worldwide legends of carp angling like Lee, Chillie, Ardy, Frank and Tim etc.

‘For the members of Team SA, the objective of participation is to work for a good position and trying in the process to win the event.

‘The challenge for us is to have a good angling session in a totally unknown lake which is very different to the lakes in South Africa.

‘Over the years of participating in the event we found that you develop some great relationships with the team members from the other countries. It was for us a special occasion to meet our carp angling friends during the WCC and share stories over a beer or two.

One of the aspects of the event which will

‘The challenge for us is to have a good angling session in a totally unknown lake which is very different to the lakes in South Africa’

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Additional challenges!

For a South African pair to participate in the event, it is a logistical nightmare which has some severe financial implications. To give you an idea what this involves, here’s a brief breakdown.. l Flight Travel: Living on the African continent has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. So we need to book flight tickets which normally cost us the same price as the entry fee for the WCC. The flight is normally about 8-9 hours. l Road Travel: When arriving in the host country like France or Italy we rent small cargo vans to transport our tackle to the venue and back. We use the vans because our tackle does not fit in a normal car or station wagon. We normally use one van per pair. This is even more expensive than the flight tickets! l Tackle & Camping Equipment: We prefer shipping our own tackle and equipment to be used during the event. The total weight of a team of 3 pairs is normally about 1.5ton. The “flight ticket” cost for the freight is $14 000. This enables us to have tackle which we can rely on and tents which will keep us dry during the heavy rains of Europe. l Bait: Being from South Africa where carp angling is, at this stage, a small part of the angling community, the availability of sponsors are none.

So when we take part in the WCC we need to purchase all our baits in the host country at a tackle shop which is close to the venue.

always stay with us is the well-established hosting structure which is under the leadership of Ross and Marianne. They have also become very good friends of ours and they were always willing to assist us with any special arrangements. We would like to thank you guys for this.

During our last participation at Lake Bolsena we had a very special WCC. We had the privilege and experience to enjoy the fighting power of the wild carp of Bolsena.

It was our first encounter with the lake and what an awesome piece of water is it. It was very intimidating for us to make a decision on which pegs we would like to fish. But we were dealt a hand by God and we enjoyed every moment of it.

As a pair we had a fairly good position at the end but, as a team, unfortunately we could not hold a candle to the best in the world.

To all the teams taking part in this year’s event, good luck guys and may you all have tight lines. We are going to miss seeing you this year!!

Hennie Du Preez

l Visas: If we want to move from this continent of ours, we need visas. So every year it is a challenge and a costly experience to obtain the paperwork to attend the WCC. Pegged... Checking where the peg is on the location map

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Beautiful Bolsena... A very special moment for Sylvian and his family!

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One competition, one thousand memories

To Sylvian Schumacher, the event is like a glass of fine wine

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s a French angler, I’ll allow myself a comparison between taking part in the WCC and great French wines: I’ve had great experiences while taking part in the WCC, profitable in fish, as good as a glass of Grand Cru.

But, as it is always pleasant to savour a glass of wine, fine or not, with some great cheese, each and every WCC competition I took part in (catching carp or not) brought me so much pleasure!

That kind of pleasure I had is due to the fact that, each year I can find that same recipe, more than just Carp angling. Actually, the World Carp Classic is first an atmosphere, that particular atmosphere in which sport challenge and passionate anglers meeting are closely linked up. All of this is possible thanks to some great and special moments who only the WCC has the secret! First characteristic event, in which conviviality is the main word, is the opening ceremony where the countries taking part are introduced by marshals waving national flags.

What a pride it gives to see ones flag next to those from other nations, each of them being as prestigious as the others!

Second, a great moment following flags parade is the official peg draw that all competitors have been waiting for. At that time a mix between excitement and stress surrounds every competitor and teammates with THE question in their mind: « What location will I be fishing this year? » At the end of the peg draw here it is: Alea jacta est, the die is cast! We all know where we are going to fish now!

It may seem weird but this is the time the competition really starts and you forget about other competitors. The only things you are now brainstorming about are the place you will be fishing for a week and the strategy you could use to be successful. Real fight between carp and

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anglers! And what beats all was that I had to wait my second competition to fight with a carp.

My First Carp I was in front of my rods, dreaming of the places carp could hide, when my swinger fell down, I had my lines at the edge of the ring next to some weeds.

I first thought about a bream as we were fishing Madine Lake in which bream grow in plenty. I struck hard for nothing as the fish was coming back to me quickly. I jumped in my boat but the nearer I was getting the more I had that feeling of forgetting something. I was now close enough to see the fish under the surface: a great mirror of 20+kg! As I tried to catch my net I then realized what it was I had forgotten, the net handle wasn’t in the boat! Shame on me! I desperately tried to net the fish with no success and it got back to the weed and managed to escape.

I was upset and angry at myself. Once I got back on the bank I put the handle directly in the boat hoping I did not lose my only fish of the competition.

Actually I did not, a little later my bite alarm sang once again and I struck, not to let go of that second chance given to me. I got in the boat fast, and once I was half distance from the bank I moored it to fight against the wind which was blowing hard. The beginning of another great fight! Keeping concentration, I did not make the same mistakes that time and landed a wonderful 22.50kg carp! Though it wasn’t my first 20+kg fish, it was the first for the WCC. I swear then that it made me something!

My best contest During my last competition, last year, I made the trip with my family, all of us being keen on fishing.

That was the opportunity we had to discover Italy! Some of the previous competitions were done with my companion but this time we had

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my daughter and son in law to help us. As if it brought us luck we did have good results.

We started the event shyly with two commons weighing respectively 6.1kg and 9.7kg. Then around noon, while we were having a small drink to celebrate a 15kg just landed, the bite alarm started to yell like it never did before during the first days.

One jump and I’m in the boat going fast on the waves, I can feel the fish must be a big one as it definitely keeps the depth. After I got it off the bottom it appeared a few meters under the surface which is almost translucent; right now I can see a wonderful common - fixed the day before, we had to use the engine and this is the moment the battery chose to nearly abandon us.

I tried to fight against the wind, blowing more and more, pushing me back to the bank, while preserving the little battery left and the ’baby’ still didn’t want to reach our beautiful JRC mat!

10 minutes later the fish eventually gave in out of tiredness and we landed a 21.1kg. That carp obviously gave us higher ranking, Marianne GUILLOIS’ congrats, and at the same time the pleasure and the privilege of an interview by official media from WCC. Icing on the cake: during that interview we’ve had another run! We finally reached a global fish weight of 68.100kg (7 fish caught) what’s more we brought missing kilos so as Richworth Team finished 3rd overall in team challenge!

For this year, once again, I can’t wait to see the beginning of the event. There are lot of things which I don’t know what to expect: what kind of peg will I draw this time? Will I manage to catch great carp? But there is one thing I’m absolutely sure of: I’m going to take part once more in an unforgettable event which will fill my head with wonderful new memories.

Sylvian Schumacher

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Awesome Bolsena

Team Styria on their amazing WCC experience I simply love Carp fishing. I think I can safely say that every aspect required to ascertain a new body of water is relative, and where Bolsena is concerned, seeing it for the very first time, you become like a little kid when it opens up before you.

That’s what happened to us when we stood on the banks of the mighty Lago di Bolsena for the very first time… It is simply gorgeous. Bolsena presents a very interesting challenge; it’s a beautiful place, perhaps without equal, and yet its wide expanse of water conceals many secrets that we could only hope to see revealed.

This would be for Styria Carp Team only our second venture in the wcc, and to take part in this great event on such an amazing lake was an honour.

In Bivvy City, following a 13-hour drive from Austria, we met and made acquaintance with anglers from far and wide and with time passing quickly it was soon time for the peg draw. Full of hope and anticipation, the suspense was incredible even though we knew what to expect. We were still trying to collate potentially valuable information on the lake up until it was our turn to draw a peg, the point when Carping Club 4 became our designated home for the week. The pegging of swims was very generous and we felt very well looked after by our marshals, who were great.

About 2-hours after the event had finally started, we had our first run… A beautiful

A few facts about Lake Bolsena.. l Professional Fishermen:

In Lake Bolsena there are many professional fishermen. Consequently, carp have become accustomed to the long nets used by fishermen even though, only few of them fish specifically for carp. This causes limited carp activity during the night.

For this reason, we go where we notice some movement.

Those areas where you find the “martavelli” (a kind of net specifically used for eels) are very interesting too: it often happens that Atherinae get stuck in them, thus becoming a great food source for carp. tinca soon lay within the mesh of my landing net, and not the desired carp we had hoped for. We gave it everything we could, even though we realised quite quickly that we would not be in a position to challenge for any of the top spots. We were, however, rewarded for our efforts later in the week with some good fish.

Great organization, great friendships, beautiful landscapes and not to be forgotten moments make the anticipation of the 2014 World Carp Classic huge.

l The ichthyofauna:

The species of fish in the lake include: tench, pike, black bass, European perch, lake whitefish, atherinae, eels, carp and catfish.

Most of the carp population consists of common carp of a large size,

Be aware... Lake Bolsena is vast – even an

average wind can create choppy waters

whereas mirror carp are quite rare and the few which have been caught were swimming in an area near Capodimonte known as “la mergonara”.

The average size is about 14/15 kg in the period preceding spawning and, after spawning, it is about 12 kg. The lake record is over 30 kg, but we are confident that in the future the lake will produce some nice surprises.

l How to reach the lake:

To reach Lake Bolsena you have to drive along the A1 motorway (RomeFlorence) and turn off at the junction of Orte; then, take the clearway (OrteViterbo) and turn off to Montefiascone.

Once there, you can decide whether to go to Marta, Capodimonte (left shore) or drive along the scenic road bordering the lake towards Bolsena (right shore).

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Everyone’s a w

Overall third place.. Pete Wilson and Yohan Lidon

Overall Team Winners.. A very delighted JRC team

An enthralling tussle for honours took place in the 2012 World Carp Classic and when the event had drawn to its dramatic conclusion, Romanian pair, Peter Micula and Norbert Pongracz had done enough to hold off the challenge from the eventual second placed pair, Andrea Campanini and Filippo Mongrandi of Italy to claim a most deserved victory

Section Winners... Lee Jackson

Outdoor International Section winner (top) and Ardy Veltkamp &Richard Simeons CCMoore Section winners

The new World Carp Classic champions, Peter and Norbert banked a staggering 34 carp for a total weight of 329.9kg and were obviously elated by their tremendous achievement.

Fishing for PV-TV and using SBS Tactical Baits products, the pair from Romania staved off the challenge of the second placed Pair by 76.2kg. The Italian duo, Andrea and Filippo, were fishing for JRC and concluded with 20 carp weighing in at an impressive total of 253.7kg. Incredible as it may sound, all of the top 18 pairs concluded with over 100kgs each and that is a very impressive statistic!

Huge congratulations to the overall World Carp Classic Champions 2012, Peter Micula and Norbert Pongracz and full credit for the sterling effort put in by all of our other contestants.

Eventual 2nd placed pair overall, Andrea Campanini and Filippo Mongrandi of Italy, pushed hard all of the way to the finish and can be very proud to have represented Italy in such fine form.

In a highly commendable 3rd place overall were Peter Wilson and Yohan Lidon, fishing for Big Fish Richworth with 19 carp for a grand total of 210.2kg.

In the huge tussle that ensued for so many pairs in each of the sections, dramatic stories unfolded all around the venue. The Section winners who ultimately won through were obviously elated to claim their place in the history books, and rightly so, because for each pair the first goal must be to win their specific section. If that can be achieved, it is then in the lap of the gods as to where they stand on the overall leader-board.

Congratulations go to every pair, who fought so very hard in their challenge for the title. Our victorious section winners can be justifiably proud of their efforts and to have represented their countries and sponsors in such a highly competitive and meaningful manner.

Section winners..Emilian Parasch

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

a winner baby!

.Emilian Paraschiv & Catalin Duta win the Pescalis section and Matteo Montanari & Simone Martini for Jetfish

PVTV Section.. won by Steve Howard & Dan Oriston

Second Place overall...

Andrea Campaini & Filippo Mongrandi

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

M

y World Carp Classic experiences started back in 2007 when a good friend of mine, Rob Tough, asked me if I fancied having a go!

To be honest match fishing didn’t seem the one for me at the time but he really loved it, and you get to fish some great waters abroad so, why not? In 2007 the venue was the Great Lac D’Orient in France. It was a lake I had never fished before, but I’d read and heard loads about the place, such as the Bulldozer common when Leon Hoogendijk caught it back in the day.

Fortunately Rob and I were fishing in the Carpworld team, run by none other than the iconic figure Tim Paisley, who I’d only ever met once before at a Carpin’ On show in Essex. Tim was the team captain but at the eleventh hour wasn’t able to fish the match due to an abscess in his mouth. So the team consisted of Rob Tough and myself, John Lilley and George Csonka (filling in for Tim) and the last of the trio was made up by Mark and Mat Illman.

The lead up to the draw was epic. The buzz around the place; meeting and chatting to all the other guys fishing the event’, a beer or three, stories of catching a proper whacker on the world stage… why hadn’t I done this match fishing lark before I asked myself?

Rob, as always, was so upbeat, predicting a brace of 50lb carp caught by us on the first night, and photographed by a local supermodel! That may have been a tad optimistic to say the least, but I was really excited to get the draw done and start fishing. For me, the draw didn’t seem that important as I knew it would be a very, very hard fishing match. I knew of guys fishing non stop for 6 weeks at a time with not even so much as a bite, let alone a carp and those guys could move swims if they liked. As it was for the 120+ pairs of anglers, whatever peg we pull out the bag that was our fate for the whole five days and nights match.

Toughy and I drew the point of Italy, which was okay, and a known area. We had neighbours from Holland and Germany who turned out be really great company throughout the whole event and Hans Sissons from Holland is still a good friend to this day.

We all set about fishing according to our tactics as the World Carp Classic 2007 unfolded.

Some of the things that happened in this event will stay with me till my dying day! Like a plane, and I mean a proper plane, not a remote play thing, somehow managed to hit my fishing lines on its way round the lake! We were just chilling watching the water, as you do, when this plane passed by us, flying very low. Rob looked at me and said, “Bloody hell, that was low!”

I thought nothing of it, as I rummaged around for my camera to get a photo of it as it disappeared into the distance. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later that the plane returned, this time flying even lower. It came from our left to right as we looked at the lake, just missing Rob’s lines then, BANG! In a split second my rods were gone! My buzzer had a burn mark right through it as the line burnt through. It was unbelievable! I was fishing in two small holes in the weed and now I had to recover all my line, rods and buzzers etc. After a six-hour search, we found the rods, all the line, re-spooled and basically started again.

After day three a 42lb fish would put you in the lead, and on a place like the Orient any fish could easily beat that. The Carpworld Team was doing well with one of the three fish already caught falling to the experienced rods of George Csonka and John Lilley.To still be in with a chance of winning a match of that magnitude it was great for the team, and the individuals, too. Tim was always floating about the team, passing on his experience and truthfully Rob and I felt really confident of catching one.

