World Carp Classic 2014 official magazine

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INSIDE Official Event magazine 5 Welcome Message from

Ross Honey World Carp Classic Founder.

7 Ross Honeys’ Event Team Presentation.

9 Welcome message from

Darryl Hodges of Dynamite Baits.

10-12 A Year in the Limelight

of the 2013 World Carp Classic Champions.

13 – Results round up of the

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2013 prize winners.

14-16 A round up of the 2014 Qualifying Events

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Event Itinerary and Prize table.

19-20 Andy Chambers our

Head Marshal with some advice and rules.

21-23 Page 21 – 23 - Kristof

Cuderman on how to prepare for Bolsena

24-27 Larysa Switlyk Taking

46 Head Marshal Andy

on the big boys.

28-31

Spotlight on the towns around Lake Bolsena.

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Welcome to Bolsena from the Mayor

32-33 Map of Lake Bolsena

including the Sponsors Sections.

34-35 Riccardo Battisti reveals

38-39 World Carp Classic Participants list 2014

40 Page 40 – World Carp

Classic Team Event and list for 2014

41 We proudly present the

all about the Italian Stallions

2014 World Carp Classic Section Sponsors.

Sebastian Heinz of Carpspot.de

Trendafilov and Carp Madness

Chambers with some important Rules

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48 Bivvy City and its Activities 50-51 Frank Warwick reveals some thoughts in Casting Memories

52 World Carp Classic Media Interest

Editor Steve Howard 36-37 Seeing is Believing with 42-43 Page 42 – 43 - Dimitar 54-56 reveals The Key to success.

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57 Jakub Vagner the official

Czech media partner and Agent for the WCC.

58-59 The World Carp Classic Event Support Sponsors

61 Making a difference

responsibly with The Friends of Bolsena

63 Ross Honey takes us Back to the Future

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WELCOME..

to the 2014 World Carp Classic It gives me enormous pleasure to welcome everyone to this fantastic venue. Bolsena is, without question, one of the finest lakes in Europe and we are delighted to be here once again to renew our acquaintance with you all and the lakes magnificent carp.

It has been an incredible year for us with lots going on. It all started directly after the event, when the 2013 champions arrived back home in the Netherlands to discover a wonderful street party and reception waiting for them. What a start that was to their amazing journey throughout this past year. Of course, Lizette and Bianca are back to defend their title and I wish them both the very best of luck.

On a personal note, I met up with lots of great anglers at angling shows all over Europe and I’m very pleased to say that a great many new friendships were forged along the way.

This year, I am very proud to say that industry giant Shimano will join Dynamite baits as Global event partners. As the event goes from strength to strength, year upon year, it naturally follows that so too does the interest from the tackle trade.

With an impressive portfolio of successful events behind it, the World Carp Classic attracts huge interest throughout the year, both outside and from within the sport. The World Carp Classic global media platform is now immense and on a level that no other carp-angling event has ever achieved.

The now traditional Qualifying events have been a great success and have, this year expanded to include

Ukraine, UK and Denmark. This list is in addition to the existing participating countries and, further to the event itself, ensures that there is focus upon the World Carp Classic all year round.

During the course of the year we ran a 10 part live TV series with top carp anglers putting in an appearance and this was followed up recently by the Bolsena Live program where we captured some amazing underwater footage of a 23kg carp being caught.

As much as we love Bolsena the World carp Classic is moving to France next year so for the moment we say Thank you Bolsena and we look forward to coming back again soon

I wish everyone who is here to participate in the event the very best of luck and, more importantly, I hope that you all enjoy the location, the fishing and the camaraderie

TOURNAMENT FOUNDER

THANK YOU!

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

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Media Team

2014 EVENT TEAM WORLD CARP CLASSIC Darren Richardson TV Production

World Carp Classic Organisers

Astrid Benesyri Glen Jeffrey Media Production TV Presenter

Marianne Guillois Andy Chambers Event Director Head Marshal

Event Founder

Richard Browne Robert Kiss TV Production TV Production

Desmond Dave Richards Maddocks Event Media Production Co-ordinator

Event Marshals

Jakob Iversen Jeremy Cocker Danny Cooch Andrew Tye Darren Mullard Erwin Snaaijer William Moffat Brendan Carragher Ingmar Hokke Sjors Olijslager Collin Arenz

Dominique Guillois Event Support

Stage Presence

Ross Honey I would like to introduce the World Carp Classic 2014 team and ask you to consider all of the hard work that they do behind the scenes. The dedication and of each team member ensures that the event runs seamlessly on a yearround basis, not just for Sophie and Victoire Honey the few short days of World Carp Classic magazine the competition. There is a huge amount of work put in prior to the competition and again afterwards.

Martin Carter: Marshal Liaison James Wycke Benjamin Chilcott Jason Tarrant Yannick Janssen Jarno Breukel James William White Thomas Zwetsloot Dean McNeill Damien Davies Dennis Ludwig Jaimie Pilcher Nick van Elst Darren Thomas Rafael Exposito Whyte

Zone Marshals

Hubert Guillois Event Support

Editor Steve Howard

Art Director Lucy Allsopp

World Carp Classic 2014 Agents

Hans Sissingh Netherlands

Przemek Mroczek Poland

Kobus Lottering South Africa

Riccardo Battisti Italy

Jakub Vagner Daniele Colapicchioni Czech Italy Republic

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Explosive stuff.. A gallery of images that capture

some of the essence of the 2013 World Carp Classic at Lake Bolsena where dreams came true and great memories were made and shared

DYNAMITE SPONSOR

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

Well where have the last 12 months gone?

It doesn’t seem 5 minutes since we were on the shores of the magical lake Bolsena. How time flies though, and I must say I am as excited as ever to be returning as principal sponsors of this celebration of carp fishing.

For the 2014 event we will be accompanied as main sponsor by the masters of the bait runner reel – Shimano. I am sure you will make them as welcome as you did us last year.

What a year 2013 turned out to be.... We enjoyed ourselves immensely here at the WCC and with Bianca and Lizette being crowned champions this topped off just perfectly a month of hard work with a week of fun and meeting some new friends. That’s not to say the week in Bolsena wasn’t hard work... I lost count of the amount of times we drove around that lake!

As I write this article I am waiting to travel home from Prague after visiting the Dynamite Shimano Prague Carp Marathon - this time not a qualifier for the WCC but in future years it maybe could be. This last year we have strived to live up to helping make the event more

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DARYL HODGES

accessible to all by running a series of qualifiers with events taking place in UK, Holland, Ukraine, South Africa and Poland amongst others - we now have a good platform for next year with discussions already well under way for USA and France.

We look forward to seeing you all again and meeting some old and new anglers alike. Come and join us in the Dynamite tent for a welldeserved welcome beer and a few goodies from Dynamite. As last year you will also be able to get a sneak peek at next seasons new baits and buy a few bits and bobs if you have forgotten that crucial tub of pop ups or dip A few words go out to Bianca and Lizette who just had one amazing year after winning - unfortunately Bianca is curently really ill so I wish her all the best in her recovery - I know she will be doing everything she can within her power to be fighting fit to compete in this year’s event.

Finally, just to say good luck to every one - I hope the draw is kind to you but, whatever the outcome, I know you will all make the most of it. Tight lines - enjoy!

DARYL HODGES Export Sales & Marketing Manager

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2013 CHAMPIONS

BIANCA VENEMA & LIZETTE BEUNDERS

Since winning the 2013 World Carp Classic in Bolsena, our champs have been in high demand from the media, sponsors and fellow anglers ... and by becoming the first females to take the trophy, they’ve made a little history too!

That moment we won the WCC 2013 at Lake Bolsena, had to be one of the greatest moments of our lives. For a whole year we have carried the title of “World Carp Classic Champions”. A huge honour and a title we held with pride.

As the cannonballs fired to close the competition, a lot of friends were there, people we know from the Dynamite, Shimano and the media. They were taking lots of pictures, doing interviews and they even helped us to pack up all our stuff. Our peg was about a mile from our van so we had to ship everything by boat and make sure we were on time for the prize giving ceremony.

After a quick shower, we arrived the theatre in Bolsena for the closing ceremony.

When we saw the beautiful trophy and heard our names as the winning team, we got the biggest goose bumps you can imagine and it was so special to hear the Dutch National Anthem play for us.

After winning the WCC our lives changed and the party started. The day after the closing ceremony we headed back to Holland whilst reading all of the reactions on all the different social media and news sites and we got calls all over from Dutch radio and TV. We felt sort of famous and that was an amazing feeling.

Once we arrived in our hometown we sensed something happening as Some people had already asked what time we expected to be home. It soon became clear what was going on; our whole street was decorated with balloons, garlands and ‘champion’ signs put there by family, friends, neighbours and our fishing mates. Everything was white and blue in the Shimano colours; there were bar

The following week we were invited to participate in different TV and Radio talk shows.

We also received a lot of sponsorship offers. We accepted offers from WileyX sunglasses, Raymarine fish finders and Monster Bait boat, because we remain selective.

We were nominated for our hometown’s Sports Team 2013 and were chosen for the gala – another great honour for us.

As part of the winning prize package, we were invited by one of the best bait companies in the world – Dynamite Baits – to their HQ in Nottingham where we were able to make our own personalized boilie based on our own recipe. This was a unique experience for us, since this was the first time Dynamite Baits had ever given this prize. As

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tables everywhere, champagne, snacks, flowers and lots of presents. It was fantastic to experience this love and attention from everybody. My father was even crying loudly when we got out of our van. He was so very proud of our achievement, especially since it was he who taught me to fish about 35 years ago. He’s our biggest fan!

The Dutch national and local television were there as were the national and local radio. For weeks after winning the WCC, there were newspaper articles about us. Journalists called us for interviews and our story was all over the Internet. We received presents, cards and flowers as congratulations from people, even from people we didn’t know! It was very heart-warming and we’re grateful to all the people who made this happen.

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A YEAR IN THE LIMELIGHT

2013 WCC CHAMPIONS

Dynamite is already our sponsor, this was a fantastic opportunity. We recently received the first 140kg of our boilie, which we named L&B boilie and we’ve already caught a lot of carp with it, so it can’t doesn’t any better!

After that, we went to an angling show called “Rybomania” in Poznan, Poland at the invitation of Shimano Normark Dynamite.

We were there for two days, which was great since we had never been to Poland before. We were invited to hold a forum there and were invited to fish a week’s session at a Polish lake. Visitors wanted our autographs and a picture taken with us. It was great to feel the excitement of enthusiastic carp fisherman.

They all knew about us winning the WCC and had followed the progress on the interactive WCC leaderboard. They even made bets that, if we won, the fisherman would participate in a fishing contest in short skirts and high heels!

Amazing isn’t it?

Sometimes we forget that we are the first female pair to win the WCC and made history with this achievement. It’s wonderful that people remind us of this. We’re grateful.

At the Carp Zwolle show there was a lot of attention. The trophy was there with both our names engraved on it and Shimano made a huge banner with pictures of us taken at Lake Bolsena. Then, we went to South Africa for 10 days on a fully catered for carp fishing session at the Tzaneen Lake. ACE sent us the tackle and we had the time of our lives – visiting the Kruger park where we saw lots of Wildlife.

Amazing!

Most important of all, after winning the WCC, you get to meet all these great people from all over the world who share the same passion ... Carp fishing. People who want to stay your friends no matter if you win or lose.

And that’s all that matters.

BIANCA VENEMA & LIZETTE BEUNDERS Dynamite Baits & Shimano

OVERALL WINNERS 2013 POSITION PEG Ist Place Solar Tackle

NAME Bianca Venema & Lizette Beunders

COUNTRY Netherlands

WEIGHT 366.50kg

2nd Place SBS 43

Lee Jackson & Rob Tough

England

192.90kg

3rd Place SBS 46

Antonio Monaldi & Francesco Capannini

Italy

179.40kg

sometimes we forget that we were the first female pair to win the WCC and made history with this achievement

2013 RESULTS

A ROUND-UP OF LAST YEAR’S EVENT

World Carp Classic Champions Defence of Title Begins

Its was a proud moment as the defending 2012 champions Peter Micula and Norbert Pongracz came into the wonderful Opening ceremony arena with the World Carp Classic trophy held aloft on their way up to the stage. The atmosphere was electric as flags were flown and the media frenzy went into full swing. It was only at the moment as the Trophy was placed on the podium did the defence of the title World Carp Classic Champions begin.

Well worth the fight ...

The Section winners for the Carp R us Section, located on the North western side of the lake, was contended fiercly but eventually won by Giacomo Riccucci & Andrea Giacinti who caught 99kgs of carp. They were delighted with the result as they came on stage. Giacomo Riccucci is well known at Bolsena having caught the lake record a giant 31.8Kg common carp earlier in the year.

SECTION WINNERS 2013 SECTION PEG ATT 32

NAMES Leszek Rutecki & Krzysztof Mroz

COUNTRY

WEIGHT

Big Fish 115

Krzysztof Charmuszko & Jaroslaw Dabrowski

Poland

102.40

Carp R Us 53

Giacomo Riccucci & Andrea Giacinti

Poland

DRAW

Italy

99.00

Carping Club 107

Colin Gray & Dan Moorcroft

England

96.20

CC Moore 138

Csaba Toth & Robert Dios

Hungary

62.40

Imperial Baits 76

Marco Savarelli & Alessandro Savarelli

Italy

94.80

JetFish 120

Antonin Smesny & Radim Jelinek

Czech Rep. DRAW

Klubas Karpis 96

Emiliano Gabrielli & Sandro Di Cesare

Italy

42.70

Northern Baits 94

Laszlo Sandor & Tamas Kiss

Hungary

98.70

Pescalis 2

Gert-Jan vd Wildenberg & Jan van Esch

Nertherlands 23.00

WINNER OF BIGGEST FISH 2013

PV TV 30

Krnic Milivoj & Nely Zivkovic

Germany

Rod Hutchinson 20

George Matthee & Martiz Lourens

South Africa DRAW

TIME/DATE SECTION/PEG NAME 03/10/13 ATT 32 Krzysztof Mroz 20.00pm

SBS 41

Davide Decataldo & Andrea Fava

Italy

Solar Tackel 66

Joakim Jacobson & Hakan Olsen

Sweden

51.30

SPOMB 77

Ewald Niederl & Gunter Scheucher

Austria

146.60

107.60

79.60

Poles apart!

A message came over the radio that a big fish had been caught and that it needed the media team to come. This is always an exciting moment. The team arrived at the ATT section peg 32 where Leszek Rutecki greeted everybody and ushered them to his partner Krzysztof Mroz who had just landed a massive Bolsena Carp. The marshals confirmed the weight at 22.6kgs – the biggest fish of the event.

Polish flags flew and the popular competitors sat back and enjoyed the moment that will stay with them for a very long time.

