SPECIMEN CARP FISHING: World Carp Classic SA Qualifier

WORDS: Eugene Kruger The World Carp Classic is one of the premier carp fishing events in the carp fishing world. It is presented annually in Europe where almost every carp angling country is represented. In this tournament only the three biggest fish count which makes it exciting and gives all the teams an opportunity to showcase their ability to single out only the biggest specimens in the lake. South Africa has a rich history of competing against the world in this prestigious tournament but have had to sit on the sidelines for the past two years during the Covid pandemic. Even though we were not able to compete in France last year, we have had the privilege of hosting our local World Carp Classic South African Qualifier event at Roodekoppies Dam (in March). The winner of the World Carp Classic SA Qualifier tournament secures a paid entry for Team SA to France to compete against the rest of the world. This year’s opening ceremony was certainly one to remember not only because of the anticipation of the competing teams who finally got a shot at the title, but also because of the great number of sponsors that were involved in this year's event. The opening ceremony included a very delicious lunch and of course the ever important peg draws that determined where each team would be spending the next six days on the bank. Like at any venue there were certain pegs and areas that were favoured above others. One of these areas was Peg 1 right against the dam wall that was drawn by Team Fish who also happened to be one of the main sponsors of this year’s event. Other good pegs were those on the ends of each zone that had a small inlet or other structures and margins to fish to. But those who know Roodekoppies Dam knew that the big ones could be found anywhere in open water as well, so it was anyone's game to win. Day 1 started with the boat inspections where the marshals needed to sign off each boat that was used in the tournament. Boats needed to be equipped with all the necessary safety equipment and be cleared to go onto the water. This was shortly followed by a boundary marker session where teams were able to mark their swims on the water using H-blocks and other markers so that everyone knew in which direction they were able to fish to. As the starting hooter blew teams were eager to get bait into the water. Most of the teams opted for a heavy feed approach and we saw hundreds of kilos of freshly cooked bait go into the spots in the first hours of the tournament. Team Fish on the dam wall were the first to log a qualifying fish of over 10kg and put their team into a good positive position from early on. Any fish under 10kg would not count as a weigher in this year’s tournament which meant that the anglers needed to work hard for the larger specimens. The action continued on Peg 4 where Team FTA had managed to climb into a school of big fish landing multiple double ups. They lead the field on day one and looked to be unstoppable. Team Jurassic Carp on Peg 6 were also getting into the action and soon landed a stunning 12kg common. Specimen Junkies who were right on the other side of the bank started landing bigger fish and were sitting in third overall as we headed into the first evening. Day 2 was a warm sunny day packed with action, most of which came from Peg 4 where Team FTA were tearing up the field, catching fish every hour. Dirk Booysen from FTA managed to land a massive 13,8kg common which was the biggest fish at that stage of the tournament. But his title lasted only a few minutes as Specimen Junkies on the far side of the bank were locked into a school of bigger fish and they managed to get a fish of 14,5kg. This fish had a beautiful round, potbelly shape and kept the title of biggest fish for the next two days. Meanwhile on Peg 3 Team Fish had started to catch a few bigger fish as well, including a 14,4kg common and were climbing towards the top. Dirk Booysen 13,8kg Specimen Junkies 14,5kg On Day 3 the weather had changed completely. After a rainy night we entered a cold and wet spell for the remainder of the tournament, but in some spots the bigger fish seemed to come out of their hiding spots. Peg 2, which had Team Fishtec all the way from Durban landed a nice 13kg fish. Leslie Barnard used incredible fish finding skills with the Lowrance fishfinders to locate the bigger fish in the dam wall section. After the morning’s action we headed over to the other side of the bank where Team Masterclass from Limpopo were also constantly landing good fish on Peg 2. At midday the fish had moved more towards the middle section of the bank. Teams like Chunky Monkey and Rooispan were getting in on the action as well. Shaun Bamford 13kg Arno van Rooyen 13kg Day 4 started with a bang. Louis Brits and his team from Rustenburg, Team Specimen Tackle were getting the odd bite when suddenly out of the blue Louis had a screaming take on a rod that had been lying dormant for more than 12 hours. Louis jumped on his dingy to get the fish and what played out was a moment I will never forget. Louis spent 25 minutes on the boat battling with this fish as we looked on from the bank. One could see that this was a better fish and as it slipped into the net it was confirmed purely because of the big celebration that Louis had on the boat! The fish pulled the scales at 14,8kg and brought tears to the team’s eyes as they realised that they had a chance of winning if they could keep this up. Louis Brits 14,8kg Later that day we saw some bigger fish arrive at Peg 9 for Team Fishing Game and on Peg 10 which belonged to previous champions Molli and Wors. We knew that Hannes van der Merwe could easily pull out something special at the last minute as he usually does. Both these teams had 13kg fish and were climbing the leaderboard slowly but surely. Molli 13kg Later that afternoon we had a call from Peg 17 who had landed only their second fish of the tournament but it was a monster. Fishing Myself Single had landed a stunning 14,4kg common which for me was the most beautiful fish of the competition. That evening it was Dries Bezuidenhout on Peg 1 that landed 13,7kg for Team Fish which put them into the lead. FMS 14,4kg Day 5 started cold and misty on the bank. Big fish weather was upon us. The underdog team Molli and Wors had a sleepless night and had managed to land a new biggest fish during the night. A massive fish of 15kg bumped them into 2nd place overall and Hannes van der Merwe was once again giving his everything. Hannes 15kg Chunky Monkeys also landed a monster 13,5kg that morning caught by the oldest angler at the tournament, "oom" Pierre Kemp. Team Fishing Game on Peg 12 had also been lucky with a few decent fish and managed to land a 14,3kg common just before sunset that pushed them into 3rd overall ahead of Team Specimen Tackle. The final morning was a nail biter as Molli and Wors had once again pushed right through the night to try and get a bigger fish. Just before the final hooter they managed to get a huge fish that looked like it could push 13kg and all they needed to win was a 12,9kg fish. Unfortunately the fish pulled the scales at only 12,6kg and that semented the win for Team Fish on Peg 1 with Molli and Wors on Peg 13 in second, and Team Fishing Game in third place overall. The zone winners were Team FTA in the Cold Factor Zone, Chunky Monkeys in Brits GWM Haval Zone and Specimen Junkies in the Ridgemonkey Zone. Big congratulations to all the teams that competed and fished their hearts out. Stay tuned to the WCCSA Facebook page for the highlights video to be released end of April… and follow the page to see how Team SA takes on the World at the World Carp Classic 2022 in September.

SPECIMEN CARP FISHING: World Carp Classic SA Qualifier

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