Usual suspects.. me and Toughy with the Carpworld Team headed by Tim Paisley Day four was a major social event and by eight in the evening we had maybe around 15 guys in our swim. The skies were so clear and there was absolutely no wind on the lake what so ever. Drinks flowing, and all sorts of stories being told, when, out of the blue, we had one bleep. Rob and I jumped up and ran down to the rods. Now anyone who’s fished these big waters at range with mono line will know one bleep could be a fish taking 50 yards of line, but to be honest even I had doubts myself as I put on my life jacket and started going out in pursuit of what we hoped was a carp.

It wasn’t until I was about 30/40 yards away from the fish when it kicked and I really knew we had a fish on! Talk about magical moments in my fishing life – that was without a doubt right up there, playing a carp in the pitch black on the mighty Orient from a boat with 6,500 acres of water around me. It was just me, my rod and the carp. I’ve probably never been so happy to land a carp in my life as I was with that one.There in my net was a 20lb+ common carp. I remember that feeling of utter relief, because I would have looked so stupid if I had returned back to the bank with nothing! I looked back to the bank while still out in the lake and all I could see were dozens of headlamp lights, so I called out to Rob. “Rob, can you hear me?”

“Yes mate,” he replied.

“Tell everyone to turn their lights out and just leave yours on,” I said One by one they went out, leaving just Rob’s light standing behind my buzzer. Watching all those light going out one at a time was brilliant, and a fantastic memory. As I returned to the bank and smiled at Rob: he gave me a big cuddle and a kiss while all the lads helped out with getting the fish sorted out. We already had a marshal in the swim so it was given a weight and sacked up for the paparazzi to do the photo shoot in the morning.

Six years have passed since that night, and I remember it like yesterday.

Ross Honey has got the ability to establish a competition like no other on the world stage, I guess.

I’ve only fished it since 2007 but along the way I’ve met some great anglers from across the world whom I respect in the highest order, and its a privilege to fish with and against them.

Fishing has taught me one thing; no matter how much you love it, or think you’ve cracked it, you’re always learning and trying new tactics. That’s why I’ve always got my eyes peeled, clocking what all the anglers around me are doing!

That fish in 2007, along with George and John’s put the Carpworld team into 1st place on the team leader board, and that’s the way it stayed to the final whistle. Over the entire match only five carp were landed out of 240 anglers and our Carpworld guys caught 2 of them. It was a fantastic feeling receiving our trophy, but better still Captain Tim had a massive smile on his face all the way back to Derbyshire.

The 2008 event went back to Lac de Madine in the north east of France, and what a great venue

‘A proper plane, not a remote play thing, somehow managed to hit my fishing lines... Rob looked at me and said, “Bloody Hell, that was low!”’

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r

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Passion for angling..

Tom gets to grips with a big Madine lunker, and a carp!

A Classic romance Classic Romance; Tom Duncan-Dunlop reflects back on some his most unforgettable moments while competing in the World Carp Classic

Opportunity knocks.. As luck would have it, Ross Honey and the film crew turned up at our swim just as we’d bagged out third Madine beauty ... result! that was. Around 2,500 acres, full of beautiful carp, and Ross had been given the go ahead to fish some never-before-fished areas. This time around, the Carpworld team consisted of Tim Paisley and Lee Jackson, Mark Bartlett and Kevin Hewitt, plus Rob Tough and yours truly. The draw was a little more important as there was much conjecture about those unfished areas, and because the draw had reverted to a choice of alternative swims it was important to have some understanding of the potential of as many swims as possible.

The social before the event was as good as ever, with one or two beer, wine and spirit bottles standing empty in the morning, along with a slight pain in a number of heads. The camping area is like a little village with about 50 well equipped gîtes within touching distances of each other, so even if you wanted you couldn’t escape the social escapades.

The dreaded draw approached and in hindsight only one out three pairs got a good draw. Rob and I found ourselves fishing opposite Tim and Lee in the No Fish Alley part of the lake, so all our hope rested on ‘the Kids’ as Tim called them. Anyone who knows the reputation of internationals Mark Bartlett and Kev Hewitt will know they are two very talented anglers indeed so to retain the team title we won the previous year rested on their shoulders. Happily for us the boys certainly pulled it out the bag, coming second overall and winning the team title for Carpworld for the second year on the bounce with six fish. The match produced nothing but bream for Tim, Lee and us two, but it represented another learning curve for me, for sure. I’ve always wondered what would have happened if we’d had the bottle and not fished, or gone out in the boat, for 3 days and just fished the last 48 hours just to try and nick a fish which would have won our section. You live and learn, I guess.

2009, what a year that was! The World Carp Classic was back on Madine, and the lake had fished really well in 2008.

This time the draw was mega important as we knew that two areas had fished their tits off in 2008, the ATT section – but only end pegs, maybe the last 5 pegs – and the Pescalis section.

We would have taken any peg in that section as it done a lot of fish the previous year. Rob and I did a grid peg draw with marked pegs in three different patterns, such as circled numbers pegs we would take, X pegs we would not take, while just numbers on their own we were undecided about. We really didn’t know what to do with these, and we were going to have make a decision on the stage. There were about eight pegs that I

thought could win it outright, and it was down to whether we would gamble for a better peg with the alternative choice.

Our team was the same as the previous year so we had our team meeting prior to the draw as the nerves really kicked in. Toughy and I were about 50th to go up on stage and as we edged closer to the stage, still ticking off all the swims of that Ross had called out, on my list there was at least six of my eight fliers still left in the draw bag.

I was shaking like a leaf! Ross called us up: Rob Tough and LORD Duncan-Dunlop! Rob stuck his hand in and pulled out ATT 2. This was a peg in our ‘don’t know’ selection, but a friend of mine had fished it about a week before the event and caught one fish. Rob looked at me and said, “Well, what shall we do?” Double checking my list and not wanting to make a mistake I said “Gamble!” “Are you sure?” Rob asked. “Yes, gamble!” I said.

It was my turn to stick my hand in, and out came Pescalis 12! What a result! This was next door to the peg that had won it in 2008! We just looked at each other in disbelief. As for the rest of the Carpworld team, Tim and Lee did their usual and had bad luck in the draw, while the kids drew with Ultima 5. We knew there were going to be some big south westerly and westerly winds blowing straight into the Ultima section, so they were pretty hopeful.

As we arrived on the main island on Madine we looked at our swim. Weed, snags, drop offs, only one peg to our left, wind blowing in at us, and there were sure to be a few carp lurking about, that was for sure.

We set up camp, got the rods out, then at about 10pm my right hand rod rattled off, we legged it to the boat, got the life jacket on and I flew out in pursuit of whatever was attached to the other end of my line. As I got closer my worst fears became reality as the fish had found a snag, not good! So we lost that one in the end. However, it was such an early bite we were hopeful of another.

Thankfully, Mark and Kev and landed a nice one from the Ultima section, so event wise Team Carpworld was on the board and hoping for a hattrick of wins on the bounce.

The next day Rob and I took it in turns to have a proper look and prod about in the boat. On my side, the right, I decided to fish near the snags but fish the area with a float to keep my line out the water and the other rod was on a drop off near a massive potomageten weed bed. I remember Rob returning after having a rummage about in the boat excited about what he had found, some sort of broken area that turned out to be broken shells of mussels at around 180 yards in 13’ on water perfect area for carp for sure. As Monday

‘Double checking my list and not wanting to make a mistake I said “Gamble!” “Are you sure?” Rob asked. “Yes, gamble!” I said.’

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night closed in Rob’s rod was away. As he played the fish I got in the boat, took it over to his side of the swim, then Rob passed me the rod and I went after the fish. This time everything went to plan and our first fish was on the score board, weighing in at around the 35lb mark. By Wednesday our swim was kicking off big time. At one stage we had a carp in the net, two carp in the sacks, and we were playing one, too! Rob was playing a fish on my rods but playing it from the bank as the wind had really picked up. It was just absolute carnage! By now we had only had a couple of hours sleep and we were shattered.com There was a boat ban on the Thursday as the wind had really picked up and it was far to dangerous to go out in the boat. Mr Honey and the film crew entered our swim as the only rod left in the water burst into life! We got Ross in the water to hold that fish as we had another two in sacks resulting in a fantastic picture of all three of us holding 3 x 40lb+ Madine beauties.

As the Classic drew nearer to the close, Rob and I had an enormous number of texts and calls willing us on to win the event. Ross came into our swim early on the Saturday morning with his horn and did the count down. 10,9,8..........1. I just jumped on Rob and we both fell in the water, life jackets on of course…That feeling was just indescribable and I’ve just got goose bumps now just writing this. We’d won the World Carp Classic, and Team Carpworld had won the team event, too. Happy days!

For the record, we had 29 takes, two lost, and one got out of a retaining sling. We caught 26 carp for 347.5kg (764 lb) in five days and nights and to say we were a little tired by the end of it would be the understatement of the century.

The presentation ceremony is one big blur as my head was in orbit – so many people congratulating us, and wanting photos with us.

That was one of the best bits for me; all the guys we were fishing against were truly happy for us, and that’s why I really love this event so much.

There are so many really lovely people doing what we all love, carp fishing. When we went up on stage to sing our national anthem, I shouted it from the top of my voice, deafening everybody around me, but what a magical feeling that was.

Now the event has moved to the Great Bolsena, and what a beautiful place that is, as many of you realised last year. But for those fishing it for the first time, you’re in for an amazing experience. For me, this event could be won from one of about 40 pegs. The funny thing is, some of you will be celebrating as you read this and I can assure you I will be one of the first to shake your hands. Although it’s hard to win a world cup of the magnitude of the Classic, I would so much love to be the first person to win it twice! So game on…

I really wish you all the best of luck, and I’m looking forward to doing it all again. If you haven’t met me before come and say hello at some point.

I will be the one with a beer in my hand and a big smile on my face. Happy Hunting

Tom Duncan-Dunlop

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Team event..

sponsored by Carp Connections The World Carp Classic Team Event provides a platform for sponsors to arrange teams to compete under their banner against other sponsored teams from the main event.

With the battle for the title giving year-long bragging rights to the individual anglers and also the teams Sponsor Company, it is traditionally a keenly contested challenge. The Team Event is sponsored by Hans Sissingh of Carp Connections, who is a familiar and popular

figure in carp angling, and Hans will provide and present the title and awards at the prize giving ceremony.

The World Carp Classic proudly presents the list of competing teams for what is sure to be an immensely tense and exciting tussle for honours.

TEAM ATT Tom Wright John Odriscoll Phil Baker

Jay Cater (ENG) Steve Carrie (ENG) Chris Weekes (ENG)

TEAM CARP CONNECTIONS Twan Boekelder Martin Hertogs Hans Sissingh

Maarten Gommers (NL) Frank Hertogs (NL) Jean Pierre Becker (NL)

TEAM DYNAMITE 1

Andre Piters Bianca Venema Wim Hanegraaf

Craig Wood (NL) Lizette Beunders (NL) Dave Kesseler (NL)

TEAM DYNAMITE 2 Kristof Cuderman Peter Kuppens Pascal Kowlick

Emir Caro (SLOV) Avy Geboer (BE) Cyril Martin (FR)

TEAM DYNAMITE 3 Emiliano Gabrielli Riccardo Battisti Andrea Fava

Sandro Di Cesare (IT) Daniele Colapicchioni (IT) Davide Decataldo (IT)

TEAM IMPERIAL BAITS Max Nollert Roberto Bianchi Eugenio Morini

Julian Jurkewitz (GER) Fabio Manzetti (IT) Claudio Ghirardi (IT)

Team spirit.. in it together, win it together!

TEAM PVTV 1

TEAM SBS

Peter Micula

Norbert Pongracz (RO)

Radu Morar Ardy Veltkamp

Jozef Acs (HU) Richard Simeons (NL)

l Defending Champions

Gabi Tomulescu (RO) Gabi Stanciu (RO) Istvan Horvath (RO)

TEAM SOUTH AFRICA Kobus Lottering George Matthee Victor Whittle

Dan Orminston (ENG) Andras Szigetfalvia (HU) Slavissa Antic (CH)

TEAM SOLAR TACKLE

TEAM PVTV 2 Ciprian Dochita Cristi Rudeanu Remus Lenghel

Steve Howard Zoltan Kovacs Milos Antic

Chris Liebenberg (SA) Lourens Martiz (SA) Quinton Smith (SA)

TEAM RENMAR Peleckas Vytautas Kruckas Vygantas (LT) Renaldas Marciukaltis Andrey Zakharo (LT) Aidas Turauskas Giedrius Urbas (LT)

Martin Locke

Tom Duncan Dunlop (ENG)

Nick Helluer Colin Gray

Dave Waite (ENG) Dan Moorcroft (ENG)

l Winner 2009

TEAM NORTHERN BAITS Sturla Fjellvang Gary Sheridan Morten Juul

Kenneth Nordhus (NOR) Tim Swain (ENG) Ole Petter (DEN)

TEAM SPOMB Bryan Houghton Neil Rivers Simeon Bond

Andy Phillips (ENG) Nick Davies (ENG) Nicholas Holzer (ENG)

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

W

hen I took part in the World Carp Classic 14 years ago, I could not have known that I would align myself with the event for the next few years. It was supposed to be a one-night stand, trying something new, but it has in some way become part of my life.

In 1996, during the World Carp Cup at Fishabil, I met Simon Crow, who had taken his first steps into journalism for angling magazines.

Two years later he sent me a copy of the magazine, Carp-Talk, in which a brief mention was made of the first competition - held in France on Lake Madine – and also that the next event would be held the following year in 1999.

In Poland, the concept was embraced and a series of carp competitions was organized by the newly formed Polish Carp Society, and I thought it would be nice to go to France and see how the world carp classic was run.

In Poland, carp fishing took its first steps…

In the shops there was hardly any specialist equipment, and catch & release was completely unknown bar the odd few enthusiasts. Checking out the WCC was also an opportunity to visit several fishing shops (mainly in Belgium) to stock up on equipment. I remember that my first encounter with Ross Honey was by fax. To today’s young carpers this prehistoric way of communication may seem strange but then again, for them, internet and e-mails have existed from the beginning of the world.

It turned out there were some problems. For example; payment before the start of the competition - because Poland did not belong to the European Union and sending money constituted a real problem. So we agreed that Ross would reserve a place for me (hoping I was coming) and I would pay cash on the spot. And so it happened.

So, together with Janusz, the only Polish team and the only one in this part of Europe, would stand on the banks of Madine, as one of the few nations outside of England. We had no clue about the lake, or about what we might find there, but it did not matter. The atmosphere was so perfect that I immediately fell in love with the place. I had fished on such big waters in Poland but not during the competition, so this was something completely different.