PVTV Section winners.. Krnic Milivoj and Nely Zivkovic from Germany

COUNTRY WEIGHT Poland 22.60kg

TEAM EVENT WINNERS 2013 TEAM Dynamite 1

COMPETITOR’S NAMES Andre Piters & Craig Wood Bianca Venema & Lizette Beunders Bianca Venema & Lizette Beunders

COUNTRY WEIGHT Netherlands 366.50kg

WINNER OF FIRST FISH 2013

Dynamite 3

Riccardo Battisti & Daniele Colapicchioni Italy Davide Dacataldo & Andrea Fava Emiliano Gabrielli & Sandro Di Cesare

TIME/DATE SECTION/PEG NAME COUNTRY WEIGHT 30/09/13 Spomb 84 Jean Marc Erroelen Belgium 8.00kg 20:59pm

Renmar Baits Peleckas Vytautas & Kruckas Vygantas Lithuania 107

Renaldas Marciukaitis & Andrey Zakharov

Aidas Turauskas & Donatas Zulys

116.4

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On a bender!

A picture speaks a thousand words, and then there are the words in the article that tell of the rod bending action, of course!

2014 QUALIFIERS NETHERLANDS

Dutch courage.. Dennis Nijland and Bjorn Wender, who won the prize for ‘most beautiful carp’ Sunday evening 17.00. The sign on the door of the picturesque bistro in the village Perthes says ‘closed’. An army green painted antique Renault van stops in the middle of the road, right in front of the terrace.

A bunch of loud and cheerful lads jump out of the bus and approach the bar. They are thirsty after a long drive from Holland to the North of France, having set up their bivvies at the Fishing Resort and driven in the hot and overloaded vehicle, to the next town to party! It’s June and it’s hot, very hot, the French summer has started early.

The van drives off again to pick up the next load while the excited anglers order their shots. Luckily for them, the restaurant has been reserved completely so the staff is totally at their service. The young girls run back and forth to please the aspirant World Carper Champions.

After half an hour and two more taxi rides the competitors of tomorrows qualifying event can attack the first course, a lovely buffet with more to offer than expected.

The landlady comes in, carrying a long wire to connect event organizer Hans Sissingh to the Internet. Hans tries to connect to skype so he can reach World Finals organizer Ross Honey.

Ross loves to have a short speech to the competitors to motivate them and invite them all to win the free ticket and join the WCC later this season. Finally Hans manages and Ross in his office shows up on the laptop screen.

Then main course is served and the noise and laughter silences up a bit. The food is good, the French wine even better. After desert and a few more shots at the bar all competitors head to their bivvies to enjoy a good nights sleep and prepare for the next four days of carp fishing.

Another sunrise invites the men to get out of their bed chairs and pack up their gear. In a few hours time the peg draw will start and they all want to know what lake and what peg they will draw. At this Qualifying event the draw of the swims is a matter of keep or ditch. Therefore the tension is everywhere and the competitors are full of adrenaline.

Bringing your own particles to the Resort is prohibited; a stunning ‘AVK Particle mix bucket challenge’ provides the competitors with the necessary ground bait.

Then the game is on, all carp anglers head to their swims and start to build camp but most important get their gear ready to cast.

At this four day endurance, neither bait boats nor boats are allowed. All have to fish from the shore where their casting skills might make a difference. The fireworks thunder and casting out of the rods starts. Measuring depth, casting out some temporary markers, casting out the spombs and rockets, makes the event exiting from the start.

The first few fish come out quite soon.

Fishing Resort Du Der holds 400 carp per lake with weight between 20 lbs to over 60 lbs. After a few days it seems the average catch (15.7 kg.) of Etang le Chenet (Berkley lake) seems a bit higher than Etang de la Haije (14.9 kg. JRC lake). Some pegs, Berkley 1 and JRC 7, have taken the lead, with fish appearing every few hours.

Then swim JRC 3 starts to catch. Graham Mabey and Tom Oliver, former winners of the Media Carp Masters 2011, also organized at this resort, started to catch and even landed a lovely young 50lbs mirror. As members of the Carp Connections team, their skills to cast extremely far finally start to pay off.

Peg JRC 7 keeps up and lands as many as JRC 3. A tight race is being fished. Also Berkley 7 (Dennis Nijland and Bjorn Wender, who also won the prize for ‘most beautiful carp’) and Berkley 4 (Ferry Verhofstad and Jos van Pinxteren) start to catch with some lovely 30’s and 40’s under the Reuben Heaton.

The midweek ends in no time. The result of final winner is for the long casters Graham and Tom from the UK, peg JRC 3 did the job – congratulations to the Carp Connections team!

Prize giving on the Friday morning shows some lovely Shimano, Dynamite and Ace prizes and finally the WCC free entry goes to our UK anglers Mabey and Oliver.

Fishing Resort Du Der contains great facilities with 24 double swims over 4 lakes of 20 to 30 acres, a proper modern toilet and shower block. Best time of the week? French fries and Dutch Frikadellen on the Tuesday afternoon!

Perfect for holidays, even better to catch your PB and perfect to organize this qualifying event!

I wish you all good luck during this event, the last time at Bolsena, may the best team win the trophy!

HANS SISSINGH Carp Connections & Fishing Resort Du Der

At this four day endurance, boats are not allowed ... all have to fish from the shore where casting skills could make a difference

BOOK NOW!

FOR 2015 QUALIFIER There’s only limited space for this exclusive event so go to www.carpconnections.com to secure your ticket!

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2014 QUALIFIERS

UKRAINE, UK & SOUTH AFRICA

UK Event winners.. father and son duo Steve and Louis Leigh with one of their 16 Wraysbury1 carp

Father and son to compete at Bolsena During the 24th to 27th of July this year, the first ever World Carp Classic UK Qualifying event took place on the famous and historic Wraysbury 1 – recently purchased by RK Leisure.

The first prize of £8,000 and the opportunity to compete at the World Carp Classic here in Bolsena was up for grabs in an extremely hotly contested and close event.

In all, there were 56 carp caught during the competition, with an average weight of 6.06 kg. Three of the original Wraysbury carp contributed to the 339.7kg overall total weight. Event winners, father and son duo Steve Leigh and Louis Leigh enjoyed outstanding success in capturing 16 fish for a winning weight of 106.8kg. The second placed pairing of David Ward and Adam Sharpe banked 10 carp for 73.9kg.

The event Sponsored by Dynamite and Shimano was a great success.

The World Carp Classic 2014 at Lago di Bolsena awaits Steve and Louis, who we wish all the very best.

History in the making at South African event

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The South Africa WCC qualifier took place in June this year at Tzaneen Dam at the town called Tzaneen. This year we we made history in the fact that we had our first black angler team that qualified for the final by the name of Alfred letwaba. Foto attach.

The event produced quite nice fish and was won by Zane Schlemmer and his wife with a total of weight of 86.06kg. The competition was very close the last two days as the top four peg positions changed at least three times. The heaviest carp caught was 16.21kg caught by Toy Nienaber.

South Africa will be represented by three pegs; Peg 1 Kobus Lottering, Charles Horlick and Edwin Theron. Peg 2; Zane Schelemmer, Anel Schlemmer and Laythen Very and Peg 3, Johan Conradie, Devin Hansema and Adam Swannepoel.

Top.. Winners of the last South Africa Qualifying event and above, Team Tribal on their way to Bolsena!

Team Tribal take the Ukrainian title The first Shimano-Dynamite Baits Prilbychi Open Cup took place in July this year at Lake Prilbychi, in the Lviv region of Ukraine to determine the team that will compete at the The World Carp Classic 2014.

Twenty-two teams of top Ukrainian and foreign carp anglers (Slovakia and Belarus champions) competed for over 96 hours against each other.

“Tribal Team” finished first, with a total catch of 453.20kg (999lb) consisting of 81 fish. Second was “Hata Rybaka” - 394.07kg (869lb) with 87 fish and third place was Team “Students” with 262.69kg

(580lb) and 44 fish. Team “Parovoz” caught the biggest fish, a carp weighing 14.83kg (32lb. 10oz.)

The total catch for the entire tournament was 733 fish weighing 3755.04kg (8278lb. 5oz).

Sixteen teams beat the 100kg barrier and eight teams caught more than 200kg of carp and grass carp. The average weight was 5.12 kg (11lb. 5oz.).

One of the innovations of this tournament was the individual sponsorship of each zone. The sponsor provided expensive prizes to the three best teams in their zone, along with cups and medals for the top three teams overall.

Your guide to all the events for this year’s World Carp Classic competition Friday 26th September

l 10.00: Bivvy City at Valdisole camp site opens its doors to welcome WCC14

11.00-13.00 & 15.00-18.00: Broadcast yourself at the Valdisole Bar

12.00-19.00: On-site Participants Registration Saturday 27th September

09.00-18.00: On-site Participants Registration at Valdisole Camp Site 11.00-13.00 & 15.00-18.00: Broadcast yourself at the Valdisole Bar 18.00-20.00: Carp Connections Gladiator Games held at Valdisole Beach 19.30 onwards: Pre event Italian Fiesta followed by Ibiza DJ night Fever at Valdisole Bar

Sunday 28th September

09.00-12.00: On-site Participants Registration at Valdisole Camp Site 10.00-12.00: Broadcast yourself at the Valdisole Bar 16.00: Official Flag Parade in Bolsena followed by Official Picture 17.15: Official Opening Ceremony

17.30: Official Peg Draw

Monday 29th September

07.00: Anglers invited to go to their swim

07.30-13.30: Full boat and boating equipment inspection at competitors’ peg 14.00: Start of the competition 20.00: Bolsena Internet Update at Valdisole Beach

PRIZE TABLE

WORLD CARP CLASSIC 2014

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EVENT ITINERARY

F O 0 0 0 , 0 7 £ E V !

I S S B S A R MA G R O F P U S E PRIZ OVERALL CHAMPIONS

n Trophy and title of ‘World Carp Classic

Champions 2014’ n Cheque for £10,000 n Half a ton of personalised boilies: rolled to their own recipe by Dynamite including a factory visit * n Other Prizes include: 2 x unique golden Reuben Heaton scales 2 x WileyX sunglasses 2 x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down vision fish finder chart plotters, 2 x Weeks fishing for 4 2 Blue Spombs n PR & Marketing: A year of International PR and Marketing as the World Carp Classic Champions with invitations for guest appearances at international anglings shows, a 4-page feature in the 2015 official WCC Magazine and a promotional video following the year in the life of the WCC champions.

2nd OVERALL

n 2 x Trophies plus £3000 cheque n £1000 RRP of Dynamite products of

your choice* n Other Prizes include: 6 Shimano BaitRunner X Aeros, 2 x WileyX sunglasses, 2 x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down vision fish finder chart plotters, 2 x Reuben Heaton Competition scales, 2 x Blue Spombs and 2 x weeks international fishing holidays for two.

3rd OVERALL

n 2 x Trophies plus £2000 cheque n £500 RRP of Dynamite products of

your choice* n Other Prizes include: 3 Shimano Action cameras, 2 x WileyX sunglasses, 2 x Raymarine Dragon Fly Down

vision fish finder chart plotters, 2 x Blue Spombs, 2 x Reuben Heaton Competition Scales and 2 x weeks international fishing holidays for two.

SECTION WINNERS

n 2 x trophies and £500 per section.

£2,000 in sponsors products from CCMoore, Northern Baits, Pescalis, Carp R Us, Dynamite Baits, Raymarine, Shimano, Bulgarian Carp Madness & Toslon.

TEAM EVENT

n 6 x trophies and a holiday for 6

at Lake De Der resort from Carp Connections. n Second place: 6 x trophies, holiday for 6 at Lake De Der resort from Carp Connections. n Third place: 6 x trophies, holiday for 6 at Lake De Der resort from Carp Connections.

BIGGEST FISH

Trophy, £500 RRP of Dynamite products of your choice * and a Skarp bait boat.

GLADIATOR GAMES

WCC 2014 Gladiator Games winners will receive Sponsors’ prizes.

RECORD FISH Angler to receive Dynamite Baits sponsorship for 1 year and the opportunity to work closely with the team* plus a Skarp bait boat.

Saturday 4th October

07.00: End of competition

13.00: Official Closing Ceremony followed by Prize Giving ceremony

EACH TOR PETI COM RECEIVE L WILL NO TRIBA CE A A SHIM ASSES & ERN L T SUNGOTE LAN !

REM PLUS GS BA OME C L E W

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ANDY CHAMBERS WCC HEAD MARSHAL

Well this year’s competition is upon us and it hardly seems possible that 12 months have passed since the last event and we are here again preparing for another fantastic carping battle on the banks of the awesome Lake Bolsena.

It is now the third year that we have held the event on this magnificent lake and so you as anglers who have fished here previously should have some idea of what the lake has to offer and the how the competition goes. There will of course be those who are either fishing the lake and/or the event for the first time, so welcome to each of you and I am sure you will find it a great experience, as so many others have found in the past.

As Head Marshal I will just give you a brief insight into some of the rules and minor changes that we have made to this year – you will of course, as a participant, be given much more information in your packs, on the website etc. and it is important that you read all of this, especially the rules and understand them.

One of the first things that you will notice when you arrive is that the boat check won’t be required until the Monday morning, just prior to the start of the event. I know it was a pain arriving after a long journey only to have

to unload your vehicle and unload all the gear required for the boat check, and not all the competitors had the foresight to pack the boat last. As a result, after listening to what you have said, the boat check will be conducted by your marshal once you are at your peg. Please be organised and ready to have your boat checked as soon as possible once you arrive in your peg and double check that you have everything.

Failure to complete the check will mean that you will not be able to use your boat for the competition until any problem or lack of safety equipment has been resolved.

For those who are new to fishing Bolsena it is a huge lake and conditions can be very testing at times. Because of that, your boat must be up to the job in order that you can fish effectively. Something else that is also worth remembering is battery power for your electric outboard. Please ensure that you either have

enough batteries or the means to re-charge them as this is not something we are able to undertake for you.

The distance markers will again be used this year as they worked well in 2013. Please adhere to the rules and fish at the correct distance. The markers be positioned directly in front of every peg, more often every other peg, and are not a guide to boundaries between you and a fellow competitor. This remains the same; an equal distance between the pegs. I also suggest that at the start of the competition, you and your neighbour get together to agree where the boundary is between the two swims and that you stick to this. If you cannot agree between yourselves and I as Head Marshal has to become involved then I will ensure each of you has far less water than you would have done, ensuring there is a wide no fishing corridor between the pegs. So it is far better

I don’t want a repeat of last year ... three teams thought it okay to leave a week’s worth of rubbish in their peg

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Every year, both Head Marshal Andy and Ross strive to improve the competition by listening to you, the competitiors and learning from past experience. As a result, this year will see some fairly big changes to the format, but one ethos still remains .... respect for others, the environment and the fish

that you agree between you and neighbouring competitors.