Of course, success in competitions is mostly down to a good draw. I must admit that, in draws, I seem to have very little good luck. In all my times competing in the WCC only twice did I draw a good peg, and in other cases, bad, or very, very bad. During the first event for me, in 1999, it was just really bad. It was still a time when it was not possible to place rigs by boat and you had to fish from the shore and cast.

Then, in 30 degree heat for 4 hours, just fishing, as baiting by Spod was something I had not yet heard of. We baited the swim using a stationary, large sling that looked like a catapult operated by wielkoludów in the movie Lord of the Rings.

Poles Apart

The World Carp Classic was a whole new experience for Przemek Mroczek back at the start. However, the extra lengths required of him just to be there were worth the effort, as his story confirms

‘I must admit that, in draws, I seem to have very little good luck.

In all my times competing in the WCC only twice did I draw a good peg, and in other cases, bad, or very, very bad.’

Coming back to the draw, we had no idea if we had drawn a good or a bad peg. Straight ahead was a small island and water with a depth of a metre or so.

The only fish in the whole area were bream, just bream, and again more bream. Around us catching? - Frank Warwick (bream!). Those who had drawn on the big island were already rubbing their hands together because they

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were sure of getting a good result. Do not forget Simon Crow, who after the draw shouted, YES, YES, YES! And what happened? Well, the fact that, as usual, competitions are governed by their own laws. An English team, who had drawn a place on the causeway through which every now and then bicycles drove by (and not only those), when they saw their peg, one of them immediately wanted to go home. So what happened? He won his section, because the wind blew straight into his face and the carp moved in.

My first trip to the World Carp Classic was described in the biggest Polish angling magazine “Fishing News”, and immediately there were several interested to go to Madine the next year. But, in the end, only Leszek Rutecki joined us, who has since taken part in all of the

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Those were the days.. A much younger Ross and me in 2003 (top) and a very tired and emotional pair at the 2001 Carp Classic. following events. On the other hand, I was lucky in the draw, because I won the section on my first time in the event.

This, my second time on Madine, will long be remembered for a number of reasons.

First, at the campsite on the day before the draw we played, quite spontaneously, an England-v-Poland football match. The goalposts were backpacks but we had no line denoting the end… The result was sensational, because Poland won 6-1, even though the England team played the hard-as-a-rock Rob Tough. Standing in goal for Poland, however, was Zibi Hukałowicz with a body that obscured the whole goal, so there was not really much possibility for England to score.

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Last but not least.. My last carp caight at the World Carp Classic 2009 (main picture) and English teams posing back in 2003 at Amance lots of rain and suffered terrible fatigue after intense struggles with roots on the bottom. I think if we could have used a boat, the results would have much better (for others as well as us, though).

Then there was a gap year and to be honest I thought it was the end for the WCC. Fortunately, Ross announced that the next edition would be in April 2003, which is for me a unique date, because that was the first issue of my magazine “Karp Max”, the first and so far the only carp magazine in Poland. Since there was a lot of work to do for the launch of “Karp Max”, on top of going to Amance, it wasn’t the best thing to have in mind. Would carp anglers accept it? Are the magazines selling? Carp Fishing in Poland was becoming more and more popular however, and in 2003 six Polish teams went to the WCC and the contest had begun to take on a truly international character.

Starting with teams from 14 countries, as far as Russia, and after the Dutch winning last time, no one asked if the WCC could be won by someone else beside English anglers. But, yet again the British islanders won, in the form of a very likeable Mark and Jo Gardner.

The second memorable moment was the evening party and a Polish custom - with bottles of vodka. The integration was fantastic, and one of the two Frenchmen who were there barely survived, but the next day I was able to clamber out of the tent (well, one must be able to drink vodka). The party was unusual because there was a band playing instruments and some of them turned out to be good musicians. The biggest sensation was the performance of Lee Jackson, who played bass guitar blues… an absolute sensation. If it happened today it would be filmed and reign on youtube.

My third time in the WCC, in 2001 was a new challenge, and the first time at Lake Amance.

This time I brought three Polish teams. Again a Party, again Polish vodka, and finally quite a lot of Polish vodka. I caught carp from between the Dutch, who won, and the Norwegians, who were in 3rd place. I had three carp to my account, Janusz one, but we lost a few nice ones in the roots, which were all over the bottom. We had

The biggest fish was caught by Hans Sissingh from the small island surrounded by teams from Russia and everyone who has had to deal with Russian hospitality knows what that means.

Because carp in this area do not take on the island, “tasting” wines from the east took place on the last night of the competition. Hans, in another (East) dimension, slept very soundly and was stirred by a carp angler’s innate instinct that something was going on with one of his rods…

Quite unexpectedly, and just before the end of the competition Hans banked a carp of 21.7 kg.

After 2003 everything gained momentum.

The competition became bigger year after year, and more interesting bringing together competitors from more and more countries.

Ross offered me the role of WCC Agent in Poland and then in 2006, my countrymen Płochocki and Chiach won the World Carp Classic on Lake Orient, and last year there was a record number of entries with 21 teams from Poland. After four years of organizing the Polish qualifier for the WCC, this year’s winning team caught 350 kg of carp!

Sadly, although the World Carp Classic celebrates its 15th anniversary, my professional duties will not allow me to participate in the competition this time, so I cannot personally congratulate Ross and his team, so I will do it this way, in writing… May we meet in good health at the World Carp Classic 2018.

Come my precious.. like something out of Lord of the Rings

Przemek Mroczek

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Taking the bait.. In 2010, we became two-time sector winners of the WCC 2010 in the team event.

The Classic experience for Team Renmar Captain Renaldas I learnt about this organisation and the competitions it runs not from the first day of its existence.

At the time we participated in other great competitions (World Carp Cup), however, I always used the occasion to ask my colleagues from Poland Lescek Rutecki Team about these competitions, results and organisation. At that time these were probably the only important competitions during which it was allowed to use boats, echo-sounders, GPS and other similar equipment. For us it was unusual, it seemed that there was a lack of dynamics in the competitions.

I mean, there was not a great amount of fish caught and a very high percentage of fishermen remained with “0”.

My team joined the WCC in 2006 and we became the winners of a sector straight away.

[01] In my opinion, the very important moment was the year 2008 when the event moved to Lac de Madine, France. The result cards became more lively, the struggle was in all sectors, the prize for the largest fish was not known until the very finish. First-timers had hard times since considerable experience of competing on that lake was needed. The struggle really used to start during the drawing procedure when, in 30 seconds, you had to answer to Ross whether you would remain in the sector you have drawn or change to another. And the introductory stage began during the procedure of drawing of turns… it is probably the hardest part for a fisherman.

During the next few years, we made good progress in this lake and, in 2010, we became two-time sector winners of the WCC 2010 in the team event.

We would return to Lac de Madine with pleasure, but this is now a pleasant memory. Now we have opened a new page, Bolsena, Italy. The competition has reached its all-time maximum, the area of lake and the number of fish caught are incredible and the organisation is great. This really is the greatest festival for carp fishermen in the world. Last year we represented the famous Chinese feed producer Old Ghost. Since we

understood that the sponsor’s experience in WCC competition was not big and there were possible obstacles beyond our control, we took care of everything ourselves and we were right (Since we are feed producers). All three of our teams made their contributions and we were 8th in the team event, I think.

This year we are going to employ our many years’ experience of participation in competitions and start working under our colours as Team Renmar. The autumn is going to be very difficult for us as we will participate in three competitions in a row. We are going to go to Italy straight after the competition in Croatia, without coming back to Lithuania, but I have participated in more than 50 international competitions and that is not unusual for me (and my team).

In conclusion I would like to underline the reasons we are with you... l This is the biggest competition for carp fishermen in the world; l It is arranged by the organiser for which nothing is impossible; l The competition is attended by a lot of the most famous carp fishermen and their teams in the world. l The list of sponsors is more than impressive l Numerous prizes awarded l This is an opportunity to meet new people and become known. l There are also a lot of pleasant emotions and moments during the opening and closing of the competition during the awards ceremony.

I wish health and energy to the organiser while organising and improving this competition year on year. I look forward to seeing you in Bolsena, Italy.

2006.. Section Winner in our first year at the event

2012.. Team Renmar takes 8th best team

Renaldas Marčiukaitis Team Renmar captain

Me and my team.. all set for this year’s event

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For those who are no longer with us As we gather here to celebrate the events 15th Anniversary, I would like to ask you all to remember those friends who are no longer with us Ross Honey

‘Image courtesy of Gary Sheridan’

There’s something about the World Carp Classic that draws me back, time and again.

It’s more than just an angling event, it’s an occasion to celebrate carp angling with kindred spirits

Once bitten..

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years, crikey, doesn’t time fly! Well, unless you’re waiting two minutes for something to cook in a microwave oven it does!

I remember the very first World Carp Classic match like it was yesterday, indeed how can I forget it as on the first night of the then 48 hour singles match I caught the one and only carp that I’ve ever caught in this event. Not to be put off however I’ve continued to try with the hope that someday I might just get lucky. In spite of my inadequacies to catch another carp however I keep being drawn back because there is a lot more to this event that just catching carp.

The camaraderie, the social aspect either side of the match itself, which usually results in a horrendous hangover in the morning, the awesome sight of when you first clap eyes on the venue, the gut wrenching nervousness of the draw and the physical effort of getting a mountain of gear to and from a far off island.

Why do I keep going back you might ask?

Basically I can’t help myself because the fun aspect far outweighs the discomforts, plus I look forward to the build-up to the event and meeting with other carp anglers from all round the world that I just don’t see from one year to the next. And then there’s the chance of winning, because dreamer that I am, every year I stare at the trophies at the opening ceremony and imagine myself holding the main one aloft on the top step of the podium.

Whether it be football, Formula One, golf, Moto GP, boxing, tennis or tiddlywinks, nothing can match the feeling of having triumphed. It might only be carp fishing and you might not be the best carp fisherman in the world, but for that moment in time and a long period afterwards, you are the Champion of the World and very few people in life will have ever achieved that enviable accolade.

The very first WCC match at the marvellous Madine was a very big learning curve for Ross and his very loyal band of men (and women) and it didn’t run without more than a few mishaps.

One of the major tasks was ferrying a bunch of very impatient carp anglers and their mountains of equipment across to a distant island, which was a world of difference from ferrying a few golf clubs around a golf course in a golf trolley! Thankfully much was learnt from a contestants and organisers point of view following that very first Madine match, the result of which is that things have run relatively smoothly ever since.

And then there was the dreaded French electricity to contend with. At the pre match party the infamous Carp Society Supergroup were billed to rock the night away and entertain the troops – if only we could have. In all probability the circuitry at Madine had only been built to contend with a few hair dryers and the occasional use of a lawn mower, and not ten thousand pounds worth of amplifiers and various other items of 240 volt electrical equipment.

It was a bit of a nightmare to say the least, in fact at one stage I feared for my life and was forced to take my fingers off of the strings of my bass guitar as it was buzzing uncontrollably, plus singer Andy Bolder was getting continuous ‘belts’ off of the microphone every time he put his mouth anywhere near it. Then it started to rain, which put paid to anymore playing at all, despite the chants from Ross Honey of “Come on lads, just get on with it.” At this point I had to bite my lip, I’d come here to do a bit of carp fishing, didn’t realise it was a death sentence, which it could’ve been if all the equipment had gone up in smoke!

Following a few more beers, yet another hangover and a Spanish armada trip across

Snake hips.. The much talked about ‘Python’ Lee Jackson performance, as I took centre stage to entertain participants.

1000 metres of water, I was at last encamped in my pitch on the big island for the 48 hours duration. I can remember looking out at the vast expanse of water that stood before me, it looked daunting to say the least, the last time I had cast into anything this big was back when I was a youngster, casting out a beach casting rod on Reculver Beach. When you think about it negatively, you’ve got two rods furnished with two hook baits and billions of gallons of water to cast into, in reality what is the chance of catching a carp, fairly slim methinks, but as much chance as the next man thankfully.

The next man (and woman) in my case being

Martin Locke (Lockey) to my right and Cathy Hughes to my left.

As I said, the early Madine matches were for 48 hours duration, singles matches and casting from the bank as opposed to boating, therefore I elected to adopt the approach of using stringers cast as far as I possibly could.

Hopefully, further than the anglers either side of me, which I felt would give me a slight advantage should a carp or two move in. And it did, because a little after 10pm, I was wading out in the darkness and slipping the landing net under my first ever Madine carp, all 39lb (17.7kg) of it, result, the first of many I hoped and thought. Well I could hope and think as much as I liked because the next day I cocked it all up by putting in far too much free bait.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Had I stuck to the method employed on the first night it might have worked, because one or two carp did turn up in the swim. However there was probably far too much bait out there, so they probably hung about long enough to eat a few morsels, then swam off to where they were heading for anyway.

That very first Madine match was won by Paul Rayment, and seeing him on the podium made a very big impression on me, I wanted some more of this, because not only was it a very exciting and enjoyable few days, I longed to be standing up on the podium in his place, and 15 years later, I still have that longing.

The following year and it was back to Madine again, except this time it was now a pair’s competition and I was paired up with my very good mate Paul Forward.

As with the year before, the pre match party atmosphere was excellent. Even the French electricity was sorted out and a French speaking (and singing) rock band rocked the night away. Yours truly was even tempted up on stage again and grabbed the lead guitar, although it was a good job that most people were drunk, because I could only manage to play three Status Quo type chords, sing out of tune (as per normal) and managed to snap a string on the guitar. I think the crowd were suitably impressed though, even if the French guitarist wasn’t, well that was the

‘I could hope and think as much as I liked because the next day I cocked it all up by putting in far too much free bait.’

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Lee Jackson: Once Bitten impression I got anyway, as I got a massive cheer when I climbed (off) of the stage!

The match itself proved to be a bit of an anti-climax for Paul and I, we drew a swim on the precarious dam wall, which put us on a bit of a downer straight away because, although there may have been a chance of catching a carp (in fact Paul did actually lose one), it wasn’t a swim where it was going to be won from. That is perhaps the aspect that I hate most about carp matches, you do all the preparation, look forward to the build-up to it and to the mad parties the night before, and then you put your hand in the bag and draw a bummer. This was the main reason that I gave the WCC a miss for the next few years, you go to all of that effort, plus the expense of getting there in the first place and then don’t get the bit of luck that everybody needs in the draw, therefore, drive home with your tail stuck firmly between your legs.

In 2006 however the honey bee stung again, the WCC was now going to be on the mighty Orient, wow!

There had now been other changes as well, boats would be allowed, plus the match was now going to be for the duration of five days and five nights, although why I relished the idea of spending all of this time in a duff swim, when before I’d only have to be in it for 48 hours, I’ll never know.

The social aspect during the WCC matches has always been the best and at the Orient it was no exception. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much at some of the pre match games as I did at the Orient. Obviously alcohol fuelled, somebody came up with this party game whereby you had to knock back a shot, put your forehead on a pole and spin round it ten times, and then run off towards another pole which was about 70 metres in the distance. Well, if you can imagine watching full grown men unable to run more than a few steps without falling about all over the place, people running into lampposts or their own cars, in fact nobody at all managed to run off in the right direction! It was like watching Bambi on ice, absolutely hilarious and reminded me why I like these events so much.

Although the ‘crack’ was good, the fishing was extremely difficult.

Just my opinion but, although the Orient is a stunning venue, it’s just not prolific enough for this type of event, although I suppose the Polish lads that won would view it slightly differently.

In 2007 I had to give the WCC a miss due to the breakup of my marriage and the last thing on my mind was spinning round poles or trying my best to get onto that most sought after top step of the podium.

In 2008 it was a bit different, however, because about a week before the start of the Madine match, I got a phone call from Tim Paisley asking me if I would like to be his partner and part of the Carpworld team. A question that took me all of one millisecond to answer!

It was good to be back, back amongst friends from all around the world and part of a team that I was very proud to be in. The draw now, though, was even more nerve wracking than ever. Pick a swim with the choice of being able to put it back but then having to accept the next one. Not that we had much to worry about because we were the last ones to draw and there were only two swims left in

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the bag anyway, both duffers as it happens!

Never mind though, it’s the taking part that’s important not the winning. We’d still have the ‘crack’ and still had the rest of our team to root for.

As it happens, we ended up triumphant because of the sterling efforts of the youngsters in the team – Mark Bartlett and Kevin Hewitt – we ended up with the team title – Team Carpworld rules yet again!

For a total of four years I partnered Tim at Madine and I have to say that I enjoyed every minute of it, fishing and socialising with one of the men I most respect in carp fishing.

I’ve got to admit that before I fished with Tim, I envisaged sneaking the odd glass of

wine in the back of my bivvy, but I needn’t have worried because most afternoons it was Tim’s who wanted to open up a bottle or two of red – “C’mon Jacko, get the wine open instead of hiding it in your bivvy” (I didn’t think he knew!) In all probability it wouldn’t have been a case of drinking wine if we’d have had a decent swim. No such luck, we were either on Alcatraz island, a swim where you never ever felt the warmth of the sun unless you went out in the boat, a swim where there Team Carpworld.. was an unexploded war time bomb only a few winning the Team metres away, or a swim that the only other living things nearby to have a conversation Title yet again! with were either Russian speaking anglers or Sing your hearts French speaking sheep! out guys!

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Never were we afforded the luxury of having a swim where we could park our vehicles behind us, oh no!

The oldest combined pair in the competition and we always had to endure the mammoth task of getting all of our equipment to a far off island, and to a swim that we had very little chance of catching a carp from, let alone winning. Despite all the hardships however, most of the time we came away ‘smelling of roses’, because although Tim and myself had been inadequate in contributing, other members of our team had generally

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Party time 1.. eight green bottles sitting on a.. hic!

Party time 1.. The morning after the night before!

faired a lot better and managed to win us the team title and even the overall thing on one occasion – well done boys, love you all loads.

Memories of Madine will indeed live with me forever though – the superb obelisk steaks from the nearby restaurant - discovering that after three or four bottles of wine that I can then speak fluent Japanese - that proud moment of standing on the podium with my team mates, customarily swapping my shirt with a fellow competitor at the closing ceremony only to find that his was about three sizes too small for me, and making a grand entrance up onto the stage at the pre match party, joining in with the band and then being appreciated like I was a famous rock star.

I miss you Madine, let’s hope I get the chance to re-acquaint myself with you at some time in the future, because although in the end it all got a little bit predictable as to where it was going to be won from, I’ve got a little feeling that there’s one other area that could do it, although I’m not telling anyone where!

15 years on and the breathtaking Bolsena… I’m not going to say much about it except “Can I have another bite please.” Ciao

Lee Jackson

‘The oldest combined pair in the competition had to endure the mammoth task of getting all of our equipment to a far off island, and to a swim that we had very little chance of catching a carp from, let alone winning’

Party survivors? Smile through the pain guys!

Up to the gunwales.. bon voyage mon ami et bonne chance!

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The Vectrum sets a new standard in the casting tools category: for the first time an extraordinary casting machine which can be compressed by you and me combined with a sweet fish-playing action.

During independent tests the Vectrum, compared to the other standards of the market, has performed surprisingly well, even better with good and average casters, with casts measured on the field beyond 160 yards, and up to 200 yards for the best ones.

Unlike most of the other casting tools, the Vectrum is very easy to use. There’s no need to be an Olympic Athlete to compress it to attain those extra yards that can help you catch more carp... You know, where none can cast a rig.

Thanks to an optimized carbon mix and a new design, the rod itself is extraordinarily light at only 360g when built with a 50mm ring set, this is more than 100g lighter than the closest competitor. The mixing of 4 high modulus carbon ensures that the rod is very soft on the fish: definitely a first in this category. The premium carbon used has just been released from the R&D laboratories and is not even used in Formula 1 yet, ensuring long lasting performance and low weight.

The Vectrum is available from us in a unique and optimized 12’6 / 3.5-4.5 oz version, matt or glossy finish. We tested the 12’ - 12’6 and 13’ versions and the 12’6 was by far the best with faster recovery than the 13’, yet more pleasurable to play fish on than the 12’ version.

Of Course, this is a Banana Rod, it is stunning, custom with a world class build, only for €439. Available with abbreviated or full handle with 50mm butt rings as standard.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

BANANA RODS: It’s like fishing with a masterpiece in your hands Over the course of time, Banana Rods has established itself as the main and most prolific Premium Rod Company on the continent. As a long time World Carp Classic Sponsor, Banana Rods is always proud to be part of this incredible Event.

2013 has been a very exciting year for Banana Rods, marked by its entry into several new countries and 2014 will be the same with Italy and several eastern countries such as Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria…

Banana Rods are unique in the market: the company has achieved perfection in the finish of a rod and uses unique processes that make your rod performance last forever.

The concept under Banana Rods is that every angler is unique, faces different fishing conditions and has a unique taste. That’s why the Banana Rods’ custom experience offers anglers a unique rod that exactly fits your fishing style and that matches exactly your taste and look.

Banana Rods’ range is complete and covers every situation, from close range fishing in a boat to Ultra long range competitions. (Picture 1 enclosed). Within the Banana Rods’ range, there is a rod for every angler.

Banana Rods’ philosophy when developing a new product has always been to combine casting performance and fantastic playing action. Even the very best casting machine, the Vectrum, is able to provide plenty of sensations on small fish, and the most pleasant rods are still capable of casting beyond 100m.

The most visible advantage of a Banana Rod is its finish. The finish is absolutely unique, perfect, and every look is incredibly elegant. Fishing with a Banana Rod is like having a masterpiece in your hands, with the guarantee that it will last forever. Every detail is subtly engineered to fit perfectly, bond strongly and last forever without letting you down.

Purchasing a Banana Rod is a

completely new experience. Because every angler is unique, our expert advice provides help to find the exact rod that matches your needs and we will guide you through the whole range of custom finishes to help determine which rod is the right choice for you.

Now, it is your turn to settle down with the Ultimate rod and make it yours, custom built to fit to your specifications.

Contact Banana Rods now on +33 9 81 30 45 95 or at info@bananarods.com

VALENTIN DE RUFFRAY BANANA RODS M/+33 6 98 58 45 99 - TEL/+33 9 81 30 45 95

P

You beauty... This Real Big Catch weighed 24.8 kg

SBS Hungary... Prize for the biggest catch in the Ultima sector

Team Groove... Beside the overall win, our team won the prize for the biggest fish with this 22,50 kg common carp

Proud moments.. Dan with an 18.7 kg monster carp, main picture, and Italy’s Daniele Colapicchioni and Riccardo Battisti winning the Section Winner prize sponsored by SBS. The prize (an SBS gift voucher) was presented by Zoltan Kovacs, owner of SBS Tactical Baits

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Shiny happy People Incredible results continue to come the way of SBS Tactical Bait users, and the 2012 World Carp Classic was no exception!

H

ave you noticed that life is worth living just for the experiences it provides? The grey, boring working days just pass by without any memories, meanwhile, remarkable moments when playing a big fish or that moment of victory in a fishing competition stay with us forever.

Simply the best.. Steve and Danny reap the benefits of their hard work, while quality control is one of the most important steps before packaging the products, above

To all participants, the WCC guarantees memories like these each year. The teams sponsored by SBS are returning home with great memories year on year, and they are leaving their mark in the history book of the WCC with better and better results.

In 2006 on Lac D’ Orient, the SBS team (Eddie Matthews and Richard Bradley) won the prize for the biggest fish of the competition (23.5 kg) and added to this, the SBS team became the Team Event Winner too.

In 2010 we reached another milestone in the life of the company, because as an event sponsor we gave the prize for the first fish of the competition. As the result of the fruitful cooperation SBS Tactical Baits were delighted to accept the opportunity and became a section sponsor of the WCC for the first time in 2011. That year we had another fantastic surprise because, 15 minutes before the end of the competition we

have landed a 24.8 kg mirror carp, and with this fish SBS Hungary Team has won the prize for the biggest fish in the Ultima sector and we finished at the 7th place overall!

In 2012 there were a record number of teams participating in the competition, which was organized on Lake Bolsena for the first time. And the results of the SBS teams were fantastic! In the Team colours of SBS, Steve Howard and Danny Ormiston won their section with an amazing performance. They also finished in 12th place overall on the leader board. This was a massive success for them and also for the company, because they are regular participants of the tournament and this was the first time they were using SBS products in the event.

Our young and talented Swiss/Serbian team in the Pescalis section, Milos Antic and Domenico Ungaro, weighed in 145kg of carp at the end of the event. With this result they gained 4th place in the Pescalis section while on the overall leader board they finished in 9th place.

And now, the best result in the history of SBS! Defeating the other 159 teams, Peter Micula, Norbert Pongracz and Zoltan Nemeti (Team PVTV Romania) won last year’s World Carp Classic and became overall champions of the competition using SBS Tactical Bait Products.

The team achieved this amazing result with the help of the newly developed sweet-creamy, light coloured boilie which has high carbohydrate content and was still in the development phase at that time. This bait now bears the name C1 (Competition 1) and as the part of the Premium range it is available to everyone from this season.

During the past few years SBS has had an unbroken and dynamic development process. The first important step was that we have changed the outdated packaging.

Now, all of the high quality SBS products have nice, newly designed and reusable packaging. At the same time we have set up our Total Quality Management and HACCP system, therefore, all customers are guaranteed top quality, fresh SBS products. With these developments results are coming quickly, and with the co-operation of our international consultants, official team members and, last but not least, our customers we are proud that our products put smiles on faces, day by day along the bank side.

Thanks to the investments that have taken place and the continual product development process, we have established a bait factory which operates to very high standards. These standards are right at the very top level of the market based on capacity and quality too. Because of the high quality system, more and more companies want us to produce their baits. Before the developments our capacity was limited but, as a result of the latest innovations, the new production technology and the new machinery, there are now more opportunities for our partners in the production and distribution of baits.

SBS Tactical Baits are proud to be participating in the biggest and best carp fishing competition in the world as an official section sponsor. SBS proudly supports those teams with SBS baits all around the world, and they are coming up with fantastic results time after time either in competitions, or just personal fishing sessions. It will be difficult to repeat the success of last year, but we will do our best to achieve noteworthy results for the SBS brand name again this year. Wishing you all tight lines!

Zoltan Kovacs

CEO and owner of SBS Tactical Bait Products

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Taking the Bait

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZ

Ron Van De Bergh has a very unique angle in regards to the collation and distribution of important event data…

We’ll let Ron tell you more about that!

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ENT MAGAZINE

I

used to say that the motto “the important thing is not to win, but to take part” is a load of crap. Just being there would be more important than winning? Sheer nonsense!

The fact that I used to work full-time left me with only (at the most) a two week period each year in which I could go fishing. That’s why it never occurred to me to take part in a tournament.

One fine day (probably in 2005) I happened to have a talk with a good friend of mine, Dré Vlemmix. He was the owner of a successful business in fishing tackle and we know each other way back. Besides everyday life we talked about carp, fishing, the carp championship in America ... Out of the blue he offered to sponsor my participation in the World Carp Championship that year!

A real Classic.. who can forget those haunting tunes? Memorable for many reasons!

Of course I accepted with a big smile. What a token of friendship!

I would like to share one of those moments: Opening ceremony Bolsena 2012 It was a pity that my mate Remco the evening before the grand opening we cosily The grand opening on Sunday was an Akkermans (we have been fishing together sat together with quite a few Dutch anglers event on its own. since 1993) hadn’t been able to arrange things in what looked like a circle. Beer and wine From the moment the parade started, at such short notice, so I had to go without flowed merrily while we tucked into frikadellen. music flew through the air and as the national him. I had been teamed up with another angler A frikadel is a fried minced-meat hot dog of flags of all participating countries were being from the Netherlands, whom I had never met, shady quality: mostly more other ingredients carried through the streets I was aware of the let alone fished with! Needless to say I missed than meat. impact of the WCC event. This might seem Remco.Thankfully, I had a cell phone and Nonetheless many Dutchmen can be childish, but butterflies were dancing around in during the competition I called him several woken up in the middle of the night for a lovely my stomach. times. I must have driven him crazy telling frikadel preferably with mayonnaise, chopped On Sunday evening the pegs were him over and over again how great the WCC onions and curry ketchup. In Holland you are drawn and the atmosphere changed. The experience was. We agreed that “next time” we no snack bar if you don’t have frikadellen on camaraderie had been replaced by healthy would go together. When this next time would the menu. rivalry. Early the next morning everybody set off be, was written in the stars; work interfered the The merry atmosphere was enhanced to their swim and started preparing and setting following years. by the father of one of the anglers. He was up their tackle in anticipation of the start of the Finally in 2010 we managed to get our 2011 the runner of his son’s team and during the competition. Suddenly a loud bang is heard all timetables in sync and we entered the World party he took out his accordion. He started around the lake and finally it all began.

Carp Championship 2011 alongside the St. playing Dutch folk songs and he did it so Remco and I felt a bit unlucky in the peg Lawrence River, New York, America. During our that everybody sang along. The crowd was draw, because we ended up in the middle of stay – before, during and after the competition growing larger as non-Dutch people joined in the north side of Lake Bolsena. Due to “funny – we met a lot of people and we made a lot of and the father played all kinds of old songs. tourists” who had removed some peg-signs, friends. The tournament wasn’t even over when After an hour or two he put both hands in the finding the right spot was a bit chaotic. We we realized that we wanted to participate in air while the music was still playing. It was a ended up only 75 yards from the neighbours. next year’s World Carp Classic which was to be Spanish melody. My Dutch neighbour and I They were Italians and unlike us they were very held in Bolsena, Italy. had to look twice, we couldn’t believe what we happy with the draw. They told us they often saw. German friends, who had been drinking a fished here and this was the best part of the Bolsena 2012 – first evening bit more, had to even look three times. Then we lake for catching big fish.