You will find in Bolsena that in a lot of cases the further out you go the poorer the fishing is, as either it is too deep and/or there is no weed.

The carp are certainly attracted to the weed as this of course holds the natural food and finding where the weed ends at a certain depth can be a very good tactic. The marshals will again be armed with range finders and night vision equipment, so please keep within the distance otherwise you will run the risk of being yellow carded or possibly disqualified and thrown out of the competition.

Another new addition to the event this year is that there are no team runners. Instead, we have increased the number of anglers from two to three, if so required, and this should make life a lot easier for all concerned.

I mentioned earlier about the boat check and the safety equipment and this will of course include life jackets. With safety a major part of the event I cannot stress enough how important it is to wear a life jacket whenever you go out on the water. There are no excuses and whereas before a warning may have been given we have in recent years adopted the approach that a

yellow card will be awarded straight away, so again please take note.

Now something else that is being trialled this year that you may notice in the rules; I as Head Marshal have the discretion, if I feel it is warranted, to issue a no fishing penalty for a fixed period of time for a second ‘minor’ yellow card rather than issue a red card. This is only for minor yellow cards, and if my marshals or I come across any form of cheating then of course this will be an instant red card and removal from the competition.

The marshal team in your section will visit you twice daily whilst on the bank; they are there to assist you wherever possible so please treat them with respect. That also includes the lake and surrounding bankside and I am talking about rubbish and litter here.

NO LITTER is to be left in your peg after the competition. It is to be removed and placed in the designated rubbish areas dotted around the lake.

I do not want a repeat of last year when three teams thought it okay to leave a weeks’ worth of rubbish in their peg for someone else to come and clean up. Quite frankly they are not genuine anglers and any angler found leaving litter on their peg this year will be red

carded, refused entry into any further events and stripped of any prizes. So please keep your peg clean and tidy at all times.

As well as respecting the marshals and the environment I also want to see the greatest of respect and care given to every carp that you may be fortunate enough to catch during the competition. During the daytime it can be very hot, so please be aware of this when handling the carp. Keep them well watered at all times when out of the water and on the unhooking mat, being photographed, filmed etc., keep them out of the water for the absolute minimum of time and if necessary have pictures taken with them in the water. Also remember when retaining fish waiting to be weighed etc. and it is rough with big waves, makes sure the fish is retained in deep enough water so that it is not being unduly stressed.

Well, these are just a few points that I have picked on for this year but, as always, please read the rules in full and understand them.

If we can all do this there will be no problems on the bank and you will be able to fish the competition as it should be fished. Enjoy the event and the lake and who knows you may even be the 2014 World Carp Classic champion.

Good luck.

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It is very important to know the characteristics of the lake before you start fishing .. know the depths and any changes in the lake bed

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KRISTOF CUDERMAN

HOW TO PREPARE FOR BOLSENA

Big lakes are a special experience for every carp fisherman. A lot of pitfalls and puzzles await for us, so some planning beforehand is very important.

For this kind of fishing the angler has to be well prepared – physically and mentally.

Along with that all the equipment has to be durable and work impecably well. For me fishing sessions at big lakes have always represented a special challenge and one I have great respect for. By that I mostly mean rapid and extreme weather changes that can quickly give you big problems if you’re not well prepared. In this article I will explain how I normally prepare for fishing sessions like World Carp Classic at Bolsena.

What are big lakes?

Preparing for Bolsena In the last few years, lake Bolsena has become renowned in the carp fishing world. A big credit for that goes to the organizers of WCC who brought the prestigious competition to this lake. Last year I was invited by my sponsor Dynamite Baits to fish it with my father and my friend and I was very thankful for the opportunity. However, the invitation came two months before the competition so we had to hurry to gather all the information needed and prepare for the event.

Gathering information: I had heard about lake Bolsena before fishing there, but had only seen pictures of the lake and angler’s photos with beautiful common carp caught there.

I got the basic information from my friend, Sandi, who had spent his vacation at

My pride and joy: This 35.9kg stunner was my personal best the lake a year before the WCC. He bought the map of the lake with all the depths drawn in. I have to say I was shocked to see that the lake is down to more than 150 metres deep in places. Although I had fished many lakes in many different countries, I had never come across a lake like that. It quickly became clear which sectors I’d like to avoid!

To confirm my assumptions I marked the sectors from last year on the map and wrote in how many fish were caught in each sector. My predictions proved to be right. The shallow water meant chances for success while in the much deeper water you could only hope to catch maybe an individual carp. As ever, being lucky in the draw is always a big factor when it comes to competitions.

Preparing the equipment: One of the key things when fishing are preparaton and organization and I always pay a lot of attention to that.

When we go fishing for a longer period we usually head a few hundreds of

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Everyone has a different answer to that question. Some think that a big lake is a lake bigger than 50 ha or some say it is the one bigger than 100 ha.

It all depends on one’s experiences and views. I would say big lakes are the ones bigger than 1000 ha! In the past, France has been most famous for big carp caught at big lakes. The best known lakes have been Forent d Orient and Lac du Der. Twenty years ago big carp in those lakes attracted anglers from all over the world. The number of fisherman grew more and more each year, which started the carp fishing bloom at other, less known, big European lakes.

kilometres from home and the worst thing is to arrive at the lake only to realize that we had left one of the most important pieces of tackle at home. Luckily the WCC had already listed must-have equipment in their rules – the things you cannot compete without. It is mostly safety equipment and that has to always be the number one priority.

Well-equipped boat: For fishing big lakes you must have a good quality boat that is big enough. Without it you won’t even be able to get to some positions that are unreachable by car. The boat has to have an electric engine that is strong enough and you have to ensure you have plenty of back-up batteries for it.

Paddles are a must as a back up.

When choosing a boat, keep in mind that big lakes usually mean big waves. A light has to be placed so others can see us and have an appropriate anchor in case of a malfunction of the engine - otherwise you could be carried miles away by the currents.

Use of a lifejacket is obligatory.

SIZE DOES MATTER LAGO DI BOLSENA Fishing equipment WCC rules say you can fish up to 250 metres maximum. This distance is the border between using a monofilament and using a braided fishing line for longer distances.

In this case I would recommend you to use braided line in combination with 30 metres of monofilament at the end.

Stretchability of the monofilament will help you ease the pressure when you are tiring the carp on the line. Braided line must be sinking and not floating, otherwise water grass will get caught in it. It should have 25lb capacity so it will be strong enough in case the carp goes into grass or any other obstacle in the water. Wind and the waves can cause you some additional trouble by carrying away the line in semicircle shape.

I use about a meter long Leadcore on which there is a Safety system with 250g leadand a 35 lb Camo-Core Hooklink and BBP hook in size 4. All the components are from ACE.

Carp behaviour at big lakes At big lakes, carp quickly migrate over a huge area. They are usually found in shoals however there are still carp that are more reclusive.

Loner carp tend to be more territorial and mostly stay in one particular area. The carp living in shoals need bigger quanitites of food and that is why they can travel several kilometres a day. When they find a lot of food in one spot they can stay there for a longer period of time.

It is very important to know the main

World Records: Krištof’s catches add up to 50lb+ in 10 countries, 70lb+ in 3 countries and 30kg+ in 4 countries including this 32.3kg beauty that was landed at Parco del Brenta, Italy

Use of GPS: Nowadays it is hard to imagine fishing at a big lake without it. It is not only used to mark fishing position but also helps us to orientate in the night or in case of a heavy mist.

How to feed Big lakes are very rich in natural food – mostly large quantities of crabs and mussels – but on some lakes you can also find a lot of tiny snails.

Choose your feed and hook bait according to that. The food and bait have to be adjusted to the natural food and they have to bring the carp bigger benefits. This is what is going to convince them to pick our bait. Here are two different feeding tactics that I use when fishing on big lakes:

Tactic No.1

characteristics of the lake before you start fishing. Know the depths and any changes in the lake bed. Even the tiniest overhang means a path that carp might move along.

Pay attention to any fallen trees in the water, spots covered in grass or stumps – all these obstacles represent ideal hiding spots for crabs that are a main food source for carp along with mussels which are also found in many lakes.

Another big factor in carp’s behaviour is the wind. If the wind starts blowing towards us, the chances of successful fishing increase. Carp are more likely to come closer to the shore as the waves are flushing the shallows – bringing with it all types of food and making it easier for the carp to find their next meal. From my experiences fishing results are worst when there is no wind at all.

Pitching your tent Keep in mind that on big lakes there is usually a strong wind blowing so position your bivvy or tent with this in mind and secure it tightly to the ground.

I choose the appropriate area for fishing that is usually approx 5x5 metres in size. For feeding I prepare a mixture of Dynamite pellets (Marine Halibut, Robin Red, The Source and Swim Stim Red Krill, Betaine and Original), Dynamite particles (Frenzied Feeder Hempseed, Frenzied Feeder Maize and Frenzied Feeder Mixed Particles) and 15 to 26mm boilies. I feed everything to the chosen location. Of course this tactic will mostly attract bream, tench and crabs at first, but the plus side is that carp are very curious creatures by their nature and sooner or later they are going to come take a look at what is going on. I would suggest this tactic for feeding spots that are closer to the shore as initially you will have to re-set your rigs a few times because of the takes by tench and bream.

Tactic No.2

I choose a micro location that measures 2x2 metres. I only use 20 and 26mm boilies for feeding. I feed just 3 handfuls of boilies onto the micro location and then I scatter a few handfuls of boilies around the micro location in an are 20x20 metres big.

This tactic helps to get rid of tench and bream which are mostly attracted to big amounts of food. By scattering the boilies all over a bigger area it will take more time for crabs to eat those. If I catch a carp in that feeding spot, I will feed more the next time I place the rigs there and hopefully keep the shoal of carp in the area.

It is very important to know what is going on at your feeding spot. If you can see down to the bottom just by our eyes there is no problem and you can look at the spot at all times. If that is not possible you have to use a carp scope (tool for watching under water) or underwater camera.

Boilies When choosing boilies every angler has his own

Where to place the rig?

I mentioned that lake Bolsena is very specific due to its depth, so choose areas that are from 2 to 10 metres deep. According to my information the ideal depth is supposed to be between 4 and 6 metres. Along with the right depth it is crucial to find a clear spot for fishing.

There is a lot of grass in the lake so find a clean spot to place your rig and feed there. Considering that the whole lake bed is sandy, it shouldn’t be too hard to find an appropriate spot on the bottom. Just avoid the grass and choose the right depth. view, experiences and preferences. For myself have experienced great success with the help of Dynamite boilies. I was the first angler in the world to catch a carp over 50 lb in 10 different countries (Slovenia, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Italy, Bosnia, Serbia), the first to catch a carp over 30 kg in 4 different countries (Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Bosnia) and a carp over 70 lb in 3 different countries (Austria, Italy, Bosnia).

I have used the whole range of boilies that the company offers. My biggest carp were caught on the following boilies: 35,9 kg (The Crave 20 mm boilie + The Crave 15 mm Fluro Pop-up),34 kg (Hi-Attract Spicy Crab & Garlic 20mm combining a 15mm Spicy Crab & Garlic Pop-up), 32,3 kg (Robin Red 20 mm boilie + Robin Red 15 mm Popup), 32 kg (Hi-Attract Squid Liver & Black Pepper 15 mm boilie + Black Buzzer 10 mm Fluro Popup), 30,7 kg (Spicy Peanut 26 mm boilie + Coconut Cream 20 mm Pop-up).

You can see that they were caught on all kinds of boilies which really shows the quality of the food content and proves that Dynamite Baits really is the leading company in the world when it comes to ready-to-use boilies.

In the past 2 years we have been testing soluble boilies which are going to be available for sale in 2015. I managed to catch some stunning carp when using soluble boilies. Soon you will be able to try them and see for yourself how good they are.

For now I want the boilies that I will be going to use at Bolsena this year to stay a mystery but soon you will be able to see what I used at the lake.

I am sure you can fish very successfully no matter which boilies from Dynamite Baits range you choose. But of course boilies are not enough, add some luck, your own experiences and knowledge to this and you have got the perfect formula.

I wish all the contestants good luck and a lot of joy during the competition. I’ll see you soon.

KRIŠTOF CUDERMAN Dynamite Baits Team

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LARYSA SWITLYK FROM USA

Although most anglers would call me relatively new to carp fishing, I was fortunate to learn from some of the best.

I dove in headfirst and have had some amazing fishing opportunities to catch me up to speed on fishing for these big beauties.

In America we are known to go big or go home. I put this quote to the test when I signed up for the World Carp Classic. I definitely didn’t know what I got myself into but I have always had a true love and passion for fishing. I have never had a problem picking up things quickly and learning how to fish for carp was just another challenge I was ready to overcome. I’m always up for a challenge.

I figured I had to get my feet wet with Carp Fishing somehow and when Frank Warwick and Jason Cann invited me to fish with them in Romania during the 100 hour MeetCarp Awards I was quick to jump on the opportunity to learn carp fishing from some of the legends in the sport.

Even though I caught my first carp in Romania and learned lots of tricks and techniques it still wasn’t enough to prepare me for the World Carp Classic. I’m glad I pushed myself and was proud to represent Team USA in the World Carp Classic 2012 for JRC and Berkley. They teamed me up with James Vincent from the United Kingdom.

It was a little nerve-racking to meet James for the first time in Italy. I prayed we would get along, as we would be stuck fishing with each other the next 5 days!

The World Carp Classic is just over the top with all the events and parades.

Coming from the United States I had never experienced a fishing tournament of this scale but I have to say, Ross Honey knows how to do it ... and do it right!

I couldn’t have asked for a better fishing partner. He was very patient and a great teacher. First day of the tournament, I was full of mixed emotions with a side of jet lag. I set up my tent only to have it blow over from the storm rolling through and all of my stuff got soaked. James came to the rescue and helped secure my tent. I enjoyed fishing with him because he didn’t baby me. He handed me the materials and said, “Okay make your rigs so we can get them out.”

I felt like I was back in school and was just given a project. I sat across from James tying away. He was almost done with all of his rigs when I finished my first. I held it up to show him all excited for his approval but instead got, “You tied it wrong, do it over, that’s not going to work.” I was upset because I spent all that time tying what I thought was the perfect rig only to be told I had to redo it. I was glad he didn’t take it and do it for me because learning is all about trial and error.

I made many errors that tournament but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t become a better fisher.

I was so determined to put my own rods out, I took off in the boat as James stood at the bank asking, “Are you sure? The wind is starting to really pick up.”

I was so stubborn I ignored his comments and launched off. Not even 20 feet from the bank I got the line wrapped in the motor. I was clueless to how that happened but it forced me to throw the anchor down. I yelled a cry for help back at James but he said, “Can’t help you, you’re on your own, the rules state I have to stay on the bank.” Knowing that I was on my own, I quickly got busy trying to unravel the mess I had got myself into.