The party started at the moment we realized, we’d been had! The father really knew That information really cheered us up, our arrived in Bivvy City. how to play, but he had built an mp3 player into “depression” vaporized.

Before and after competition we spent his accordion and we never saw him push that Three days later it turned out that only one some pleasant evenings with the other button… The party continued in an even more team in a row of 25 had caught one fish and it contestants. cheerful mood and we sang the night away. wasn’t ours. It was time to change! We spent hours and hours out on the lake exploring

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Ron Van De Bergh: taking the bait

different options. Finally we had an idea, using our fishfinder we were able to identify spots in the weed where it was “just” 10 inches high at a reasonable depth. So for the coming night we put two rods on a place like that and we placed the two other rods on a spot seven meters deep where there was no weed. It worked, because only a few hours later, at three o’clock in the morning, finally... fish on!

When I got back to Remco, grinning from ear to ear, carefully carrying the fish in the net, our neighbours were already waiting. The first thing they asked was: “At what depth did you catch it?” Not wishing to reveal our scheme I wisely said: “7 meters”. After all, it is still a competition.

The next day we knew we had a small problem. Since our neighbours had their swim so close to ours, they could see every move we made. Because of that we were unable to put all four rods were we wanted them: in the weed.

So to fool them we put back two rods in the weed and two rods at seven meters deep so nobody could tell. That night we had our second take, however this time we lost it... in

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the weed. Nevertheless, the neighbours were clueless of what we were trying and we were satisfied that our tactics seemed to work. After all, the fish now knew where to find us.

The ambiance of the event and the competition mode we were in made our decision easy: we want to participate again in 2013.

Now it is 2013 and indeed, this year will be our second World Carp Classic as a team.

Although it is a contest, the word “friendship” will be of paramount importance during the competition.

New leaderboard Last year it was almost impossible for friends and family to follow the event through the internet. Even the contestants didn’t always know what was happening,

who caught fish and what the ranking was.

I have been a software developer for over 25 years so I just knew things could be improved a lot. I talked to Ross and Marianne about it and I offered them my assistance. This resulted in a complete new set up of the leaderboard.

In the 2013 World Carp Classic there will be a complete and topical overview of all the catches and statistics will be in total and per team. To pull this off marshals are essential, as they will play an important part in the registration of the catches.

Marshals will work as a team of two and registrations will be done 24/7. As soon as a carp has been landed, the team calls the marshal. The marshals will go to the team and they will make a note of all the relevant data: weight, name of who caught the fish (captain or vice captain) and date and time of the catch.

‘The neighbours were cluless of what we were trying and we were satisfied that out tactics seemed to work. After all, the fish knew where to find us’

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You don’t always get what you want .. (top) Ron with an 11.8kg bar of pure Italian gold… (above) Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be, the futures not ours to see!

They have to note it twice: firstly using pen and paper and secondly using a smartphone.

This way WCC’s organisers are confident in presenting a watertight and high-speed system. It will enable everyone (both participants and home front) to check results during the competition.

Peg draw change Another major change this year will be the draw for the pegs.

Last year when you drew a peg you had one minute to decide to keep it or toss it back.

When you tossed it back, the next peg you drew would be automatically yours. If you were (almost) last in line, it would almost always mean there are only bad pegs left or at least, pegs that nobody liked.

This year you will only draw one number and that’s it. This way teams that are drawing last have as good a chance as any other team.

Drawing pegs that way will have other advantages: 1. teams won’t have to go all around the lake prior to the competition to check the pegs and decide which ones they prefer, 2. peg drawing can take place in a

shorter amount of time, so 3. more time to party and enjoy the company. So this new peg draw is a win win situation for us all. Remco and I already started our preparatory thinking about:

Bait

Since two years we have been using the Berkley Gulp Carp boilies.

To be honest, at first I was very reluctant to use them only because they were very strongly flavoured. But (as always I have a “but”) they grow on you. This confidence was not built overnight; it took more time or better yet more fish! One of the most important reasons why my trust in them had grown was in fact last year’s tournament. In that competition, six JRC teams fished with these boilies and five of them actually caught fish (sorry Larysa ;-)).

That resulted in a number of sector winners, a second place overall and even the first place in the team event. This made our confidence in the Berkley bait sky-high. The types we will be bringing this year are Coco & Banana and Red Crustacean.

Tackle

change anything this year.

For quite some time now we have fished with material from JRC and Penn. It has never let us down, not even in the harshest circumstances.

Fishfinder

Sometimes people ask me if we catch more fish using a fishfinder.

When used properly: hell yeah!! We probably wouldn’t have caught that fish (the only one...sob) last year without a good fishfinder. We feel very fortunate that Holland Nautic helped us out providing the Lowrance HDS 7 fishfinder. The built-in structure-scan makes it a fishfinder that is far ahead of its time.

It creates stunning underwater images as if they were photos, so it makes it easier for us to find the hotspots.

To-do list

Count down the days until September 25th...

By Ron van den Bergh

Special thanks to my wife Petra who made this article ‘readable’.

In terms of equipment and bait we will not

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Media Mania!

In control.. your event marshals

Marshals in the know-how Historically, in 2003, an agreement with Sparsholt College saw Students presented as Marshals for the very first time.

This move proved to be highly successful as it enabled on-site, 24hour marshalling of the event, an element which had been identified as an absolute necessity for the World Carp Classic.

With the competition expanding still further in 2006, Shuttleworth College, Bedfordshire, England provided Marshals for the competition for the first time. These Students - young men and women undergoing Fisheries courses at their respective Colleges - along with their Tutors, play a very important role throughout the event.

This year, we are delighted to say that we have a handpicked team of experienced men to undergo the challenges of marshalling the event, and we are confident that this move will eradicate some of the minor problems associated with the traditionally younger students of past events. Of course, we are very much appreciative of their input and hard work, and thank our past Marshals without reservation.

It is with the greatest of pleasure that we welcome the new crop of Shuttleworth College Students into the Marshals Team, and we hope that competitors will assist them in every way possible to ensure that the Event runs smoothly.

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The World Carp Classic draws an incredible amount of media attention every year, not just for the period when the event is being held, but all throughout the calendar year.

Here we take an in-depth look at this aspect

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Papa Papa Paparazzi

We receive a huge amount of requests for onsite presence from press and media teams all over the world, in fact, so many that we have to control the number of teams attending.

Press & Media passes and badges are issued that clearly identify Officially permitted personnel to prevent a ‘paparazzi’ type situation.

We fully understand and appreciate the desire to report on the event but with the best interests of competitors our first priority, it cannot be allowed to go unchecked. As responsible event organizers, fish care and safety is of primary importance to us and we will not allow this to be compromised by overzealous media activity. Please report any such incidents to us so that action can be taken immediately.

In-house teams

Our own media team will be on site to cover every aspect of the event as it happens, the team will also upload images and information onto the official website. All teams will display passes to identify them as approved Press and Media.

World Carp Classic Film Crew

A World Carp Classic Film Crew, familiar to previous contestants, will be on site throughout the event capturing VT on all aspects from long before the opening ceremony and peg draw to beyond the closing ceremony and prize giving.

!

Your cooperation with this team is requested at all times‌ team personnel are fully aware of the boundaries and will not infringe upon any of the set guidelines. Daily video reports will be uploaded to the official website and youtube throughout the event.

Event updates

There will be an ongoing catch report update on the event website as fish captures are reported to HQ. Every fish caught will be added as an unofficial result 3 times a day. The results will later be made official when the catch reports, which must be signed by both the angler and marshal, are verified at event HQ. Catch reports and information will also be uploaded to twitter and Facebook throughout the event.

LIVE leader-board

In the 2013 World Carp Classic a complete and topical overview of all the catches and statistics will be accessible both in total and per team.

Marshals will be working in pairs 24/7 and as soon as a carp is landed, the marshals will then note of all the relevant data; firstly using pen and paper onto the official catch report

sheets and secondly using a smartphone.

Depending on the quality of the GSM network they will, take and send pictures for the leader-board. An image of the fish as well as relevant data will then be registered online and the information will be instantly available worldwide. We are confident in presenting a watertight and high-speed system which will enable everyone, including participants, to check progress during the competition.

Live webcams

It is our intention to have webcams set up at the opening ceremony and peg draw to enable everyone to watch these activities live.

One camera will be set up in the Town square in Bolsena to capture the spectacular opening parade and ceremony and, in addition to that, webcams will be positioned within the hall to capture all of the excitement and drama.

The footage captured by our webcams will be live-streamed all around the world via the official website and other sources.

Centre stage..

As a Contestant, the greater your success, the further you may find yourself in demand!

Participate & Co-operate l It is important to remember that your cooperation with Official Media representatives is essential for publicity, not just for the benefit of the World Carp Classsic but also yours and your Sponsors. l Official Media Personnel will be easily identifiable by the Press Pass Badges they will display at all times.

If anyone approaches you with requests for filming or photo work and they are not displaying a pass, and cannot produce one, you are not obliged to cooperate with them. l Please also remember that the World Carp Classic ethos for fish welfare remains our highest priority.

To aid in this respect when preparing for an Official Media or Marshals photo shoot, please ensure that everything needed to provide sufficient fish welfare is in place.

Your preparation should include: l A suitably sized unhooking mat, mattress or cradle.

A container filled with clean lake water to help cool the fish and keep it comfortable. l A position of shade or dappled shade, if possible, in a position that provides a good backdrop. l Your peg board should be clearly visible in the capture shots and all clutter removed from the area and, finally, remember to record the details of your capture on the Official catch sheet.

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Ross Honey

the Angler within

Many anglers will tell you that we are born into fishing and that something intangible draws us into the sport. To my mind, it is a remnant of our basic primordial origins, something which fulfils our fundamental hunter gatherer instinct. For those of our ilk, we carp anglers have perhaps become a little blinkered to the passion for angling outside of our own genre. Whatever our personal view is of other species, the essence of what it is to be an angler remains inextricably the same.

Whether we recognise it or not, we are all deeply connected as a brotherhood of anglers, and it is only we who truly understand the deep-seated passion within ourselves and other anglers.

I have been very privileged to meet and befriend many kindred spirits over the years and that extends over several genres of the sport, not only carp angling. I am delighted to count Ross Honey as a friend and kindred spirit and I’m very pleased that Ross has agreed (I pressured him into it) to write here about his own personal angling. Over to you Ross…

Steve Howard:

What a feeling.. there’s nothing quite like that moment when you just ‘know’!

A

ngling has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember… as a very young child I would spend hours on the beach, fishing with my father and Uncle, and these are memories that I will always cherish.

I remember the excitement building in me as we went to the shore to get the bait, digging rag and lugworms out of the mud or collecting the limpet that we would later prepare. Then, because I was so excited, I recall not being able to sleep the night before our fishing trips.

There have been so many occasions that I can still to this day remember. Often sheltering behind my father to keep out of the wind and rain, I would stand watching the tip of a rod intently, for hours on end, just for that tell-tale sign of a bite.

I lost count of how many times I went into the waves and got my boots full of water trying to cast just that extra bit further. I loved walking on the beach when the tide was out and finding a broken strand of line, then following it to see what was on the end and being delighted when there was a weight, swivel or hook. If there was a ‘birds nest’ of line caught in weed I would spend hours untangling it and it gave me a great sense of achievement when it was done.

Each time there was a bite I would leap up and grab the rod or watch with anticipation as my father or uncle reeled in, and the sensation

of a bass or founder being on the other end of the line thrilled me. My father taught me how to tie the rigs and to cast, and he always impressed upon me that I needed to keep things simple, especially when fishing at night.

Despite me thinking I know better, his advice has proven to be correct over the years.

I remember one day when my father was working at a location right on the River Rother and he left me to fish with a spinning rod. I caught four Grayling that day and they each put up a tremendous fight on the light tackle.

Each time I proudly took the fish to him, to let him see what I had caught and I was happy to release them back into the river to fight another day.

So from my very early years I was hooked, I love the outdoors, the fresh air, the countryside and nature, and this has certainly been one of the factors that led me into setting up events,

‘after five hours, having used all of the bread,cheese and worms that I could get my hands on, my efforts ended in total frustration as I didn’t catch anything at all ... except the sun!’’

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Caught in the act.. I simply love fishing, and whatever I catch I am happy to catch it.

Size isn’t an overly important factor to me, it’s purely about that moment of pleasure in the successful hunt enabling like minded people to share the same enjoyment.

I have been very lucky in my life to go fishing in some amazing places and, in doing so, I have caught some wonderful fish.

Because I enjoy catching all sorts of fish, it is hard to say which trip was my most favourite. I really do enjoy catching fish of all shapes and sizes from tiny bait fish, like those I caught on a micro hook from a harbour wall in Brittany, to the massive Halibut of 106lbs that I caught in Alaska.

I have also had the good fortune and opportunity to catch glorious King Salmon of up to 48lbs, Blue Cod in New Zealand up to 52lbs, Norwegian Cod up to 45lbs and Giant Trevally up to 36lbs, plus Bluefin Tuna, Grouper, Moray Eels and sharks in the Maldives.

On one occasion - when on a family holiday - I spent 5 hours in the water with a spool of line, a hook and a bolt as a weight.

Donned with a mask and snorkel, I set out

to catch the fish that I could see. However, having used all of the bread, cheese and worms that I could lay my hands on, my effort ended in total frustration as I didn’t catch anything at all… except the sun! In my dedication to the cause, all I had to show for that was a sunburnt back and legs… and then, to top it all, I found myself in trouble with Marianne for being away for so long. Who said effort equals reward?

I thoroughly love fishing in all of its forms and I especially enjoy going out on my boat, locally, to fish in the Solent. Fishing has provided me with some truly unforgettable moments throughout my life and I never tire of the sunsets and sunrises. To be out there fishing with the silhouette of my rods against the backdrop of a starlit night-sky is very special to me.

Whenever I have the chance to go fishing, I get as much pleasure in seeing others catch as I do myself, and over the past 14 years of the World Carp Classic I have been able

to share many magical moments with the anglers participating in the event. Whether they have just caught their first fish of the competition or, on many an occasions, a personal best, it pleases me because I understand their emotions.

The World Carp Classic is so much more to me than just a competition, it is very special to me and I am extremely proud of how it is perceived by those who take part in the event.

I sometimes look back over the years and I feel a warm glow, knowing that the Event that I have created is enjoyed and celebrated by anglers from all over the world. What was once no more than a vision, is now reality.

I had recognised the strength of passion within carp angling, and if I have at any point helped to put a smile on another anglers face in the course of running this Event, then that makes me a very happy man.

Ross Honey

World Carp Classic event founder

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theBiginterview: with Solar’s Martin Locke

Solar Power The art of formulating some of the world’s best big-carp baits, the next big craze and the launch of Solar Tackle’s very-own webshop .. it’s all here as Solar Tackle founder Martin Locke lets WCC Magazine behind the scenes at the world-renowned, UK-based firm

Martin, how long have you been developing and making carp bait?

ML: Since the mid 1970s. There was no bait available at that time, you had to go hunting for all the flavours/ingredients and so on from supermarkets and delicatessens. One of the best things I ever did was nick some ‘esterised’ flavours from the chemistry lab at school and they were excellent. In fact, many of the Solar flavours to this day are Ester based.

At the time, I was fishing on Brooklands Lake in Dartford, England, which was a hotbed of bait-making/bait experimenting at that time. The various results from the anglers fishing there highlighted exactly how much difference a good bait could make, which I’m still convinced to this day is the biggest part of the carp fishing puzzle.

The first ingredient I came across that Pellet power .. Pellet induces feeding and catches everywhere it’s used really made a big difference was a banana flavour; however, getting hold of it involved that we have access to far more bits and answer. A lot of it has been trial and error a train ride and two bus journeys to get to pieces nowadays. over many years, and myself, my close the shop that sold it. fiends and the team of Solar anglers have Does the same thought process What is your definition of a put all sorts to the test. The ultimate test apply to designing flavours and liquid good carp bait? is how well it catches carp and there’s additives? no better ‘tell’ of a good ingredient than ML: One you can use year-in, year-out, ML: In the early days I was sitting next to getting out on the bank with it. which catches the most fish in good somebody who was using Ester flavours.

That said, I still have many close conditions and still puts you in with the He was catching three carp a day in mid friends who started out with bait and bait shout of a bite in the worst of conditions. winter and my mates and I weren’t, so I ingredients at the same time as I did and made it my mission to get hold of those, How do you go about formulating a occasionally one of them may give me a carp bait and has the thought process which is where the long journey to the ‘nudge and a wink’ as to a great ingredient shops for the banana flavour mentioned changed much over the years? they’ve come across. Also, on occasion previously came about.

ML: If I told you that I’d have to kill you! there is a gut reaction when you open a Flavours being highly concentrated, we But seriously, over years of experience bottle/bag of a certain ingredient/flavour can’t send out neat flavour combinations of using ingredients, enhancers, liquids whereby you just know it’ll work -‘It just for use as boilie soaks and dips, they’re and so on, you build up a huge portfolio smells carp’. The latter is what happened just far too concentrated. Wanting to of knowledge about which products work with the new Marine 17, open a bottle, give anglers the versatility with all of the with each other and at what levels. have a smell and there’s no doubting that bait ranges, we engineered a way to get Therefore, each time we produce a it’ll work… and boy does it work well. those flavour profiles out into the hands of new bait, the bulk of the work has already anglers in a user friendly format, Solar Big We hear the term ‘big fish baits’, but been done in that respect. I have always Shot liquids. So the idea behind the liquids how do you create a bait that only said that bait is an evolution rather than a was giving anglers versatility with the Solar seems to appeal to the larger carp in revolution, and where we’re at now with bait ranges. the pond?

Solar bait formulation and production has The idea was to make them user friendly ML: You can’t make a bait just for big taken the best part of 30 years to achieve. and effective, because we want the end ‘uns.

That said, there are certain baits that On the food technology/ingredients user to open the bag/bottle use it however side of things, there are far more bits and they like and catch… that’s always the aim. seem to have a knack of catching more than their fair share of the larger carp. In the pieces available nowadays and you can past, particles have gained a reputation for How do you recognise a good get anything from anywhere in the world. catching more fish, but not necessarily the ingredient?

So, with respect to whether formulating a bigger ones. Generally, the more benefits to bait has changed over the years, yes, in ML: Years of experience is the simple

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

Martin Locke: Solar Power more experienced anglers, which aren’t as fussed about catching numbers of fish, tend to stick to a boilie-only approach, and this is where the biggerfish captures tend to come from.

Club Mix has caught many of the world’s biggest carp, including the world record that I caught in 2010, the Benelux record common and Alijn Danau has had sixties from five different countries to name but a few. These fish have been caught time and time again on that same bait, which shows that big fish do like eating certain baits.

Fishmeal baits seem to catch the larger carp when compared to birdfood or nut mixes.

Why is this in your opinion?

ML: I think it’s simply because there are

more fishmeal baits being used. People tend to think of ‘food’ baits along the savoury/ fishmeal based baits as opposed to the fruit or nut ones.

At the time, mid 1980s, when the birdfood baits took hold and were all the rage, they were big-fish baits and that’s what most big fish were caught on because that what was being used. That’s when the Savay Seed Mix came about, and that’s still used in some of the Solar baits, such as Quench, to this day.

What would you say to those anglers who feel the need to change foodbait every year, regardless of whether they’ve had a good previous season?

ML: From the experience of our baits I’d always say to stick to what you have most confidence in.

With baits such as Club Mix, and more recently the Seafood Take-Away, we know that even the worlds biggest carp are caught on the same bait time and time again, so don’t let the fact that a bait is working ‘put you off’. Even though an angler might jump onto a new bait, by the time it’s on the shelf and available to everyone all of our baits have been tested extensively, so there’s no ‘risk’ in using a newly released bait; any new bait we release will be quality.

Have you got any advice on how readers can get more from their chosen foodbait? Soak it; add a powder additive; wash it out?

ML: Following on from above, the baits are just about as good as they get straight out of the bag… that’s what we strive for.

Something that works well for me, though, and is an improvement, although not to a bait’s profile, is crushing the boilies. It gives the fish more ‘bits’ to sift through of varying sizes and shapes and, importantly it stops them from rolling down any bars/slopes.

Essentially, in my experience I have not found that washing baits out prior to fishing to be an advantage. What does make a difference though, again, is time, and having baits in the swim for longer periods is definitely an advantage. So, if you have the time to introduce bait and let it ‘wash out’ in the swim then it’s definitely an advantage.

There is a mass of work, research and development that goes into creating the next blockbuster boiled bait, but what about pellets?

ML: Pellets are bought and then ‘tweaked’ and so there’s nowhere near as much development as with a boiled bait. There are only a few, very big manufacturers of fish-feed pellets in Europe and their resources far outweigh anything that any fishing company could ever get close to. They’re the experts in their field and we’re the experts of boiled baits, enhancers etc. So, introducing our flavours, enhancers and feed stimulators to gain a quicker feeding response than the ‘basic’ pellet gives us the best of both worlds.

Do you fish with pellets a great deal

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In the bag.. (top) Our stock turns around very quickly.

(Middle) Food for carp, a veritable piscine banquet! (bottom) Kebab rigs are effective because carp readily accept them and they are difficult to eject

yourself? If so, have you found there to be any particular methods of fishing them that out fish others ways?

ML: In recent times I haven’t been on waters that suit pellet fishing and it’s also very easy to confuse matters by adding pellets into the equation along with boilies, seeds and other baits.

However, there is absolutely no doubt that PVA bags of hi-attract pellets are absolutely devastating on certain waters, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that they are going to catch you the biggest fish in the lake… unless you can see him and put the bait on his nose.

Do you think the ‘single, high-attract pop-up’ has had its day? Have you any ideas what will be the next big craze, the Greedy Pig Rig coming back into fashion for example?

ML: The single pop-up will never have ‘had its day’ because if that was the case then it would have done so by now. I have been using the Greedy Pig Rig in my own form, The Kebab Rig, for a number of years now. This is an extremely

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effective and underused method, especially when fishing over a mixture of baits, such as over spodded areas, the Kebab rig allows you to use two or three different baits on the hair. It’s also very difficult to eject and you tend to lose very few as the fish take it with confidence.

There’s been an ongoing debate for years about the quality difference between freezer and shelf-life baits. So, in your eyes, how much difference is there?

ML: Traditionally us ‘old boys’ have always used freezer bait. However, with advancements in preservatives and the availability of human foodgrade preservatives the difference between the two is now negligible if anything. Of course I can only speak from a Solar point of view, but I have no hesitation in using any of our frozen or shelf-life baits because I have always worked to the ethos of ‘if I wouldn’t use it myself then I don’t expect others to’.

How long does Solar take to come up with a concept for a bait, develop it, field-test it and then get it on to the shop shelf?

ML: We can only speak for ourselves and can’t comment on any other bait companies, but Solar

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

now produced in-house, but it has also allowed us to take the availability and quality control to the next level… and then some! Better still, our new facility means we have more scope to develop and perfect a wide range of baits quicker and more thoroughly than before.

Finally, the state-of-the-art facility has allowed us to reduce our production costs, the savings from which have been passed onto our customers as we have lowered the prices of many of our baits this year.

What does the future hold for Solar?

ML: As we speak, we are just about to push the button on one of the biggest projects Solar has ever undertaken, and by the time this article is in print we will have launched Solar 24-7, our very own online shop. Every Solar product will be available worldwide at the push of a button, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This will also be the place for bulk-bait deals, special offers, merchandise, exclusive, limited-edition Solar products, videos from the Solar team on getting the best from Solar tackle and bait products and revealing some of their secret edges and much, much more. Not only will our customers have the user-friendly, cutting-edge webshop at www. solar24-7.co.uk at their disposal, but there is a mobile site, for use on smart phones, iPads and tablets and an ‘App’ that you can download free of charge too. All you need to do is log onto the webshop from your mobile device and follow the instructions.

That makes Solar the first major tackle manufacturer to launch its own webshop, so what was the thinking behind this?

ML: The simple answer is availability and wanting to provide our customers with the best possible service. The Solar product range, spanning both tackle and bait, is huge. In fact www.solar24-7. co.uk has more than 2000 products on it.

Subsequently, the tackle shops are not able to stock our entire range, it would just take up too much of the shop, and so availability of some Solar products has been an issue. This can be even more pronounced for anglers further a field, with South Africa and America being two examples. We get messages on a daily basis from anglers who are trying to track down certain Solar products, and so to offer our customers the best possible service, we decided that a webshop would do exactly that.

baits are ‘under test’ for varying time scales, some for several years and others far less. The Chinese Take-Away was a quick one to create and only took three test batches before we ‘nailed it’.

With regard to the bait being tweaked, it’s generally adjusted and ‘tweaked’ dozens and dozens of times from conception to it ending up on the shelf. Often, the very fist batch of a bait is completely different to the finished article because we create a recipe for the bait we want to make as an initial batch. Then it’s down to taste, smell and results on the bank as to how the bait is changed, but it’s always tweaked from the initial recipe, because what works on paper is never exactly what’s needed in practise. What you need to consider though is that once one ingredient, enhancer, flavour etc is altered, the others need adjusting inline with it to find that perfect balance that we need for the finished product.

Why is N-Butyric Acid so good? We see that this liquid is included into single, high-attract pop-ups that are available on the market, but if it’s so good, why don’t you include it into your foodbaits?

ML:To our knowledge, until now N-Butyric Acid wasn’t available as a powdered additive that

can be easily incorporated into bottom baits, so adding it to a ‘food’ bait in a subtle amount rather than the hi-attract levels used in certain hook baits, hasn’t been possible.

Obtaining a powdered N-Butyric Acid though is the exact reason why we have changed our longstanding The Secret bait to the new Pineapple Secret, which has a pineapple and N-Butyric combination in it. Make no mistake though N-Btyric Acid is as good as everybody says and it is now available in a ‘food’ bait in the Pineapple Secret.

What can you see as the next big craze?

ML: We’re working on it!

Solar opened its own, state-of-the-art bait factory in November 2012, which is one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK, so what effect has this has on Solar baits?

ML: Having our own, custom-designed bait factory is a huge step forward. Not only does it mean that almost every scrap of Solar bait is

So what benefits can customers expect from shopping at Solar 24-7?

ML:As previously mentioned, availability is one of the biggest benefits. Now, every single Solar product is available to every angler, anywhere in the world 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Likewise, all customers can benefit from bulkdeals, special offers and exclusive, limited edition products as well as FREE postage on all order over £75 or 100 euros.

We’ve worked extremely hard to make Solar 24-7 simple, feature-packed and user friendly, so you can sit in the comfort of your own home, or on the bank, and shop, watch videos, see pictures, product information, tips, advice, create a shopping cart and much more, all at your leisure.

We are also working on a scheme that will be introduced in the near future to offer even more benefits to our customers.

l Log onto www.solar24-7.co.uk today and try it out for yourself… we’re sure you won’t be disappointed.

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Great excuse for a party:

It’s not all about the winning, says Jetfish’s Jaroslav Tesinsky

I

have been cooperating with Ross Honey for fourteen years now.

Maybe that is why he asked me to put in writing some of my WCC experiences for this year´s anniversary event.

It all started back in 1999 when I met Rod Hutchinson´s team whose products I was selling in the Czech Republic by that time. I had the chance to come across with a videotape showing carpfishing at Lac de Madine. It was the second year of the contest and it did not take me long to join it.

I was the first Czech angler to take part in the match. In those days we were allowed to fish from bank only without a boat. I had never attended such a big event before and to be honest it did not bother me if I won anything.

I was there just to enjoy the atmosphere and meet anglers who I knew from magazines only.

Back then, I fished mainly at Cassien where I met Steve Briggs and Tim Paisley. I revere them both and they surely changed my approach to carpfishing. I was looking forward to meeting them there.

I have made many more friends during the following years, including for example Andy Chambers who was later fishing my venue in the Czech Republic. In my opinion this is what it is all about – meeting people with the same hobby, making new friends. After all, where else can one meet so many anglers from more than thirty countries at one lake. I must admit that I am no fan of matches. I usually prefer big lakes where I find myself a quiet place to enjoy the peace and silence. The WCC is more a social event and a great opportunity to meet other carp anglers.

I have been producing carp baits for more than twenty years, so I naturally became one of the sponsors of this event to promote my products abroad.

It is my pleasure to say that if I come somewhere and say that I´m from JET FISH, most European carp anglers know what company I am talking about.

What I always want most is to enjoy the match. Together with my friends we give a party before the start itself, unfortunately with many of them I meet at the event only.

Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to draw a perfect peg each and every time.

Several times I had a swim with no fish in it – but that happens, that is a contest. One day you are lucky, the other not. On the other hand I caught several nice carp during the past WCC events.

The idea I appreciate most is changing of venues after some time, and hopefully we will move to other countries in the future too.

The main concern for us all is promoting carp fishing. Nowadays, when at some lakes set more restrictive rules for carp fishing, it is very important. Moreover with so many new carp anglers it is necessary to protect a carp, and that is exactly what WCC is trying for. The WCC makes an effort to raise public awareness of the necessity of careful treatment of carp, returning them into the water in the same condition as when they were caught. That means with no harm done.

Finally I wish all the carp anglers a great time on the bank and all the best to Ross Honey, the event is getting better and better year by year.

Jaroslav Tesinsky JET FISH team

Mixing business with pleasure.. The potential for creating new and greater business through the vast World Carp Classic marketing platform is enormous… What better for me than to relax and take part in the Event knowing that business is taking care of itself!