Twenty minutes later I was back on track, but had somehow lost my anchor. Once I got out to my spot, the wind was so strong it was hard to stay in the same spot and put

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LARYSA SWITLYK

TAKING ON THE BIG BOYS

down my bait. Waves started crashing over the inflatable JRC boat and to make things worse, the battery on the motor died so I had to row back. I was fighting against the wind and rowing with all my might, by this time I was soaking wet and exhausted trying not to get blown into the next swim. However, on the bank, James wasn’t worried one bit.

He knew I would make it back but couldn’t help to laugh when he saw what a hot mess everything turned into. That was when I realized, okay, this is a big boy’s game and I need to step up my game! I Just needed more practice and to spruce up my skills because there is nothing I can’t do!

Unfortunately we picked a peg that produced no fish in the whole section we were in. But we still made the best of the situation even though we caught nothing.

I was blown away with the closing ceremony and was still really proud of myself for representing Team USA at such an incredible fishing tournament! I swore to myself next time I would be prepared and my eyes were already set on 2013!

I soon got busy fishing in the United States for Carp. The Austin Team Championship with Ken Keene was a great place to start just a few months later. However, fishing for carp in the United States uses a different technique from Europe. Lots of corn and tiger nuts seemed to do the trick but it was still a really great experience.

To get more practice on European Carp I flew out to Mequinenza, Spain and fished the Ebro River for a week in April. The weather was brutally cold and stormy but I spent a whole week fishing from a boat with Eric Torres and Jason Cann. I brought my Cameraman, Casey Woody, along for the ride to film the whole experience with the help of Gary Allen as camera boat. I sought out to break my Personal Best (‘PB’) and it took me until the last day to achieve my goal.

I caught a 21kilo Carp. I also learned the ins and outs of Carp fishing that week. There is always more to learn but I filmed the whole experience and produced a TV show. I am passionate about showing the United States the beauty of carp fishing.

I was thrilled when I was invited to come fish Lake Bolsena in July. It was to film a Live Streaming TV show with Ross Honey and crew. What better way to prepare for the World Carp Classic than getting practice on the huge lake itself. This was the trip to figure out how to catch these Italian carp and it had nothing to do with Pasta or Pizza flavored boilies!

The three days I spent on Lake Bolsena marked the turning point in my carpfishing career where I officially felt like a carp fisherwoman.

I was tying my own rigs and even started strategizing on how to catch them. It was finally time to rely on experience and gut feelings. I made sure to listen to the Italian’s input and applied it to my own decisions.

Cann and I put out our baits and it took us about a day to figure out where we wanted to fish. Once we did, we were catching carp non-stop. I remember wanting to try a fruit juice boilie and Jason disagreed. I said, I don’t care, this is my rod and I’m putting it out. Turned out it ended up catching the biggest fish of the trip and it was the fish that broke my Personal Best! Of course the celebration bucket of water toppled over my head for breaking my PB, thanks to the one

and only Ross Honey.

By this point, I was ready for the World Carp Classic 2013! It felt good to be back in Italy representing Team USA and knowing that this time I was prepared! I love being a part of this event – not only because of the scale of the tournament, but it’s a time to catch up with old friends from all over the world and meet new friends who all share a love for carp fishing. The parade is also special to me because it’s where each competitor gets to represent their country by flying their flag high. It makes me proud to be from the United States and wave the Stars and Stripes!

The opening ceremony went smoothly, but I get so nervous during peg draw – it is the moment that predicts your future. The spot you pick out of that bag determines where you will spend the next five days even if you can’t pull fish out of that spot.

We were off to a slow start. From the look of the spot, we could tell it held fish, but how many was the question.

It wouldn’t be the start of a World Carp Classic if it didn’t start with strong winds and weather blowing across the lake. While Jason and our runner Fernado set up camp, I sat down and started tying rigs to get them ready. I used a Maple & Nut boilie with a fruit juice pop up, it is what caught us carp last time in Italy. We figured we might as well use what we knew had worked and what these carp were eating. That’s half the battle – trying to figure out what these carp will feed on.

Now it was time to find a spot and scope out our swim. We went out in the boat with our view finder and Raymarine Kit. Mainly trying to avoid weeds and find a depth to fish in. We did have weed, which I was afraid of and it took about an hour or two in the boat to find 4 decent spots that had a clearing. We decided to fish two rods more close, about 100 yards out and in 3 meters of water. The other two rods were out further, about 200 yards and in 5 meters of water.

It was about two days into the tournament that we got our first run. It felt good to bring in that first fish and know that our swim was producing results! We caught that carp close so we decided to bring in one of the far rods. Our spirits were high and we were focused on the fishing and trying to get more runs! The live leader board helped to keep track of what other teams were catching and in what sections.

We fished our spot the best we could.

The carp were definitely there but they were not feeding heavy as there wasn’t enough pressure and there were only a few – not a ton like we had hoped. It was extremely frustrating watching them on the underwater camera from CarpSpot.De, as they grazed like cows, getting so close to picking up our bait but just missing it by a few inches and then swimming off. The way they were feeding, we knew we would be lucky to get one more run before the tournament was over.

We had one more run at about 4 in the morning. It was nice to catch that last fish because it pushed us into 19th place out of 160 teams and I’ll take that. We put our best effort into the swim and I felt I made Team USA proud. We fished our hearts out and put every effort into catching fish. We switched up our strategy a few times and it paid off in the end.

The 2013 WCC tournament was a special one for me as it was the first time in history that an all female team had won the event.

The night before I had dinner with Lizette and Bianca and I told them, if I don’t win or come close, I want you guys to win! I’m cheering for you to do well!

Their win proves to the world that females can fish just as hard as the boys and we have what it takes to end up on top.

I couldn’t be happier for them ... Girl Power!

I’m looking forward to the World Carp Classic and feel very well prepared for this year’s event. Thanks to the help of Hans Sissingh, Team USA will be representing Carp Connections.

My fishing partner in crime, Captain Patrick Crawford and I fished for Team USA in the World Predator Classic representing Livingston Lures and finished 5th place. It was our first time fishing for Pike, Zander, and Perch and we rose to the challenge exceeding everyone’s expectations. That is the plan this year at the World Carp Classic.

We have our order in for Dynamite baits. We are also going to put the Livingston Lures to the test on Lake Bolsena’s bass!

Big thanks to Hangel Discount Gigant/ Plons Water-en Hengelsport, (a big tackle store in the Netherlands that you can also place orders online) for supporting Team USA as well! Can’t wait to see you all in Italy on the banks of Lake Bolsena! Xo Larysa LarysaUnleashed@gmail.com

Bucket list.. Larysa celebrating her personal best carp with Jason Cann at Lake Bolsena

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Hosting the World Carp Classic for the third time, you may be familiar with Bolsena ... but for the newcomers to the competition, here’s a few facts about this beautiful, friendly and historic town 28

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A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR OF BOLSENA

Anche quest’anno la nostra Comunità accoglie e si lascia coinvolgere dall’entusiasmante iniziativa del World Carp Classic.

In uno scenario internazionale nel quale purtroppo non mancano focolai di guerra e di tensioni razziali, la manifestazione rappresenta qualcosa di più di una pur importante gara sportiva dedicata agli amanti della pesca provenienti da tutt’Italia e da diversi Paesi stranieri. Essa è la riprova di come sia possibile coniugare l’agonismo di cui sono portatori i campioni che per una settimana si confronteranno sulle rive del nostro lago , con i grandi valori della solidarietà e dell’amicizia tra i popoli, che fanno dello sport uno strumento di pace e di crescita sociale.

La splendida città di Bolsena, l’incantevole cornice del lago , il vostro entusiasmo,coniugati insieme in una meravigliosa settimana, daranno vita alla nuova edizione del World Carp Classic, frutto del lavoro dell’ organizzatore Ross Honey e del suo preziosissimo staff di collaboratori.

Giunta alla sua terza edizione ,nel nostro lago è oramai un appuntamento stabile nel calendario eventi e la sua importanza di rilievo internazionale trova sempre una vasta eco sui giornali e sulle emittenti televisive di tutto il mondo con relativa promozione dei territori interessati dalla gara. I pescatori carpisti avranno anche l’opportunità di vivere a stretto contatto con la natura incontaminata del lago di Bolsena visitando non solo i bellissimi centri che si affacciano sulle rive, ma anche e soprattutto l’immenso patrimonio naturalistico e paesaggistico che caratterizza la Tuscia.

E’ con vero piacere, quindi, che porgo il mio saluto e quello dell’Amministrazione Comunale di Bolsena a tutte le nazionali in competizione.

Benvenuti!

Il Sindaco Dott. Ing. Paolo Equitani

Again this year our community is involved in the excitement and welcomes the initiative of the World Carp Classic.

In an international setting in which, unfortunately, there is no shortage of outbreaks of war and racial tensions, the event is more than just a sporting event and it remains very important for lovers of fishing from all over Italy and several other countries. It is proof of how to combine the competitive spirit with large values of solidarity and friendship among peoples, to compete for a week on the shores of our lake and make sport an instrument peace and social growth.

The beautiful town of Bolsena, the stunning scenery of the lake, your enthusiasm combined together in a wonderful week, will give life to the new edition of the World Carp Classic, the result of the work of the ‘organizer Ross Honey and his invaluable team of people.

Now in its third edition, our lake is now an important appointment in the calendar of events and its importance to international prominence always causes a stir in the newspapers and on television stations around the world with its promotion of the territories covered by the tender. The anglers will also have the opportunity to live in close contact with the unspoiled beauty of Lake Bolsena, visiting not only the beautiful towns bordering on the banks, but also the immense natural heritage and landscape that characterizes the Tuscia.

It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I extend my greetings and that of the City of Bolsena to all who are here for this international competition.

Welcome to Bolsena!

The Mayor Dott. Ing. Paolo Equitani

Translated from the Mayor of Bolsena’s welcome

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SPOTLIGHT ON BOLSENA

A BRIEF TOURIST GUIDE Bolsena town is dominated by the fortress Rocca Monaldeschi; a symbol of the powerful family who 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 developed over the past 100 years or so – rose to popularity following the planting of an avenue of plane trees, placed there to encourage people to spend more time by the beach. n Potted History Ruins of a settlement dating back to preRoman times can be found on the hill above the old town. Romans razed this settlement 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 is Saint Cristina, for whom a church was built to celebrate her martyrdom. The oldest parts date from the 3rd century after which time Bolsena became an important place of pilgrimage in its own right. n 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. n 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.

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n 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.

MONTEFIASCONE Set high atop a hillside overlooking Lake Bolsena from a south-eastern prospect, Montefiascone during your stay. n Potted History The name Montefiascone derives 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 most notable period of splendour as, with the Castle often the residence of Popes, it was consequently enlarged and embellished. n Sights Montefiascone Cathedral: Dedicated to Santa Margherita, the cathedral was a ruin by 1330 and it took three centuries to rebuild. The interior was elaborately restored once more in 1893.

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

Rocca dei Papi: The remains of the old Papal

summer residence from where, at the top of the hill, it provides a tremendous view over Lago di Bolsena. n Local Amenities If you require essential items of tackle or bait the good news is you can get 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. n 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, hence the birth of its name.

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 the wines Aleatico and Grechetto as well as grappa and the finest extra virgin olive oil are produced. n 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.

Gradoli.. home to a wonderful collection

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

Steeped in history..

Nestled in some of the most eye-pleasing positions around the circumference of Lago di Bolsena you will discover that the historic towns possess a delightfully eclectic mix of architecture spanning many centuries in time. So, why not take a little time yourself to visit them!

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. n 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. Along with its modern day additions around the beachfront area it has a great deal to offer. n 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. n Interesting facts In the Viterbo region, there are many natural spas’ that produce perfectly warm and stable water temperatures all year round.

These thermal 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.

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.

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. n 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.

LAGO DI BOLSENA A 2014 GUIDE

Please note .. the sections marked are not to scale and should be used as a rough guide only

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

RICCARDO BATTISTI

‘LIVE STREAMING BOLSENA’

the strangest factor was that despite having the wind behind us, it was otherwise the same and the carp had fed as usual .. proof that nothing is absolute

No, we are not talking there about ourselves, the title of the article refers to the beautiful and majestic fish from Lake Bolsena that we had the pleasure of holding in our arms during the course of the program ‘’Live streaming Bolsena”.

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We have always defined these carp by the curious term ‘stallion’ just to propose the idea that during the fight the boat seems to become a chariot drawn by the power and fury of thoroughbred stallions. While we were fishing, thanks to the underwater cameras available from Carpspot.de, we had the opportunity to

observe the behaviour and reactions of carp in front of our monitors, reactions that were both surprising and spectacular.

The event was organised by Ross Honey, founder of the World Carp Classic, to promote Lake Bolsena but mainly to help people understand the ethics of the angler in relation to fish - how they are and should be treated, always resorting to ‘’best practice angling and catch & release’’.

To produce the video, Ross, as always, found the best; Sebastian Heinz owner of Carpspot who provided the best of underwater technology as well as having participated personally - he is a

true magician of these instruments.

Andy Chambers, umpire and chief Marshall, Ron Van de Bergh who oversaw the direction so that there were never any problems, and cameraman Robert Kiss, who is world famous for creating fishing videos.

We were shooting this video to the left of the port of Bolsena during the hot days of August, where the number of swimmers had increased the appeal and the film-making made more spontaneous and enjoyable.

At this point there is a large weed bed that created difficulty in finding the right spots to place the traps. After about three hours we

Italian carp from North to South Italy is one of the most praised for its attractions - praised by foreigners for its landscapes and unique environments.

These landscapes, due to the country’s elongated shape, vary from region to region, for example in the north where you have the most mountainous landscapes and a colder climate while in the south Mediterranean, a significantly hotter climate. Due to the quantity and variety of lakes found throughout the territory, it has also given itself easily to the spread of carp fishing since the dawn of this technique.

In this article we’ll talk about the experiences of the angler and the differences of fish, by analyzing a scene that will go from north to south, including the islands.

Northern Italy

The carp are more numerous in the north, which is the richest area of lakes divided into various regions of the spearheads remember the majestic Lake Garda. Lake Pusiano, Como and Varese, these lakes are public domains where the very large number of carp reach sizes in excess of 30kg. These enjoy an abundance of natural food so this does not mean easy catches. To the north Triviamo, there are large irrigation canals as Ostellato and the Canal Bianco and rivers such as the PO where the carp are big and the catfish record of over 2 meters.

Central Italy

succeeded in our intent, and placed our bait in front of the cameras, then our traps and we began the wait for the hoped-for runs - which fortunately did not take long to arrive.