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Bella Bolsena

’anno passato abbiamo scritto un articolo per questa rivista con la finalità di far conoscere il lago di Bolsena alla maggior parte dei partecipanti stranieri che non vi avevano mai pescato.

Questa volta con grande onore, vogliamo raccontare le nostre sensazioni sull’evento a seguito della richiesta di Ross Honey e Steve Howard. Secondo il nostro parere, l’anno passato abbiamo assistito ad un evento senza precedenti per ciò che riguarda il carpfishing.

Certo, organizzare un evento intorno ad uno specchio d’acqua di enormi dimensioni e con molte cittadine intorno non è come organizzarlo in aree lontane da ogni cosa come può essere l’organizzazione della WCC intorno a lago di Madine. Avere organizzato questo evento di ciclopiche dimensione intorno al lago di Bolsena non è stato certo semplice nel 2012. Molti aspetti e novità rispetto alle edizioni passate hanno messo in difficoltà sia organizzatori che partecipanti. Lo stesso si potrebbe dire di molte strutture ricettive e cittadini che non si erano resi conto di cosa volesse dire un evento che coinvolgeva 160 squadre arrivate da tutto il mondo.

Nel 2012 non tutto ha funzionato al meglio, a cominciare dalle zone di pesca che non hanno dato in molti casi i risultati sperati anche se, c’è da ricordare, che in un lago di tali dimensioni è impossibile avere una perfetta omogeneità in termini di catture, tanto più che sul lago di Bolsena gioca un ruolo determinante la direzione del vento e, chiaramente, se il vento spinge le carpe ad un’alta attività in un settore del lago, viceversa non succede nella parte opposta. In ogni modo, tutto ciò che non è andato l’anno passato è stato analizzato con cura e, per l’edizione 2013, sono state migliorate molte cose in tal senso. Sono state levate completamente dal campo gara aree poco produttive l’anno passato, cercando invece di sfruttare meglio zone ottime per la pesca. Anche a proposito della distanza tra una postazione e l’altra, l’aver diminuito il numero di partecipanti a 150 coppia, aiuterà senza dubbio una migliore distribuzione dei partecipanti.

Un altro aspetto non facile da gestire è stato e sarà il rispetto da parte di molti partecipanti della distanza massima di pesca.

Senza dubbio, l’enorme massa d’acqua che Bolsena rappresenta non aiuta i Marshall in questo compito, non a caso, per la nuova edizione 2013 molte migliorie sono state apportate sotto questo punto di vista. Sono stati scelti marshall molto esperti, che forniti di distance finder e visori notturni riusciranno a controllare in maniera impeccabile ogni cosa: sia di giorno che durante la notte.

Questo, sicuramente, eviterà molte polemiche e discussione che hanno animato l’edizione 2012, a volte a ragione e altre a torno.

Questa è pur sempre una gara e, durante le competizioni si sa, ogni problema viene vissuto dai partecipato in maniera profonda, portandoli spesso ad un accanimento che con facilità accende gli animi. Troviamo molto giusta e intelligente la scelta dell’organizzazione di aver potenziato i mezzi di controllo che renderanno lo svolgimento della manifestazione molto più sereno e daranno maggiore lustro ad una organizzazione che da sempre splende per la grande serietà e competenza.

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La WCC vista con gli occhi di due italiani che amano Bolsena

(in alto a destra) italiano, Emilano Gabrielli con una superba Bolsena carpa.

(Immagine principale) della pesca italiana super star, Sandro Di Cesare con solo uno dei tanti fantastici Bolsena carpa al suo attivo.

Un’altra eccellente scelta, che è stata dopo molte spiegazione anche accettata dall’amministrazione provinciale di Viterbo, è stata quella di spostare la manifestazione a fine settembre-inizio di ottobre. Questa è una scelta ottima in primis per la pesca. Noi che in questo lago abbiamo pescato centinaia di volte nell’ultimo decennio, e anche prima, possiamo assicurare che durante l’edizione 2012 la media delle catture non è stata alta come generalmente succede a Bolsena.

Questo proprio perchè le alte temperature non favoriscono la cattura dei pesci più grandi. Il periodo autunnale, invece, si è sempre rivelato ottimo per riuscire ad ottenere molte catture e di ottima taglia.

In più, molti problemi ai quali abbiamo assistito l’anno passato riconducibili al periodo ancora estivo (bagnati, windsurf, stabilimenti balneari e circoli ricreativi aperti) saranno un lontano ricordo, infatti, con l’arrivo di ottobre, e quindi la fine dei periodi festivi e le temperature più basse, le sponde del lago saranno poco popolate e permetteranno alla manifestazione uno svolgimento molto più tranquillo.

Senza dubbio, già con lo spostamento della data di inizio della WCC si sono risolti almeno il

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90% dei problemi dell’anno passato.

L’organizzazione della WCC ha inoltre deciso di lasciare ben 10 chilometri di sponda liberi dalle postazioni, questo per facilitare i pescatori professionisti nella loro professione e nella speranza che questi non infastidiscano con la posa delle loro reti i partecipanti, cosa che purtroppo lo scorso anno è successa in un paio di occasioni a causa di alcuni pescatori fuorilegge che hanno deciso di invadere illegalmente il campo gara.

Per evitare che ciò accada, la Provincia di Viterbo ha garantito un aumento dei controlli, sia da terra che via lago, da parte degli agenti di polizia preposti a tale lavoro.

Sicuramente lo scorso anno i controlli sarebbero dovuti essere più intensi e massici ma, probabilmente, nemmeno le amministrazioni pubbliche si erano rese conto, essendo il primo anno, delle difficoltà che si sarebbero incontrare nel dover controllare alcuni aspetti durante una manifestazione di tali dimensioni e che comprendeva un bacino di enorme grandezza.

Sotto questo aspetto, il presidente della Provincia di Viterbo Meroi, l’Assessore alla Pesca e il suo staff si sono impegnati a dare un supporto totale ad una manifestazione che con

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a

l’edizione 2012 ha dato un grande aiuto all’area lacuale e alla Tuscia viterbese: Basta fare due semplici conti per capire l’importante indotto economico che una manifestazione di tale portata crea e, in più, la grande visibilità che il nostro lago ha avuto in tutto il mondo e, quindi, l’incredibile aiuto promozionale che la WCC ha dato e darà al settore turistico-alberghiero della zona.

In tutto ciò, ci auguriamo di cuore che l’importanza di questa manifestazione faccia riflettere le amministrazione e le renda maggiormente sensibili sulla tutela che le nostre amate carpe si meritano.

La pesca, quando questa abbraccia anche manifestazioni di questo genere, significa apertura verso il mondo, verso altre nazioni e quindi maggiori ricchezza per una nazione come la nostra che grazie alle sue bellezze naturali, artistiche e storiche potrebbe vivere solo di turismo.

Le nostre carpe, come stiamo dimostrano anche con la WCC, rappresentano una ricchezza inestimabile che va protetta a spada tratta. Il commercio al quale ancora assistiamo da parte di pescatori professionali (che nulla sono se non bracconieri che vivono con attività illegali, vendendo pesci vivi in altre zone d’Italia) rappresenta una vergogna di cui ci auguriamo

le amministrazioni si stiano rendendo conto, intensificando il controllo e inasprendo gli interventi disciplinari contro i colpevoli di questi atti criminosi. Noi tutti ci auguriamo che manifestazioni di questo genere spingano nel tempo a vietare completamente la pesca professionale di molte specie.

Per le ragioni sopra descritte, crediamo fermamente che l’Italia, e quindi il lago di Bolsena, non possa perdere l’evento di carpfishing più importante al mondo. Un evento che porta lustro alla nostra disciplina ma, in questo caso più che mai, alla nostra nazione e nello specifico al carpfishing italiano.

Dopo tanti anni di pesca insieme, quest’anno siamo fieri e orgogliosi di partecipare per l’Italia alla quindicesima edizione della WCC. Senza dubbio, cercheremo di lottare come non mai per fare onore al nostro tricolore ma, nello stesso tempo, consapevoli che la World Carp Classic va ben oltre dall’essere una semplice competizione tra angler di diverse nazione.

La WCC è, piuttosto, un evento di respiro mondiale che unisce in un unico battito i cuori di centinaia di pescatori che hanno dedicato la propria esistenza ad una disciplina meravigliosa che il carpfishing rappresenta.

Centinaia di Carpisti che uniti in un solo abbraccio gridano al mondo la felicità che si prova nel baciare una carpa prima di rilasciarla alle proprie acque.

Questo è lo spirito con cui si deve vivere una manifestazione di tale importanza, questa è la voglia che deve nascere in noi quando decidiamo di partecipare alla World Carp Classic. Vincere questa competizione è una grandissima soddisfazione, ma già il sapere che esiste e che tu ne stai prendendo parte ti regala una felicità difficile da raccontare.

Purtroppo, per una serie di problemi personali quest’anno non siamo riusciti ad organizzare le selezioni per la WCC come è successo l’anno 2012 lungo le rive del Lago del Salto. Speriamo di riuscirci l’anno prossimo. Il Salto è un lago particolarmente caro a Sandro Di Cesare, infatti, è qui che lui ho iniziato a pescare e dove ha mosso i primi passi verso il carpfishing. Per lui in special modo, aver organizzato le selezioni WCC 2012 su questo lago è stato una grandissima emozione: speriamo quindi di poter ripetere l’evento l’anno prossimo.

Emilliano Gabrielli e Sandro Di Cesare

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The F

World Class sportsmen De

It’s Showtime!

Ross Honey’s World Carp Classic Road Show It has been a very busy time for Event Founder Ross Honey as, since last year’s event, he has travelled far and wide to visit shows and events in many different countries.

During his travels to some fantastic locations Ross has met many anglers and friends, and was greeted with a friendly welcome everywhere he has been. Of the many presentations Ross has undertaken, each have highlighted some of the great moments, fantastic locations and, of course, the tremendous people that have been involved in the past 15 years of the World Carp Classic.

So, where were these shows and The show must events…? In no particular order, go on.. wind, Ross has visited Carp Zwolle in the rain, sleet or Netherlands, Carp Show Poznan snow, to the show Ross must go! in Poland, The Austrian Carp Show in Gratz, Fishing & Hunting Show in Hungary, Carp Italy, The Belgian Carp Society show, Carpin’ On show in England, The Carp Society show at Sandown in England, Tackle and Gun show in England and the Serbian Carp Cup. Obviously, Ross clocked up a fair amount of mileage by air, sea and road, and here are a few of the facts and figures from these visits as a point of interest. From 11 shows/events in 9 countries there were; 18 flights, 36 hotel nights, 7 car hires and an estimated total show attendance of 65,000 people.

While that might sound like a lot of fun, it certainly involves a lot of sitting in airport boarding lounges and earned him not only some good air miles but 4 speeding tickets too!

One thing that Ross commented on was the tremendous buzz at the shows and events as the universal language of angling was spoken. There is already a very busy scheduled planned for the close of the year and continuing into 2014, which will see Ross and his team attend many more shows and events in the quest to spread the World Carp Classic story far and wide.

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Mighty men.. Yohan Lidon and Ardy Veltkamp Here we take a look at three of this years competitors and acknowledge their outstanding professional accomplishments in their specific sports careers.

Carp Angler Yohan Lidon is a French Muay Thai kickboxer who is famous for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. He is a 3 time world champion in Muay Thai and kickboxing - including being the first ever ‘It’s Showtime 73MAX’ world champion.

Titles and achievements: l 2013: A1 World Middleweight (−73kg/160lb) Championship l 2011: WBC World Muaythai Middleweight l Champion (160 lbs/72.575 kg) (1st title defence) l 2011: It’s Showtime 73MAX world champion -73 kg l 2009: WBC World Muaythai Middleweight Champion (160 lbs/72.575 kg) l 2008: Steko´s Fight Night Tournament Champion / WKA World Kickboxing Champion (-76 kg) l 2008: S8 WM Fight 4 Men Tournament Champion / WKA World Kickboxing Champion (-70 kg) l WKA World Muay Thai Champion l 3 times French Kickboxing and 2 times French Muay Thai Champion Carp angler Mark Huizinga is a Dutch judoka and Olympic champion.

Mark was born in Vlaardingen, Zuid-Holland in Netherlands. He won the gold medal in the men’s under 90 kg class at the 2000 Summer Olympics by defeating Brazil’s Carlos Honorato by ippon. He took bronze at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Other laurels include five European Championships and a bronze medal at the 2005 World Judo Championships.

Huizinga retired after the 2008 Olympics.

On January 20, 2010, Huizinga participated in De Nationale IQ test (The National IQ test) of Dutch broadcaster BNN, an informal quiz/ comedy show. He was rated with an intelligence quotient of 142, an all time record on the show.

Achievements: l Medal record in Men’s judo as a Competitor for the Netherlands l Olympic Games: Gold: 2000 Sydney -90 kg l European Championships: Gold:1996 The Hague -86 kg Gold:1997 Oostende -86 kg

e Fame Game

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men Dean Mark and Yohan at the World Carp Classic

Good sports.. Yohan Lidon surrounded by adoring fans (main image), Dean Macey (far left), Mark Huizinga with Hans Sissingh and showing true grit (above) Gold:1998 Oviedo -90 kg Gold:2001 Paris -90 kg Gold:2008 Lisbon -90 kg Dean Macey, an avid angler, is an English athlete from Canvey Island.

He is best known for competing in the decathlon, which he did from 1995 to 2008, winning the Commonwealth Games decathlon, two World Championship medals, as well as twice finishing fourth in the Olympic Games.

Retiring from decathlon due to injury, he has competed in the bobsleigh since 2008.

Dean started out in athletics as a triple jumper but graduated up through the octathlon to settle on the decathlon. He was also on the books of Arsenal as a youngster but gave up football to train for the World Junior Championships in 1995. Dean’s major breakthrough was when he won silver medal

at the 1999 World Championships in Athletics in the Olympic Stadium, Seville, Spain with a personal best of 8556 points. Dean was the inaugural winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality in 1999.

Dean was back amongst the medals at the 2001 World Championships in the Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, improving on his personal best yet again, with 8603 points finishing with the bronze medal.

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, despite still nursing some injuries, Dean led after the first day with a personal best of 15.83 metres in the last round of the shot put. Over the course of the second day, that gap was reduced and overhauled by the Australian Jason Dudley because of injury-hampered performances in

the 110 m hurdles and the javelin. Going into the final event, the 1500 metres, Dean needed to score 38 points more than Dudley to claim gold. He completed the event in 4:34.22, which gave him the gold medal by 69 points with a total of 8,143 points.

In 2009, Dean Macey completed the Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest 10 km run in Edinburgh, Scotland, recording a time in excess of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Medal Record: l World Championships: Silver: 1999 Seville - Decathlon Bronze: 2001 Edmonton - Decathlon l Commonwealth Games Representing England Gold: 2006 Melbourne - Decathlon

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Dedication to sport..