In fact, after two hours, a close-up of a specimen of good size showed on the pop up and, without even opening its mouth it swam away hastily. Our disappointment was visible.

We were unable to explain what happened but luckily, after 20 minutes, the same carp was back again, pouncing on the pop up.

I had the good fortune to be on the other end and I have to say it was a really hard fight.

But, with my fishing partner in the boat who was really calm, we were able to win the battle despite the algae and buoys where the fish sought shelter.

During the fight, there was a beach full of people ready to applaud and spectators followed us in the boat, excited and curious about this new experience.

The carp in the landing net is huge, and with a smile we looked up as we heard the applause, and again as we walked back on the shore. That is something very unusual for us, as in our sessions we are accustomed to not seeing people for days.

Following the successful landing, on the weighing scales, the queen weighed 23 kg exactly.

Then to the ritual of taking photos while all around us were people with astonished faces busily getting ready to shoot a unique

souvenir with their phones. The happiness of the successful challenge was palpable in all of us.

In the evening we celebrated with 3kg of Amatriciana and several bottles of wine. Carp from 10 to 12kg that had been captured during filming, were equally exciting and there was a curious fact… we noticed that in the transition zone the fish were solitary and moving at certain times. But the strangest factor was that despite having the wind behind us the carp had fed as usual. Proof that nothing is absolute.

The baits that were used during this session from Dynamite.

They were the pop ups; Corn & Tiger, Red Amo and The Source pop ups, As far as the baiting goes, given the time and the temperature of’ water, it was carried out with The Source 20mm, Red Hook 20 mm and The Grave base mix that we previously rolled at home in 24 mm to bring with us.

To create more attraction, Chily & Hemp was added to a jar of boilies for each barrel of CSL washed with liquid, with the’ addition of Halibut pellets. The bait used to catch the 23 kg was the Corn & Tiger yellow colour - to have a bait that will stand out on the bottom mounted on a Withy pool rig.

RICCARDO BATTISTI & DANIELE COLAPICCHIONI ‘Livestreaming Bolsena’

Even in the middle, despite the less numerous lakes, there are the same type of big carp. Characteristic of the center are volcanic lakes such as Castel Gandolfo, Bracciano, Bolsena, or flood as the Trasimeno where the crystal clear water gives fish bright gold colors and allows us to observe the bottom with the naked eye up to several meters.

There are also numerous artificial lakes, gems among the mountains of the central Apennines, such as Salto and Turano Scandarello offering in addition to the wealth of specimens, scenery that is unique and exciting. We have to speak about the Tevere and Arno that, in addition to crossing historic towns such as Rome and Florence, are rich in interest.

South and Islands

In the south there are few artificial lakes and mostly manufactured to meet the water supply needs. Even here there are splendid and numerous examples such as fully scaled and linear carp, but many do not reach high sizes due to the scarcity of natural food and little fishing pressure.

Choosing Lake Bolsena: concerning Ross Honey and the field for the race for the World Carp Classic, the lake is born precisely from the richness of our fishing lakes that are popular destinations for anglers from all over Europe. A sign that ours is a nation that should be valued, protected and promoted for the great natural heritage it has.

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM Testing the waters .. Riccardo Battisti putting the Carpspot underwater camera to the test as Larysa watches the action live on shore

the order and we have had a clear and honest consultation with the customer. At Carpspot, customer satisfaction is always our target and we do not only talk about it we deliver it. Ask Ross Honey or any of our customers and they will support that statement without any doubt.

As everybody knows, fishing is not about catching every time. Everybody goes fishing with the intention to get the best out of their time, but sometimes it seems like it needs a miracle.

We have the right baits, we think we have the right location, but nothing happens at all.

The fish are there, but we don’t get any bites. We begin changing rigs, location and feeding more than before, but it stays as it was. Everybody is asking “why?” We make assumptions, but to be honest “We do not know at all what is happening underwater”. It is like a black box.

But there is a solution for that uncertainty.

We have the possibility to look at what is happening underwater.

We at Carpspot found a way to better understand what is happening underwater by seeing the mysteries within the underwater world. With our patented idea of a wireless underwater camera that captures video signals, transmits underwater images in real-time via radio over 500m in distance to a receiver module and displays them on one or more LCD screens.

A high-quality German product

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It is so fascinating to see carp in front of the camera that we established a live streaming event at Lago di Bolsena together with Ross Honey.

After last years livestream event we have improved the cameras still further and for this years Internet livestream event we had a perfect working underwater camera system at the beginning of August. As a result, we achieved the first live, recorded and streamed

More than just a camera!

Caught on camera .. live underwater footage of carp right in front of your eyes underwater take from a carp in fishing history, and it couldn’t be better than a take from a huge 23Kg common carp right in front of the camera.

This was definitely a breathtaking moment for all participants and it also entertained thousands of users from 46 different countries on their screens.

The most important point, however, is that we did not use a highly complex and heavy system for technical freaks, but a simple mobile underwater camera system which can be used by every carp angler himself, anywhere in the world. The base set consists of a receiver unit with one screen and a sender unit with pole, batteries, underwater housing and aerial. This easy set starts at 1398, but it is not made in china as some may suspect. The whole system is built in our factory in Germany. Every single cable is connected by us and consequently guarantees the highest quality you can expect. It is simply “made in Germany”. The systems’ are built on customers demand. This means that every system will be produced after we receive

The system could have so many functionalities you will love, but we design it to your demand.

Our system is expandable to up to 4 underwater cameras used at different spots and can be seen on one receiver unit either by switching the focus of the one screen between the cameras or to have 4 screens at the receiver unit and see all 4 underwater cameras at one time. Especially if you are fishing far away, you do not want to change batteries every hour to have that feature.

Hence, we improved our batteries for the sender unit to a continuous operating time of 40 hours for one battery. Therefore you can record 10 hours of underwater footage in Full HD with a 64GB memory card. Also, the receiver unit can operate over 40 hours and can be operated either by 9 Ah batteries, big car batteries or by a normal power plug, at a pay lake for example.

Beside this, the system also enables you to charge your mobile devices via the USB-Slots or you can use your receiver unit as a game or movie station and watch movies or prior recorded underwater action on the bank.

Now it is your choice, if you want to get more out of your time on the bank and catch more carp than ever before, we are awaiting your call.

SEBASTIAN HEINZ Director, Carpspot.com

‘LIVE STREAMING BOLSENA’

Venture into the unknown..

This system is easily manageable, portable and provides you with an insight into the underwater world that you would never expect.

Therefore you can use your time on the bank more efficiently by analyzing the carp behavior and checking for fish activities. Using the system is like fishing with 6 rods at one time. You can use your two rods in your favorite locations and beside those you can check on 4 more locations with 4 underwater cameras if fish are there, when they pass-through and if they feed at those locations. With that insight you can change your main rods to more profitable fishing spots, catch more and bigger carp and use your time more efficiently.

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

SEBASTIAN HEINZ

the system also enables you to charge your mobile devices, use it as a game or movie station or play back pre-recorded underwater action 37

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

AUSTRIA

ENGLAND

WCC14-010

Captain Karl Koeck

Vice Captain Robert Flicker

3rd Angler TBA

WCC14-016 SPONSOR

Marcus Rosenberger Dynamite/Shimano

Daniel Holzner

Christian Hofer

WCC14-023

WCC14-039

Alexander Muller

Markus Grof

Nicolai Kogler

WCC14-040

Kurt Flieger

WCC14-043 SPONSOR

Hannes Schawarz Gernot Walcher Tarmann Chemicals

WCC14-044

Andreas Slama

WCC14-045

Captain

WCC14-005

Paul Sharman

Paul Butler

WCC14-008

Colin Gray

Dan Moorcroft

Sebastian Gampe

WCC14-020

Gary Peet

Keith Standley

Marion Kogler

Manfred Gutovnik

WCC14-021

Stephen Payton

Stuart Hancox

Shane Holloway

Andreas Gumilar

Krnic Milivoj

WCC14-028

Steve Howard

Dan Ormiston

Lynne Pepperell

Fabio Schawarz

WCC14-030 SPONSOR

Graham Mabey Carp Connections

Tom Oliver

Allan Pagget

Peter Muller

Thomas Christ Markus Glaser

Steve Lee Dynamite/Shimano

Phil Gouldby

Andreas Papesch

WCC14-051 SPONSOR

Louis Lee

Markus de Buigne

WCC14-056

Rudolf Schuller

Sasha Eder

Markus Kurha

WCC14-076

Lee Jackson

James Cobden

Benji Petushing

WCC14-074

Alexander Harnisch

Andreas Matzel

WCC14-081

Bryan Houghton

WCC14-086

Manfred Paar

Michael Mosbacher

WCC14-093 Raphael Khalili SPONSOR RK Leisure

BELGIUM Captain Peter Kuppens Dynamite/Shimano

Vice Captain Davy Geboers

WCC14-011

Thierry Podevyn

Yves de Smet

WCC14-019

Joel Wauthia

Jean Paul Delbecq

Frederic Laroche

WCC14-025

Boes Bart

Geukens Bart

Reynders Jurgen

WCC14-057

David Helguers

Gary Helguers

Pierre Decamps

WCC14-058

Vincent Ferrari

Alain Ligot

WCC14-060

Mario Gijbels

Bob Cuyvers

WCC14-071 SPONSOR

Christophe Verhaeghe Triobaits

WCC14-087

Jean Marc Erroelen

3rd Angler Ricky Roozen

Andy Philips Jamie Gold

Harry Gurung

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-018

Sylvain Schumacher

Irwing Menicucci

Gilles Menicucci

WCC14-077

Christophe Trap

Togrul Burhan

GERMANY

Herold Cargnelutti

Captain Vice Captain Markus Kasbeck Christian Fritz Carp Madness Bulgaria Toslon

3rd Angler Sylvia Pelikan

Jan Ulak Shimano/ Dynamite

Ralf Sendelbach

Pascal Waltenier

WCC14-079 SPONSOR

Pierre-Michel Lehe

Christophe Sulis Kenneth De Win

Tony de Win

3rd Angler

WCC14-048

Captain Simeon Fotev

Vice Captain Jivko Cankov

WCC14-096 SPONSOR

Dimitar Trendafilov Peter Hutting Carp Madness Bulgaria Toslon

3rd Angler Petar Bakardjiev

WCC14-041 SPONSOR

Captain Petr Moc Carp R Us

Vice Captain Ludmila Balazova

WCC14-069

Dan Nemec

Martin Knezik

WCC14-070 SPONSOR

Karel Nikl Carp R Us

Jan Dadak

WCC14-092 SPONSOR

Ondrej Kubena Kapr a Kapri svet

Oldrich Svoboda

HUNGARY

Captain

Vice Captain

WCC14-007

Csaba Toth

Robert Dios

WCC14-012

Laszlo Sandor

Tamas Kiss

ITALY

David Bijloos

CZECH REPUBLIC 3rd Angler Michal Balaz

Leo Svoboda

WCC14-029 SPONSOR

Captain Riccardo Battisti Dynamite/Shimano

Vice Captain Daniele Colapicchioni

3rd Angler

WCC14-047 WCC14-055

Giorgio Rigucci

Andrea Rigucci

Denis Carbone

Federico Marchetti

Matteo Risdonne

WCC14-067 SPONSOR

Carlo Grazini Project Baits

Guerinni Vivenzio

Carlo Gallitrifan

WCC14-078

Marco Savarelli

Alessandro Savarelli

WCC14-088

Stefano Turroni

Fabio Zerbinati

WCC14-095 Diego Angelucci

Alessandro Ascani

WCC14-097 SPONSOR

Nicola Simonato

DENMARK

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Nick Hollands

WCC14-022 SPONSOR

BULGARIA

Captain Jakob Andersen BaitnGear.com

3rd Angler

FRANCE

WCC14-003 SPONSOR

WCC14-006 SPONSOR

Vice Captain

Vice Captain Michael Seide

Luca Simonato Project Baits

Francesco Bisegna Thomas Righetti

LUXEMBOURG

3rd Angler

WCC14-009

Captain Ron vd Bergh

Vice Captain Remco Akkermans

3rd Angler Steven Miles

2014 PARTICIPANTS

WORLD CARP CLASSIC

LITHUANIA

ROMANIA

Captain

Vice Captain

WCC14-027

Andrius Milonaitis

Petras Deglis

3rd Angler

WCC14-082

Renaldas Marciukaitis

Manvydas Smigelskas Juozas Peleckas

WCC14-083

Vytautas Peleckas

Vygantas Kruckas

Vladimiras Timosenko

WCC14-084

Aidas Turauskas

Giedrius Urbas

Rolandas Tatarunas

WCC14-014 SPONSOR

Captain Mihail Kontz Dynamite/Shimano

Vice Captain Zirbau Mihai

WCC14-017

Emilian Paraschiv

Catalin Duta

WCC14-046

Vasile Florescu

Cernat Mihai

Zapacioiu Vasile

WCC14-085

Peter Micula

Norbert Pongracz

Zoltan Nemeti

Vice Captain Fabrizio Molteni

3rd Angler Massimo Sperati

Vice Captain Richard Jezik

3rd Angler

NETHERLANDS Vice Captain Bianca Venema

3rd Angler

RUSSIA

WCC14-001 SPONSOR

Captain Lizette Beunders Shimano/Dynamite

3rd Angler

WCC14-013

Gert-Jan vd Wildenberg Jan van Esch

WCC14-024

Gerrit Gooijert

Kor de Groot

Melissa Smit

WCC14-026

Barrie Wispels

Marco Donzelli

Corrie Kleinhaarhuis

WCC14-036 SPONSOR

Hans Sissingh Carp Connections

Ferry Verhofstad

Mattie Cruffs

WCC14-050

WCC14-042

Jeroen van de Brink

Bertie Elzenaar

Bas Mabelis

WCC14-094 Matus Svec

WCC14-049 SPONSOR

Andre Piters Shimano/Dynamite

Kay Stolk

Roy de Vet

WCC14-066

Captain Mikail Zraychenko

SLOVAKIA Captain Zabcik Lubomir

Silvia Omastov

SLOVENIA

WCC14-002 SPONSOR

Captain Kristoff Cuderman Dynamite/Shimano

Vice Captain Slavko Cuderman

3rd Angler Srecko Karadzic

WCC14-052 SPONSOR

Leroy Eehart Evolution Products

Maikel van Zanten

WCC14-059

Erwin Krijgsman

Erwin Meyers

Peter Vissers

WCC14-075 SPONSOR

Rob de Haas Teeuwissen Carp

Richard Bredenbeek

Frans te Dorsthorst

WCC14-080 SPONSOR

Camiel Driehuis Shimano/Dynamite

Jos van den Heuvel

Justin van den Heuvel

WCC14-033

Captain Kobus Lottering

Vice Captain Charles Horlick

3rd Angler Edwin Theron

WCC14-089

Lars Bood

Co Schijf

Peter Hillebrand

WCC14-034

Zane Schlemmer

Anel Schlemmer

Nathan Vrey

WCC14-090

Ardy Veltkamp

Marcel Ulje

Peter Vlasveld

WCC14-035

Johann Conradie

Devin Hansma

Adam Swannepeol

WCC14-091

James Brouns

Ronni van Berklo

Berry Wingelaar

Vice Captain Angel Bonal

3rd Angler Mathis Korn

Vice Captain Tobias Persson

3rd Angler Patrik Skoldblom

Vice Captain Olena Pidkaliuk

3rd Angler Sergii Vasyliev

SOUTH AFRICA

SPAIN NORWAY

WCC14-054 SPONSOR

Captain Danny Van De Velde Northern Baits

Vice Captain Bjerne Remmer

3rd Angler Joakim Lind

WCC14-015 SPONSOR

SWEDEN

WCC14-032

POLAND

Captain

Vice Captain

WCC14-004

Leszek Rutecki

Krzysztof Mroz

WCC14-031

Adam Krugiolka

Mariusz Bednarek

WCC14-061

Marcin Malczewski

Piotr Kozdron

WCC14-062

Pawel Kalbarczyk

Karol Olejnik

Marcin Klose

WCC14-063

Andrzej Krawczyk

Krzysztof Sapor

Lukasz Cybulski

WCC14-064

Dariusz Kulczycki

Przemyslaw Tobiasiewicz

WCC14-065

Arkadiusz Zaremba

Roman Kubiak

Robert Biadala

WCC14-068

Tomasz Bieniek

Bartlomiej Kocur

Daniel Kocur

WCC14-072

Maciej Wolak

Waldemar Czekaj

WCC14-073

Rafal Gosciaszek

Karol Majewski

Captain Frank Granados Dynamite/Shimano

Captain Tom Persson

3rd Angler

UKRAINE Rafal Kosowski

Miłosz Stokowski

WCC14-037 SPONSOR

WCC14-053 SPONSOR

Captain Vadim Korunskij Karpela Cont Bait Fishing Anglesport

Shykhotarov Damir Lypskyi Oleksandr Shimano/Dynamite

Treskot Taras

USA

WCC14-038 SPONSOR

Captain Larysa Switlyk Carp Connections

Vice Captain Patrick Crawford

3rd Angler Roberto Bonomo

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

2014 TEAM EVENT

HANS SISSINGH: CARP CONNECTIONS TEAM CARP CONNECTIONS Ever since the World carp classic came into existance there have been side competitions.

I remember the casting (Century) and throwing stick (Cobra) competitions at Lac Amance, the Gladiator “Pull the braid” powered

by Indy Line, the Gladiator “Lift the keep sack” by JRC and the hilarious “Wader run” by Shakespeare at Lac de Madine. Also great fun was the golf tournament on the course at Madine powered by “Carp World

magazine”.

Oh, and of course, there was the “Reel-in challenge” sponsored by Mitchell during the Catfish event at the Ebro and the football match where Ross lost use of a leg… last year on the beach at Bolsena we witnessed the Hobbie kayak race and tasted from the World-record biggest goulash!

All of those were great initiatives, and hallelujah to the sponsors who made it all possible. The oldest and certainly most exiting side event, however, must be the “Team competition” sponsored by Carp Connections, and it still is.

The WCC-team competition was organized for three pairs (six anglers). Not surprisingly, as it was the ‘International pairs of golf’ that inspired Ross Honey to introduce to the world a brand new anglers endurance formula for pairs, called the Classic.

But angling for carp is not golf. Once one fisherman goes out in the boat, the other had to stay behind to guard the rods. The man in the boat could ideally use assistance to row the boat however. Soon after that introduction, Ross decided to allow a so-called “team runner”. Now the angler in the boat had assistance whilst the other was on shore with the other rods. So from then on, a team contains nine men.

How frustrating it was for the “Runners”, who are mostly carp anglers themselves, to assist but not fish for real! You may watch but are not allowed to hold the rod yourself. Therefore the decision to let the third man become 100% angler added some great opportunities for all competitors, even financially!

Plus, why not still allow a helper who can assist the three men to do what they ‘re best at. So, from this year a team can consist of up to nine anglers and twelve

this year a team can consist of up to nine anglers and twelve including helpers! including helpers!

In 2013 the Team competition was won by Team Dynamite, co-sponsored by Shimano and Ace. They had won a Holiday to the high standard Fishing Resort Du Der. Here they fished lake De la Haije.

Although the teams kept on growing in the number of members, Carp Connections persisted that all members of the team should win a Holiday. Where in 2001 there were no less than 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize, so 18 holidays were sponsored, now in 2014 the Dutch tour operator gives away 36 holidays to the lovely Northern French Resort Du Der. Make sure you do a last minute subscription for a team. Even if you don ‘t have mutual sponsors three pairs/ trio’s can form a Team, name it and compete for this great Holiday prize table for a fishing holiday to a great resort with it’s lovely fish. Enjoy the event!

You will find all Carp Connections sponsor contact details at www.carpconnections.com

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Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

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Graham Mabey Hans Sissingh Larysa Switlyk

Tom Oliver Ferry Verhofstad Patrick Crawford

Allan Pagget Mattie Cruffs Roberto Bonomo

TEAM CARPE PASSION BELGIQUE Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-019 WCC14-057 WCC14-071

Joel Wauthia David Helguers Christophe Verhaeghe

Jean Paul Delbecq Gary Helguers Christophe Sulis

Frederic Laroche Pierre Decamps Pascal Waltenier

TEAM PB PRODUCTS COBRI AVK PARTICLES Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-090 WCC14-091 WCC14-089

Ardy Veltkamp James Brouns Lars Bood

Marcel Ulje Ronni van Berklo Co Schijf

Peter Vlasveld Berry Wingelaar Peter Hillebrand

TEAM RENMAR Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

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Renaldas Marciukaitis Vytautas Peleckas Aidas Turauskas

Manvydas Smigelskas Vygantas Kruckas Giedrius Urbas

Juozas Peleckas Vladimiras Timosenko Rolandas Tatarunas

TEAM SHIMANO/DYNAMITE 1 Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-001 WCC14-049 WCC14-080

Lizette Beunders Andre Piters Camiel Driehuis

Bianca Venema Kay Stolk Jos van den Heuvel

Peter Vlasveld Roy de Vet Justin van den Heuvel

TEAM SHIMANO/DYNAMITE 2 Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-016 WCC14-053 WCC14-079

Marcus Rosenberger Shykhotarov Damir Jan Ulak

Daniel Holzner Lypskyi Oleksandr Pierre-Michel Lehe

Christian Hofer Treskot Taras Ralf Sendelbach

TEAM DYNAMITE/SHIMANO 3 Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-002 WCC14-003 WCC14-015

Kristoff Cuderman Frank Granados Jan Ulak

Slavko Cuderman Davy Geboers Angel Bonal

Srecko Karadzic Ricky Roozen Mathis Korn

TEAM DYNAMITE/SHIMANO 4 Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-014 WCC14-029 WCC14-051

Mihail Kontz Riccardo Battisti Steve Lee

Zirbau Mihai Daniele Colapicchioni Louis Lee

TBC TBC Phil Gouldby

TEAM SOUTH AFRICA Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-033 WCC14-034 WCC14-035

Kobus Lottering Zane Schlemmer Johann Conradie

Charles Horlick Anel Schlemmer Devin Hansma

Edwin Theron Nathan Vrey Adam Swannepeol

TEAM SPOMB CARPWORLD Company

Captain

Vice Captain

3rd Angler

WCC14-005 WCC14-076 WCC14-081

Paul Sharman Lee Jackson Bryan Houghton

Paul Butler James Cobden Andy Philips

TBC Benji Petushing TBC

WORLD CARP CLASSIC 2014

RAYMARINE

SECTION SPONSOR

DYNAMITE BAITS PRINCIPAL PARTNER & SECTION SPONSOR

Dynamite Baits – The Company has a worldwide reputation for the effectiveness of its extensive range of top quality bait. Being co-Title sponsors with Shimano speaks volumes on the companies standing. www.dynamitebaits.com

With its roots firmly set in 1923, Raymarine has branched out and over the years to become one of the tallest trees in the forest. Their innovative, highend quality products have earned the company many glittering awards. www.raymarine.co.uk

PESCALIS

SECTION & SUPPORT SPONSOR Pescalis has a strong link with the World Carp Classic. The French resort, Pescalis, is the premier centre for international nature and fishing and is set in the ideal location for both individual and family holidays. www.pescalis.com

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

SECTION SPONSORS

NORTHERN BAITS SHIMANO

PRINCIPAL PARTNER & SECTION SPONSOR Globally recognised giant, Shimano, founded in 1921, launched the sale of fishing tackle abroad in 1978, from which time the company has earned a worldwide reputation in the world of angling for its superior quality products. www.shimano.com

SECTION SPONSOR

Located on Norway’s West Coast, we produce top quality baits and groundbaits for carp, coarse and sea fishing utilizing ingredients, stimulants and attractors developed by the Norwegian fish farming industry. www.northernbaits.com

CARP MADNESS SECTION SPONSOR

The Company are producers of Hand made carp fishing bait boats and other items of equipment. Exclusive dealer for Toslon`s fish-finders TF640, TF630, FC500 for Europe.

www.carp-madness.com

CC MOORE & CO LTD CARP ‘R’ US

SECTION SPONSOR 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 large Continental Carp. www.carprus.eu

SECTION SPONSOR

A hugely successful UK company, producing bait to the very highest standards achievable. The continual development of the company’s highly acclaimed range of tried and tested products is second to none. www.ccmoore.com

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WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

‘‘

DIMITAR TRENDAFILOV CARP MADNESS BULGARIA

Record breaker! After a 10 -15 minute fight I had a fantastic common carp in the landing net of 55lb

I love fishing; I started fishing with my dad when he took me on a lake when I was just 4 years old, that’s 25 years of fishing now.

I had only fished in Bulgaria until this year, but this year things changed and I made connections. I now have many friends across the whole of Europe and I’m not too old to learn about lakes and fishing in other countries.

So I accepted some invitations from some of my friends. The first invitation was to go fishing in Holland, then I received an invitation for a 1 week session in France.

I was invited to visit the French lake, Etang de la Vignette, by my friend Ivo Druyts, owner of Big Dropper.

The Lake is a 50 km northeast of Paris.

There was a problem with taking my rods, as I could not take them with me on the airplane, so I decided to send them by courier and Ivo was able to bring them to the lake. I wanted to fish with my precious rods there – my Shimano Tribal Utra A 13” 3.5lb. I was able to take my end tackle and my Shimano Aero Technium Mgs 12000 on the plane to Paris.

After my arrival at the lake, we made a thorough scan of the bottom with a Toslon

42

TF640, and we found and saved the best places on the GPS built in into TF640.

For bait, we used a variety of groundbaits; sweet maize, boilies, hemp and different types of pellets and birdfood.

Not long after the baits were placed, the first fish came to the net, an amazing linear carp of 25lb. It was a really nice looking fish!

Fishing continued throughout the day and night with a run every hour. I used my friend’s bait boat equipped with Toslon TF640 which is the best fishfinder on the market this year and its designed specifically for bait boats.

I was feeding six places and put my rods on four of those, then periodically changed places to leave a spot free for 24 hours.

Unfortunately, the wind was blowing in a direction not favourable to me and all the fish were grouped on the other side of the dam. I went over 30 hours without a run but I didn’t despair because I knew I would catch a fish over 50lb.

On the third day I had a great run at

‘‘

Hello, My name is Dimitar Trendafilov, owner of Carp Madness Bulgaria and exclusive dealer of TOSLON fishfinders for Europe.

10:30. After a 10 -15 minute fight I had a fantastic common carp in the landing net of 55lb. This was a real monster of a common carp with lovely colours! For the hook bait I used 2 pieces of yellow fake corn from Korda on a Combi rig and a size 4 Korda Krank hook,my most prefered rig.

I was now in search of a new personal record, a 30 kg mirror carp and I knew that the dam had 5 fish over 30 kg, with the largest being 35 kg.

On the third evening of my stay in France I moved one of the branches that had marked a spot, feeding it with plenty of sweetcorn and hemp, and as hookbait I used two artificial corn Korda. At 3:15 am I woke to the vibration of my reciever.

I jumped up to take the rod and I felt the full weight of the fish. The clutch on my reel was ticking and I felt the adrenaline rushing through me. After about a 15 minute fight, I was very pleased to see a lovely mirror carp in the landing net. I had completed this mission to go and catch 25 kg and 30 kg carp.

Thanks to Toslon TF640, and the opportunity to fish and feed accurately to within just 1 meter in my chosen spot, that was a huge advantage! Thanks TOSLON! DIMITAR TRENDAFILOV Owner of Carp Madness

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

ANDY CHAMBERS

IMPORTANT RULES n 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. n 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,

n 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 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.

46

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. n 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. n 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. n 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.

n 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. n Peg Markers Your peg marker indicates the spot where you must place your rods, and you have disgression to have them no more than 3 metres to the left, right, front or back of the peg. Any further than that and you will be asked to move them. There may be an exceptional reason why this is not possible and in that case you must get the okay from the marshal that is looking after your peg. n Markers Competitors may use up to six permanent markers in their swim and no more, and these must be removed at the end of competition.

The markers must be placed within the confines of your swim; Some competitors try to extend the boundaries of their swim as much as 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 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.

A FEW POINTS OF INTEREST

n 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 cyprinus carpio so this new minimum weight will eliminate the problem of another species being mistakenly recorded. n 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. n 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. n Play Nice

It is a friendly event and rarely do we get any nastiness, I want to see competitors getting on with competitors.There will be rivalries and battles but let’s have those in a fair and open way. Also, I want each and every competitor to treat the marshals with respect and I will come down hard on anyone who doesn’t. n Have Fun

Lastly, and not really a point on the rules but to wish everyone fishing in the event good luck, have fun and fish well. It is a great event which has formed many friendships over the years from carp anglers all over the world who come to fish, and long may it continue.

See you at Bolsena 2013.

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

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. n 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! n 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: 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. n 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 time prior to the start of the event. After everything has been checked and approved, competitors will receive a permit tag for each boat checked.

When presenting your boat and equipment to undergo the official boat check, please 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) n 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. n Keep Your Distance!

Contestants are reminded that there is a 250 metre maximum limit from shore 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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WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

BIVVY CITY

CAMPING VALDISOLE

Bivvy City activities Friday to Sunday n Participants Registration.