There is no question that these guys have everything it takes to be great professional sportsmen. There are many successful sportsmen attracted to carp angling because they recognised it as a challenge requiring passion and dedication.

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15 years of madness & m

When they’re not fishing, most carpers enjoy spending time with new found friends

Throw yo’ Hans up in the air...

Random model holding boilies pic!

‘Stop! That tickles ............................

I’ll show that Mr Honey a thing or two about about golf!”

“Y’know, Hans, I’ve often pondered what it was like to be mirror .... mmmm .... comfy”

“So he can write a bit ... whatever!”

“But where’s the bottle opener?”

Andy’s Rule 3,668: Ke

“Love lifts us up where we belong ....” Andy’s Rule 3,669: Really c

“Hey Lilly! Ten dolla only for a really hot time?”

Ouch! That’ll hurt!

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“Can I get that for you?”

“Friends, Romans ...

That w

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It started with a

& mayhem..

WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

nd friends .. and some just like to get naked!

...............................really, stop it!”!”

“Seen my beer goggles anywhere?”

‘I’m tellin’ you man, no way will this hold Axel’s catch ... let’s call Ardy!”

“Can anyone see my boiles?”

s Rule 3,668: Keep the carp cool at all times

“ ... And, for my next trick, I’ll turn water into wine!

le 3,669: Really cool and comfortable at all time

“Y.M.C.A ....

That won’t count .. that’s a catfish! It started with a cyst .....

Andy’s Rule 14,685: No matter how silly you feel .. always stay buoyant

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It started with a cyst .....

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Events.. industry benefits!

Jean Claude Bel gives a trades eye view on what events bring to angling For 15 years now, Ross and his Angling Spirit team have been organizing major events in the world of recreational fishing, primarily the World Carp Classic, and then the World Catfish Classic.

Year after year those events grew to finally become the most important international events of their genre, bringing the very best anglers from all of the major countries to compete against each other. These top anglers were not only attracted by the prizes but they were eager and proud to be admitted to compete in such a major event.

The events standing has brought the loyal support of prestigious sponsors, conscious that being there and supporting such an event directly benefits the image of the associated brands. This is the same attitude that the major brands supporting other events have, like in tennis or formula one etc... If the same sponsors are there, year after year, even in tough economic times, it is certainly because they see in such actions the benefit for their companies and the whole industry, even in our small world of Angling. But not only this, they support it because it is the only event organized in such a professional and sustainable way year after year for 15 years.

However, it is not only a way to promote and showcase new products in real tough conditions imposed by the competition where, even if a chance exists (without it fishing would not be the same excitement) there is no room for mistakes in the choice of strategy, tackle and baits etc, it is only possible to win with talent forged by experience. Only the best have a chance there. It is also a major way to promote the whole industry by spreading information, images and dreams on all possible media and more and more on Social Media.

What is good for the Angling community is good for the industry and employment.

It comforts the trade to go forward, being constructive, imaginative in terms of products and care more and more about the environment.

It is not only good for the industry and anglers, such an event, normally organised in medium or small cities, also has a big economic impact on local economy. It can be well over 1.5 million Euros, which can be so important for those villages. This message is passed to the politicians who are sometimes reluctant to welcome such events under the pressure of some sceptical individual, or what I call “Green Talibans”, normally opposed to everything!* Fun can be business, and business can also be good for the environment…

2 years ago I saw for the first time a parallel activity “Friends of the Ebro”. Just few days before the contest, the whole Angling Spirit Team, associated with kids and volunteers from the small town close to the Ebro River, cleaned the river while preparing the swims…

Tons of garbage was collected, what an impressive amount of work!

It was easy to blame the locals or the municipality, but a lot of those items found along the river were originating from foreign Anglers and campers (bait packaging, pellet bags and hundreds of cans and bottles of mostly non Spanish beer and others)… I heard that one year after, the same amount of garbage was back… What a shame!

There will be a “Friends of Bolsena” again this year; I do hope it that it will be followed

by results on a conscious level in the coming years. We keep claiming that anglers are watch dogs of the environment but a lot of education is still necessary to achieve that result, and, the voice of the Top anglers attending the World Carp Classic could be a great help. By spreading the right messages to help us, the industry, associations and angler’s international associations can change mentalities.

They should not only be seen as examples as Anglers, but as representing the community as well in that direction.

I am not personally, as a multi-techniques low average angler, conditional of Catch and Release, I also like to cook my catch and share just the necessary with friends and

Family the same day but, of course, in all Competitions it should be catch and release with no exceptions. This is not always the case, particularly in Salt water, but this is in itself the spirit of competition.

A ban of mouth-destructive fish Grips should be considered as well. We also fight to see some minimum sizes increase just to maintain the populations for the future, even if the biggest damage is not done by recreational anglers.

Most of them are very respectful of the environment, particularly amongst the growing population of young fishermen. We really hope that they will change the bad habits and mentalities of their elders, particularly in some countries I cannot mention here.

Respect the environment, respect the fish which give you so much emotion and adrenaline shots, respect the diversity and manage the resource… Limit your catches... never catch your limits! Plenty of messages that an event like the World Carp Classic is spreading to the anglers and non angler’s all over the community!

I wish good luck to the Angling Spirit Team, but I am sure that the event will be of the quality, the work and the heart of the organisers deserve, but I also wish good luck to all of the angler’s teams, which are already preparing themselves for that!

Fun can be business.. and business can also be good for the environment

Jean Claude Bel

CEO at European Fishing Tackle Trade Association

‘Limit your catches ... never catch your limits! Plenty of messages that an event like the World Carp Classic is spreading to anglers and non anglers’ Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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WORLD CARP CLASSIC EVENT MAGAZINE

P

escalis, est le premier centre Nature et Pêche d’Europe, un espace unique en son genre.

Ce centre de pêche, offre, sur un domaine de 150 hectares de nature préservée, une diversité d’étangs de pêche spécialement conçus et aménagés pour la pratique de toutes les pêches sportives en « no kill » d’eau douce (pêche au coup, de la carpe, du carnassier).

Le domaine est clos pour un séjour de pêche au calme et en sécurité, avec accès piéton, vélo ou cheval. Pour la pêche de la carpe de nuit, les véhicules ont accès au pied du poste pour le déchargement et sont ensuite stationnés sur le parking situé à proximité, pour éviter une circulation de véhicules sur le sentier des étangs. De nombreux services sont dédiés au pêcheur : navette électrique gratuite, accueil pêche avec magasin de pêche, cours d’initiation ou de perfectionnement, location de matériel de pêche (wadders, barque, floattube), location de vélo du pêcheur, sanitaires pêcheurs, recharge de portable gratuite, pains de glace, livraison de pain et viennoiserie… Et pour les plus jeunes, des cours en individuels ou en groupe avec le club pêche.

Les postes de pêche de la carpe de nuit sont aménagés avec confort et espace pour profiter de vacances de pêche en famille ou entre amis, avec des postes pouvant accueillir 2 batteries de 3 cannes. La pêche des carnassiers se pratique aux leurres, notamment à la mouche, en itinérance du bord ou en embarcation (float-tube ou bateau). La pêche au coup se pratique à la grande canne, à l’anglaise, au quiver et feeder. La production piscicole est optimisée par une gestion rigoureuse des biotopes, ce qui contribue à une importante densité de poissons et à des résultats de pêche répondant aux attentes du pêcheur initié comme du débutant. Le sentier des étangs a été aménagé avec des espaces pique-nique, toilettes, postes d’observation des oiseaux, passerelle dans les arbres, mini-ferme, passage à gué, ce qui profite à toute la famille !

Pescalis c’est aussi une station de vacances pour des séjours en famille ou entre amis pour profiter du domaine et pourquoi pas s’initier à la pêche sportive en No Kill, grâce à la diversité des locations de vacances proposées (gîtes, maisons, appartements, chalets, mobil-homes, camping, accueil camping-car, roulottes, hôtel, chambre au château…), de la restauration sur place et de nombreuses activités, notamment la visite du plus grand aquarium d’eau douce de la région Poitou-Charentes.

Pescalis bénéficie également d’une situation géographique idéale pour visiter la région Poitou-Charentes. Le centre se situe dans l’ouest de la France, proche de la côte atlantique, à proximité du Puy du Fou (35 km), du Marais Poitevin (50 km), de La Rochelle, de Poitiers et du Futuroscope (90 km), des châteaux de la Loire et de Saumur (80 km), ou de la côte vendéenne et ses plages de sable fin comme aux Sables d’Olonne (115 km). Côté accès TGV et aéroport, Nantes est à 100km, Poitiers et La Rochelle à 90km.

Pescalis is a unique nature and fishing centre in Europe.

Across an estate of 150 hectares of protected land, many various lakes offer the opportunity to try all the types of ‘no kill’ sports fishing (carp, carnivors, coarse fishing…), bait and lure fishing, fly fishing, free along the banks or in vessel (float-tube or boat). Pescalis is a unique holiday destination in a superb location.

Pescalis is an ecofriendly holiday resort that offers a large choice of accommodation and activities for holidays with family or friends, also a freshwater aquarium. Restaurant on site. A haven of well being and tranquility. Meeting rooms, disco. l Carp: carp 13 to 25 pounds, mirror carp,

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près de 100+ hectares d’étangs spécialisés au coeur d’une station nature et pêche de 150 hectares

leather, linear carp, sturgeon, night fishing allowed. l Predators: black-bass up to 3 kg, trouts up to 7, pike up to 10kg, zander up to 8 kg, fishing boat, float-tube or waders l Coarse fishing: match fishing, quiver, feeder, large fishing rod, “carpodrom”(carp 1-15 kg), roach, rudd, tench, bream l Fishing shop: sale and rental of equipment l Fishing lessons: fishing club for children Pescalis is ideally located between the Puy du Fou, the Marais Poitevin, Futuroscope, La Rochelle, Les Sables d’Olonne, near the Atlantic coast in the west of France.

Pescalis, een uniek centrum in Europa !

Zo’n honderd hectare meren, ingedeeld per thema, beschikt tevens over twee andere meren, buiten het complex. Een ongerepte plek voor natuurliefhebbers. l Grote vissen: karpers van 13 tot 25 kilo, spiegelkarpers, schubkarpers, rijenkarpers, graskarpers, steuren, ‘s nachts vissen toegestaan.

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l Roofvissen: Zwartbaarzen tot 3 kilo, zalm (en soortgenoten) tot 7 kilo, snoeken tot 10 kilo, snoekbaarzen tot 8 kilo, vissen vanuit een boot of van stek naar stek langs de kant, in belly-boat of waders. l Witvissen: matchvissen, quiveren, feederen en met de vaste hengel, “carpodrom” (karpers van 1 pond tot 15 kilo), voorn, rietvoorn, zeelt, brasem l Hengelsportzaak: verkoop en verhuur van material l Individuele lessen, hengelcursussen, hengel club voor kinderen l Pescalis is ook: een ontspanningsplek bij uitstek voor het hele gezin, waar iedereen zich aan zijn/haar favoriete activiteiten kan wijden, aan sport kan doen, mooie wandelpaden kan ontdekken of bezienswaardigheden kan bezichtigen, aquarium. l En biedt tevens: overnachtingsmogelijkheden en restaurants ter plekke of in de nabije omgeving, vakantiehuisjes, appartementen, hotel, camping, verhuur van fietsen, conferentiezaal, disco en bar.

Pescalis is ideaal gelegen tussen de Puy du Fou, Marais Poitevin, Futuroscope, La Rochelle,

L’Expérience

Pescalis le nouvel esprit peche

près de 100+ hectares d'étangs spécialisés au coeur d'une station nature et pêche de 150 hectares

Les Sables d’Olonne, in de buurt van de Atlantische kust, westen van Frankrijk.

Pescalis, einzigartig in Europa, hundert hektare von teichen, bietet auch 2 zuzätliche teiche in der nähe an.

Eine unberührte umgebung für die Naturfreunde. Trophäenfische. l Angeln kapitale fish: karpfen zwischen 13 und 25 kgs, Spiegel karpfen, schuppen karpfen, band karpfen, grass karpfen, stör, nachtangeln l Raubfische fangen: black-bass bis 3 kgs, salmoniden bis 7 kgs, hechten bis 10 kgs, zander bis 8 kgs, fischfang vom boat aus, mit float tube oder wading l Angeln Weiss fisch: match fisching, quiver, feeder und mit die lange rute, teich mit karpfen (karpfen zwischen 0.5 bis 15 kg), rotaugen, rotflossen, schleien, brachsen. l Anglergeschäft: verkauf und ausleihen der Angelausrüstung. l Angeln im einzelunterricht l Fishing club für kinder l Pescalis ist auch: ein Ort der entspannung mit freizeitangeboten für die ganze familie.

Jeder kann seine leidenschaft nachgehen,

sport treiben, wander, sehenswürdigkeiten besichtigen, aquarium. l Weiterhin: unterkunft und restaurant am ort oder in der nähe (chalet, hotelgruppe, hotel, campingplatz), fahrradverleih, konferenzraum, diskothek und pub.

Pescalis liegt ideal zwischen gelegen Puy du Fou, Marais Poitevin, Futuroscope, La Rochelle, Les Sables d’Olonne, in der Nähe der Atlantikküste, westen von Frankreich.

Pescalis un centro di pesca unico in Europa per principianti ed esperti!

Cento ettari di laghi, dedicati a diverse tecniche di pesca laghi d’acqua dolce hanno anche due fuori città. Un luogo protetto per gli amanti della natura. l Carp: carpa da 13 a 25 kg, carpa specchio, cuoio, lineare carpa, storione, pesca notturna consentita. l Predators: black-bass fino a 3 kg, salmone fino a 7 kg, luccio fino a 10 kg, lucioperca fino a 8 kg, barca da pesca, tubo galleggiante o trampolieri.

l Pesca al colpo: pesca inglese, quiver, grande canna, “carpodrom”(carpa da 1 a 15 kg), scarafaggio, scardola, tinca, scardola l Negozio di pesca: vendita e noleggio di attrezzature Corso di pesca, club di pesca per i bambini l Pescalis è: un luogo di svago per tutta la famiglia, dove ognuno può dedicarsi ai suoi / sue attività preferite, esplorare i sentieri o visitare le vicine attrazioni. l E fornisce anche: vitto e alloggio in loco o nelle case, appartamenti, noleggio hotel, campeggio, biciclette, acquario, sala conferenze, un night club e bar Pescalis è situato tra il Puy du Fou, il Marais Poitevin, Futuroscope, La Rochelle, Les Sables d’Olonne, nei pressi della costa atlantica ad ovest della Francia. resa@pescalis.com Adresse: route de Niort – 79 320 Moncoutant, France GPS: N46°42.440’ – W0° 36.135’ Contact: Bénédicte Besnard Tél: 05 49 72 00 01 Fax: 05 49 72 53 37

Magazine sponsored by Pescalis www.pescalis.com

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