(see Itinerary for times) n Friday

Team Registration (see Itinerary for times)

Friday to Saturday n Gladiator Games n Registration (bookings

taken at HQ before Saturday evening) n Saturday 18.00

Accuracy & Distance Casting competition sponsored by Banana Rods n Gladiator Games @ Bivvy City Beach – Bait Boat competition n Saturday 18.00

Gladiator Games continues with wader run and tug of war. n Saturday 20.30

Bivvy City Party Night including food & beverage plus entertainment

Bivvy City at Camping Valdisole will be a hive of activity with an opening night party, the Gladiator Games and competitions ... all with exclusive use of the campsite and its facilities 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.

Last year, we made the decision to make a few changes. We felt that it would help to promote an even more special atmosphere if we contained as much as possible within Bivvy City itself. We are delighted to say that this was a successful step and as a result, registration will now take place once again within Bivvy City because we believe that contestants benefit from it in several ways.

For your comfort and enjoyment we will have exclusive use of Camping Valdisole and all of its facilities throughout the duration of the event. So if you fancy a freshen up, the showers and toilets will be available to you.

On the Saturday evening preceding the event, 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. . n 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.

Carp Connections Gladiator Games

48

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!

Telephone: +49 (0) 761 797 064. To get to Bolsena Town from Camping Valdisole: Turn right onto Via Cassia Nord/SS2 and continue towards the Town. n A Guide to Bivvy City Camping Valdisole provides us with an exceptional site, and with a large number of contestants, 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 2014 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! n Onsite Insight On the site there is a supermarket, a bar with a clubhouse and restaurant, a football and a volleyball court. The site covers 7ha and is divided by a network of tree-lined groves that extend right down to the shore. There is an extensive shower block with washbasins, wet room etc. There are also bungalows to rent.

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM 50

FRANK WARWICK JOKING APART

This year, due to work commitments, I will not be able to attend the World Carp Classic. For only the third time since its inaugural event around 15 years ago, unfortunately, I can’t be there.

This saddens me greatly as I relish this great occasion and rate it highly as the event of the year for so many reasons. It has become a great coming together of anglers, many of which have become friends over the years, from all over the world. I have a collection of various shirts that I have swapped at previous events, from all over the globe; Russian, Japanese, Hungarian and Polish shirts to name just a few. My clothes cupboard looks a bit like David Beckham’s - obviously minus Posh Spices used underwear “sadly”. It is with great nostalgia that I recall some of the incredible moments of the classic.

I guess you could say that I am not averse to a laugh and some of the classic bits of fun have been during the registration process at the beginning of the event. There are various forms to fill in and one such form has a question that asks, “Do you have a medical condition”. Now this is obviously a serious question but, over the years, much to the long suffering Marianne’s (and the girls who help her) dismay, I have not been able to resist having fun with my answers each year. I guess Chlamydia, Wind, Brewers droop and Alzheimer’s are hardly relevant…

On another occasion we had a pre match party at Madine in France where, as you might imagine, things got a tad out of hand and we drunk far too much as you tend to do when you see old friends. The following day, we were all worse for wear and suffering from the usual hang overs

and wishing we had been a bit more sensible with our drinking when someone suggested we should have a casting demonstration by yours truly. Never one for shirking a chance to show off my casting prowess I agreed instantly.

I was with Century, the rod company, at the time and I had been busy designing an ultra long range rod that had a parallel butt section based on a proven winning formula of beach caster rods that, at the time, held all of the world casting records. To apply this technology to a carp rod successfully was far from easy and, to be truthful, a number of proto types had suffered failures. The tests were conducted privately, by myself, and mainly on lakes in the UK with no one around. Each time, it ended up with me back at Century headquarters and us all going back to the drawing board to make

adjustments to the blanks and aim for perfection.

I thought I had got it right with the latest batch as the test rod had been brutally tested and had come through with flying colours.

With that in mind I had procured 4 brand new Full Metal Jacket rods made up for the big match at Madine. I must say these rods looked magnificent with their ballistic fibre wraps, futuristic reel fittings and high stand off rings - perfect for the job as in those days it was a casting-only competition.

Without further ado I unzipped my new all singing and dancing rod and made my way to the beach area near bivvy city followed by a large crowd of onlookers. The lake was flat calm under the baking sun and looked perfect. I did a short cast to wet the line then, on the next cast I stepped into the cast and hit the rod hard. There was an

audible gasp from the crowd as the rod disintegrated making a massive bang as it went, the lake was peppered with sections of carbon… there was a short silence then I said “oh dear” or words to that effect. Then, my old Dutch mate Co Schiff donned his trunks and swam out and started diving for the rod sections saying it was a shame to waste the rod rings!

I explained to the crowd that these rods were experimental proto types and these things can happen. I then reached for another rod “bang” same result, then I did the treble with a third rod! I instantly regretted my actions knowing that I had been a bit premature doing testing in front of Europe’s finest and packed up with my tail between my legs. Next thing - and this shows how fast news travels - I had Simon the boss of Century ringing me, going mad,

upon opening one of the buckets he was greeted by the hideous sight of the biggest turd I have ever seen sat nestling in the middle of the bait…

A lifetime of friends: The event is always an occasion where good friends met and new friends are made, every year

.. a massive bang and the lake was peppered with sections of carbon ..

asking why I was testing in public at such a big event. As I said to him “what’s the big problem, it shows I test rods properly to destruction well before there is any chance of them being released and going into production, unlike some rod companies out there”. He had to agree, but I guess I should have done it in a less audacious place.

At the same event Danny Fairbrass, boss of Korda, partnered me. Dan had asked Mainline, our bait sponsor, to make us up some Active8 in 24mm boilies, which were in big white 10 kg buckets.

These buckets were sat next to Dan’s bivvy, which was situated in the middle of bivvy city. In the morning, after the big party, Danny decided to check the boilies and upon opening one of the buckets he

was greeted by the hideous sight of the biggest turd I have ever seen sat nestling in the middle of the bait… he recoiled in horror and was nearly sick. Despite our suspicions, the sabotage culprit was never found, not surprisingly.

One other thing that sticks in my mind is when we were fishing the mighty Orient.

It was red hot, the fishing was slow and the young marshals were getting listless and bored, so I showed them how to make arrows that you fire with a piece of string.

Now these arrows, if made properly, will fly over 150 meters and something that as kids we often made, long before the age of Xboxes and Playstations. The young marshals were amazed as I showed them how to make these arrows, and very soon they were all at it and we were having target practice aiming at a rubbish bag sat on a

tree stump at 100 meters range. I did a crack shot just as Ross Honey, along with the mayor and local dignitaries appeared in my swim and the arrow went right through the bag at massive speed. God only knows what they must have thought.

As you can see, there is never a dull moment in my life.

All of this and more of my angling exploits are recalled in my new book titled ‘Every bit of blue’ covering my 44 years as a carp angler. The book was available from the 19th of September 2014 from Angling Publications in the UK. I hope that you enjoy the stories and the laughs if you choose to get a copy. Good luck to you guys in this years World carp classic, see you next year.

FRANK WARWICK

BOLSENA LIVE!

MEDIA ATTENTION AT THE WCC

The Shimano CM1000 is an ultra light electronic sports camera that you can take anywhere you want and is the perfect tool for the modern day Carp angler.

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 also throughout the calendar year. Here we take an in-depth look at this aspect.

n 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 media teams attending.

Press & Media passes and badges are issued that clearly identify officially permitted personnel in order to prevent a ‘paparazzi’ type situation. We fully understand and appreciate the desire to report on the event but we must maintain the best interests of competitors as our first priority, and 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.

n In-house teams

will be accessible both in total and per team.

Marshal’s 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 all relevant data will then be registered online and the information will be instantly available worldwide. We are confident in presenting a watertight and highspeed system, which will enable everyone including participants to check progress during the competition.

n Live TV

It is our intention to have the opening ceremony and many other key parts of the event filmed and broadcast live. We have a team of specialist TV crew on site. Each evening there will be a dailiy highlights to capture all of the excitement and drama. You will be able to see the shows by visiting the World Carp Classic Website and clicking on the link.

n Participate & Co-operate l It is important to remember that your

A World Carp Classic Film Crew, familiar to previous contestants, will be on site throughout the event capturing VT on all aspects long before the opening ceremony and the 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.

cooperation with Official Media representatives is essential for publicity, not just for the benefit of the World Carp Classic, 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 there in place and subsequently used in the correct manner.

n Event updates

n Your preparation should include:

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.

n World Carp Classic Film Crew

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. 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.

n LIVE leader-board

In the 2014 World Carp Classic a complete and topical overview of all the catches and statistics

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 for film and photography. 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.

The specifications that this sport camera has are impressive. With Full HD resolution, 10 meter waterproof without extra underwater housing needed and many more features to get you capturing all your adventures anytime, anywhere.

Size of a matchbox The Shimano Sport Camera has the size of a matchbox and can capture video even in low light situations (F2.0 bright lens) what makes this camera more suitable for fishing conditions.

Let’s face it, you want stunning footage when you catch your fish early morning and in dusky conditions as well right?

The camera comes with both 180 and 135 degree view lenses for optimal footage above and under the surface. It’s easy to connect your Shimano Sport camera onto many devices using the Shimano camera app as it has WIFI. Simply connect it to your phone or tablet and control, watch and share your adventures and catches.

Next to that the camera has ANT+/ANT private connectivity.

The Auto Orientation adjustment is very interesting so you always film in the right angle and never from the side or upside down. You can also switch off this function if you like.

Optimal underwater performance When you purchase the Shimano CM1000 Sport Camera it comes with an extra lenscover for optimal underwater performance, adhesive mount/vented helmet mount, USB cable and start up manual. Also a 16GB memory card is included.

As must have accessories there are a chest mount and a cap mount available separately to make your videos even easier and nicer. With these tools you can make shots from different angles. Shooting videos using the chest mount for example makes you feel like you are really there.

Capture the moment The Shimano Sport Camera not only is a video recording device, it also takes still images like a photo camera inclusive time lapse photography.

Never miss an opportunity that needs to be captured ever again with the Shimano Sport Camera.

n Ultra-lightweight for secure mounting n Waterproof down to 10 meters (no extra housing needed) n Sealed to protect against dirt, dust and mud n 16 MP CMOS sensor for stunning 1080p HD footage n F2.0 bright lens for incredible low light performance n View, control and share directly with your mobile device

ava ilab le

For more information visit www.shimano-sportcamera.com or the Shimano YouTube channel

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

KIT IN PROUNDE CLUD SET TEC RWA ES: T , U TO USE SB CAR, MOER UN R’ B Cap Ches S MA LES A T Mo t Mo NU unt unt A ND also and L!

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WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

STEVE HOWARD MAGAZINE EDITOR

Location is of course, rightly said to be a very important factor in carp angling.

There can be no doubt about that, and to my mind it is the most crucial factor in our quest to capture carp by a very long way.

Many anglers would suggest that on commercial fisheries, this factor becomes much less of a problem because of the greater density of carp, but is this correct thinking?

Although it cannot be denied that, in some instances, this might be the case in some, grossly overstocked venues, the same cannot be said of all commercial venues. “Of course it is”, I hear you cry, “the greater the stocking level, the easier it becomes, right?”

Well, yes and no. It must be remembered that carp quickly become very wary once they have been subjected to capture and that in itself increases the subsequent level of difficulty in both finding and catching them.

With that fact in mind, it should also be considered that there are a good number of public waters that are subjected to similar angling pressure, which in turn serves to educate the resident carp. For instance, where regular night fishing zones occupy only a very small percentage of the overall bank-space, these areas of concentrated angling pressure can often become dead zones over time, as carp become wary of them. It is also fair to say, that some resident carp can become overindulgent, even addicted to angling bait and will return time after time to indulge themselves on the easy pickings, despite the presence of anglers.

In effect, anglers who occupy these regularly fished night zones are left to target mainly only the carp that are regular visitors to that zone whilst other, more cautious carp avoid the area completely. ‘Location’ is often not in the equation in this scenario with fixed night zones, as carp can very easily evade capture by the simple process of avoiding the area altogether.

Many commercial venues can suffer in a similar fashion, of course. Some venues can become extremely ‘peggy’ as the majority of carp - in their attempt to avoid capture - group tightly together and adopt a ‘safety in numbers’ shoal mentality.

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I’m certain that we are all very well aware of this tendency whereby they position themselves in areas where the risk is lessened and they can only be targeted by one or two anglers on the entire venue – in effect, minimising the risk.

This simple and instinctive process of evasion greatly lessens their individual chances of capture, by utilising sheer weight of numbers in much the same manner as small shoal-fish do to avoid predation.

Location under these circumstances is greatly simplified; all you need to do is book the only peg on the lake that regularly produces carp in numbers!

So under these circumstances, as far as location goes, unless you are fishing on a venue where you have unlimited, unrestricted access, it is unlikely that your

location skills will have very much bearing on your overall results. Of course, none of these factors preclude the capture of a more solitary fish. In fact, your chances of catching a large lone fish may increase, as they are obviously not of the shoal mentality and they will, by default, be the only carp in the area. In this scenario your location skills may serve you well, if that is your personal quest.

With the current climate in carp fishing, where some commercial venues stock only extremely large carp, it becomes clear that the values of carp angling are being lost. I won’t decry any worthy angling achievement, but it is sad to say that claims

to the effect that these carp are equally meritorious, cheapens the exploits of other, somewhat more ethically minded carp anglers. Anyway, we each make a choice and live by our own set of morals, I guess…. I digress. Back to location…

Okay, so we have determined our venue and we have either booked a peg or we are able to choose from those pegs that are available on our visit, what next?

Firstly, do you have all of your options covered? By this, I mean, are you fully equipped with the tackle and bait to diversify and change your tactics according to the situation if and when you need to?

Stalking in the margin..On hot sunny days, it is natural for carp to seek the shade of overhanging trees.

Margins also provide a much greater variety and wealth of natural food that can preoccupy carp and hold them there in numbers. Close up and personal, eyeball to eyeball with a big carp is heart stopping!

It is more likely that you have limited options - as is the current trend in modern day carp angling - and you have only a selection of particles/boilies and nothing else, with no other options open to you but to fish as the huge majority do. I find it quite astounding that the popular and much bandied phrase ‘be different’ is actually nothing but hollow words in reality. All you need to do is take a look around any venue and you can be pretty sure that around 95% of the anglers fishing there are doing 95% the same thing - 3-4oz lead, 6-8” hooklink, boilies and pellet/particle - essentially, almost every angler will be set up to fish in

Variable Zig-Rig fishing..In the context

of this article, it should be apparent why variable zig-rigs are, or should be an important part of every angler’s tactical armoury. Be proactive and hunt for them at various depths in the water column!

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

STEVE HOWARD

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

A few facts about Lake Bolsena.. n

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. n

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,

Floater fishing..This fish is just one of several surface caught carp during a week when eight

anglers caught only four carp on the bottom. If there is a more exciting way to catch carp, I haven’t discovered it yet! exactly the same manner. Bear with me here, this is still adhering to the theme of location, believe it or not.

Being different isn’t nearly as important as location, but it follows that location in terms of where carp will be inclined to feed within the water column often offers you your best option to be different! Okay, whilst zig-rigs and surface fishing isn’t for everyone, they are nonetheless accepted tactics that have accounted for many good carp. Just why it is that these methods - which demand further, supplementary watercraft and location skills - are overlooked, I really don’t know.

For my part, I guess that I think of myself as a hunter of carp, and in line with a hunter’s mentality I am more inclined to adopt a variety of methods. After locating which area carp are in, I will often hunt/stalk them in the margins or in the water column, wherever they are happy, comfortable and prepared to feed. So

may I politely suggest that it may be prudent to revaluate ‘location’ and cover all of the options?

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many anglers, who are not fairing well in a session, miss the opportunities on offer.

They may be angling in the right area – but they are not angling in the location where the fish are sitting, regarding the depth.

We are all aware that carp will react and relocate to other areas of a lake for a

multitude of reasons, but environmental aspects largely dictate where they are naturally inclined to locate themselves within the water column. Barometric pressure, oxygen levels, thermoclines, wind and light etc, can all play an important role and largely and most importantly, when some of these factors are in play, carp will not be searching for food on the bottom. It is then up to us as anglers to locate where they are.

Whilst zig-fishing with a variable depth controller may not be to every anglers liking, it can be extremely effective in such situations. Surface fishing too, has its time and place, and yet, how many anglers will actually recognise and capitalise on these situations when they arise? Not very many, I’ll wager.

The point to remember is that location, being the ultimate key to success, is not defined purely by areas within a lake but also by the depth at which carp are present throughout the water column. It remains a fact that carp are much less of a problem to catch if they can be targeted where they already are, no matter where that might be. Surely, it is therefore in the individuals’ best interest to adopt the necessary tactics to capitalise on the opportunities as the situation dictates?

It remains clear that some anglers are seemingly programmed to blank as, at certain times, they will catch nothing if they only consider bottom fishing.

Whatever your personal choices are, may I politely suggest that it may be prudent to revaluate ‘location’ and cover all of the options and not only bottom fishing?

Good luck to all at this year’s event, and please remember to utilise every square cubic meter of your allocated swim!

STEVE HOWARD Editor, World Carp Classic Magazine

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. n

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).

WORLD CARP CLASSIC AGENT

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

JAKOB VAGNER

How “Carp and Carp world” magazine became the official Czech media partner and Agent for the WCC I have known Ross Honey for a good number of years from meetings at various fishing shows.

At each meeting, we discussed our dreams and of course fishing. Ross had the WCC and I was always somewhere in the jungle searching for strange fish. Both of us love the world of fish and fishing, but each from a different perspective.

That is what it is nice about fishing; everyone finds his or her own personal love for fishing.

Some people go to the water just to relax and they do not care whether or not they catch. The situation changed when I bought the biggest carp magazine in the Czech Republic Kapr a Kaprí svet - Carp and Carp world. Then I met Ross at Efftex in Brussels and then again in London for the following interview.

ROSS: What are your plans with the magazine on the Czech market?

JAKUB: It has been on the Czech market since 2009 but, last year it underwent a great development. Not only the design, created by the editors of prestigious social print media, but also its content and pricing strategies. The magazine is printed on high quality glossy paper in the range of 100 pages with a regular DVD from our own production and for the price 3.29EU for subscribers.

Our goal is to create a fishing magazine that will become prestigious in the eyes of foreign markets. We have established an exclusive partnership with many renowned writers, carp companies and there is great recognition for the magazine and our entire newsroom collaboration with the WCC. We also own some amazing lakes with trophy carp, which still do not know carp baits at all! These are completely unspoilt waters with carp approaching the 30kg mark that have never been caught! These lakes will be opened to the public in the spring of 2015.

ROSS: Will you be sending a team to compete in the WCC this year?

Jakub: Of course! The anglers in the team cannot and will not miss the WCC. This event is an important social event for us. For myself, I am sending my film crew to the WCC that will be fully available to Ross throughout the entire WCC. The crew will bring our special “movie toys” that we use during filming for the Discovery Channel.

ROSS:What plans do you have for the WCC in person?

JAKUB: I would love to come to Italy this year, but at the moment I’m shooting a TV fishing show and it is basically every day. Anyway, we (me and Ross) are negotiating some interesting possibilities in the Czech Republic, but I cannot reveal anything. Anyway, we have big plans that we will try to follow through. Next year, I will be in the WCC for sure. It’s a great opportunity to meet old friends and some of the best fisherman from all around the World.

ROSS: What are your filming plans for this year?

JAKUB: A few days ago I returned from filming in the Congo and after a few days I left for another expedition to Mongolia.

I am filming a big TV series for Discovery Channel. Fishing documentaries about the largest and rarest freshwater fish on our planet.

Each expedition takes a month and we always travel to the most remote corners of the world.

When I get back, I am ko’d for a few days. I spend

a lot of time in a hospital, in the department of exotic medicine, with a variety of very exotic animals in my body… Just malaria alone… I’ve had seven times in the last ten years!

Then, I work on a thirteen part series of a TV show for Czech Television when traveling with children in the Czech countryside, teaching them not only how to catch fish, but also how to explore the whole of nature.

ROSS: Do you have any secret fishing wishes?

For the magazine or personal?

JAKUB: I would love to have the WCC in the Czech Republic. We have wonderful and vast waters that hide many nice fish. Carp breeding in the Czech Republic has the longest history of all Europe, and apart from trophy fish, there are many interesting forms of carp, which is our number one national fish.

My personal wish? I fulfilled my fishing dream just a few days ago in the Congo. I was crazy about Goliath tigerfish and the last expedition was successful. After 9 months I have spent in the Congo altogether, after crazy fight I caught a Giant tigerfish over 50 kg. This was the biggest Goliath ever landed in the Congo River. This fish I respect enormously, because I’ve had to experience many bad and scary things in the Congo before I got my dream catch. A long-held ambition for me is clear. The greatest importance I see is in the youth. Bring children from computers and bring them back to nature, back to the water, back into fishing.

Fishing is a wonderful passion and the time that we spend fishing is time well spent.

I would love to have the World Carp Classic in the Czech Republic ... we have wonderful and vast waters hiding many nice fish

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WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

HOBIE

INTERNATIONAL PAIRS

DE KSN

Since 1950, from our headquarters in California, Hobie Cat Company has manufactured and distributed an impressive collection of watercraft worldwide. www.hobiefishing.com

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

Dutch Carp Study Group covering 12 regions of the Netherlands and will be marshalling at the event this year. karperstudiegroep.nl/de_ksn/

SUPPORT SPONSOR

SUPPORT SPONSOR

SUPPORT SPONSOR

making a difference responsibly

ANGLING SPIRIT

CARPSPOT. DE SUPPORT SPONSOR

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

FISHING RESORT DU DER SUPPORT SPONSOR

Carp Connections are providing weeklong holidays as prizes at their fabulous Du Der complex in Northern France. www.www.carpconnections.nl

SUPPORT SPONSOR

UK based Angling Spirit is the umbrella company and organisor of the World Carp Classic and the World Predator Classic events. www.anglingspirit.com making a difference responsibly

COLEMAN

SUPPORT SPONSOR

MAPPA

Provider of top quality iceboxes and cool boxes for the World Carp Classic Event Team. www.coleman.com

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

FREETIME BOLSENA SUPPORT SPONSOR

Situated in Montifiascone, just a short distance from the banks of the 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. www.freetimebolsena.com

RK LEISURE

SUPPORT SPONSOR

UK based company with an impressive list of historic venues - host of the UK WCC Qualifying event held on Wraysbury1 in July. www.rkleisure.com

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WELLANT COLLEGE SUPPORT SPONSOR

(Dutch Fisheries collage) Providing the vitally important Event Marshaling Team. www.wellant.nl

PIZZA PLANET’S SUPPORT SPONSOR

Locally based in Bolsena, Planet’s Pizza are the official food provider for the event team and the opening night pasta party.

CAMPING VALDISOLE SUPPORT SPONSOR

Valdisole is the campsite in which Event HQ and registration, plus bivvy city is accommodated. www.campingvaldisolebolsena.com

SUPPORT SPONSORS

WORLD CARP CLASSIC 2014 YUSEN LOGISTICS OFFICIAL SUPPLIER

WORLD PREDATOR CLASSIC

Yusen provide air and ocean freight forwarding and contract logistics services on a business platform utilising their vast global network, that responds to the customer’s increasingly sophisticated logistical needs. www.yusen-logistics.com

SUPPORT SPONSOR

The Angling Spirit predator event made an explosive start on the angling scene earlier this year and is destined to become the best of its kind. www.worldpredatorclassic.com

FLE FISHERY

HERTZ

FLE is a UK based outdoor pursuits company, providing fishing tuition, events, day ticket fishery and laser clay shooting. www.forlifeexp.com

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

SUPPORT SPONSOR

REUBEN HEATON

OFFICIAL WEIGHTS & MEASURES Founded in 1857 by its namesake Reuben George Heaton, the Warwickshire, England based manufacturer produces high quality scales and weighing equipment and other angling products. www.reubenheaton.co.uk

OFFICIAL CAR RENTAL

FLADEN FISHING OFFICIAL LIFE JACKETS

Providing the official lifejackets for the World Carp Classic. www.fladenfishing.org.uk

POWERTRAVELLER SECOND HAND PHONES OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

A UK Company based in Barnstaple, North Devon. We specialise in the resale of quality used Mobile Phones and Smartphone devices. www.second-handphones.com

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION Designed in the UK and tested to destruction in some of the world’s most inhospitable environments, Powertraveller’s can charging anything from cell phones and iPods through to Sat Navs, GPS systems, iPads and laptops. www.powertraveller.com

WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM

‘The Friends of the Ebro’ campaign was introduced

by Angling Spirit for the World Catfish Classic in 2011, where more than 50 tonnes of rubbish was cleared from the banks of the river Ebro in Spain.

Since then, ‘The Friends of’ has since been a feature of all Angling Spirit events, conveying a clear message to the world about environmental issues.

The World Carp Classic is a globally renowned competition with a very strong code of ethics, and as such, we endeavour to make a difference where possible.

Environmental issues are fundamental to our beliefs and with our ‘Friends of’ campaigns we strive to not only display a responsible attitude towards bankside cleanliness, we promote it in a way that will hopefully encourage others to act in a responsible manner also.

Our previous campaigns have been successful, but it remains a sad fact that some anglers do not act responsibly and with the addition of other bankside visitors, it remains very clear that more work is required.

Whereas it is impossible for us to exercise any control over anglers outside of the event, during the event it is quite a different matter altogether and any competitor leaving litter in or around their swim will be dealt with in strict accordance with the set rules.

We are very privileged

The River Ebro.. where it all began. The

‘Friends of’ campaign collected 50 tonnes of rubbish from the banks of the river to be here at Lago di Bolsena, and, as you will see, the local people take great pride in the cleanliness of the bankside.

We encourage you all to join us in our organised pre-event, ‘Friends Of Bolsena’ litter-picking walk around the banks to help put out a message to all those who feel it is acceptable to leave their rubbish behind when they depart.

Will you be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution?

Every angler wants to arrive at the lakeside to find nothing but footprints, so why do some see fit to leave their rubbish behind when they leave?

It reflects very poorly on the sport when rubbish is left and it has, in some instances outside of the event, brought about the complete cessation of angling altogether on a number of venues.

It is simply not acceptable practice to leave litter, and where the event is concerned, we will take the strongest action possible against offenders.

ROSS HONEY Founder of the World Carp Classic

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WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM It is not without a little sadness in our hearts that we bid a fond but not final arrivederci to Italy and the spectacular Lago di Bolsena.

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The truly magnificent venue and its incredible carp have provided us with some excellent sport and memorable events. The warmth from the welcoming Italian people and Townsfolk who were our hosts has been amazing. Their enthusiastic support went along way to ensuring that, in every aspect, the event has been catered for superbly.

We have created and enjoyed some very special moments here at Bolsena, and these will live long in the memory.

With new records set and many new friendships being forged along the way, we are certain that many of us will leave a little piece of our hearts on the shores of the lake. However, as we have in the past, so we shall continue to do… create more great memories that will last a lifetime.

With the greatest of pleasure, we can all look forward to a rendezvous in France at Lac de Madine for the World Carp Classic 2015. The magical Madine, very much seen as the spiritual home of the event, has enjoyed a very special relationship with the World Carp Classic and its competitors. First and foremost, I think we all agree that Madine is a superb venue, however there have been a few concerns expressed in the events latter years on the complex that perhaps needed addressing in a completely new way.

Always innovative, we have carefully considered all aspects of the event and taken on board all constructive comments. So, alongside the multimillion pound refurbishment scheme

of the Madine complex, which has now been completed, the time is right to once again dip our toes into the fabulous Madine water.

There is no doubt, and results prove it, that the carp had to an extent become more elusive in some areas whilst in others - with less angling pressure - they were more abundant. In other words, the venue had started to become a little ‘peggy’. That is evident by the area that the past few winning weights were caught from… although that should in no way diminish the fine achievements of any of our past champions!

The three-year break that the Madine carp have had from being angled for in a competition of this size and scale will have helped matters.

They should be far less cautious and perhaps time has erased much of their memory, but we feel that there is more that can be done to ensure a better, more level playing field and outcome.

Apart from our consciously sympathetic pegging, a new format will be introduced this year that will also attempt to address any disparity. For each pair, only the top four heaviest carp will count towards the pair’s recordable weight. That is to say, each and every fish will still be recorded, but only the best 4 will be submitted for the final catch total.

We will also try to position pegs in order to concentrate more angling pressure on the one particular area where historically, the biggest catches in relation to number have been caught. It is hoped that the added pressure will keep the carp on the move, which could in turn improve results elsewhere. Of course, this new format will not in any way affect competitors’ pleasure in

Return of the Lac..The exsquisite Lac de Madine which will once

again be host to the World Carp Classic 2015 catching as many of Madine’s wonderful carp as possible so, in real terms, this format changes nothing. However, come the final catch sheet submission, when only the top four fish of each pair will count, that is the moment of truth.

It should also be remembered that, even with just a few short hours remaining in the competition - and even if you haven’t yet caught a carp at this late juncture - it is still wholly possible to catch four big carp right at the end to snatch the honours!

It is hoped that you will appreciate this format and the need to introduce it for the benefit of all competitors. We very much look forward to meeting and welcoming you to our spiritual home, Lac de Madine for the 2015 World Carp Classic.

ROSS HONEY Founder of the World Carp Classic

the tine is right to once again dip our toes into the fabulous waters of Madine