Welsh Carp Championship 2016 Qualifying rounds - Fendrod & White Springs

by Martyn Russ

Once again it has been a busy couple of weeks in the carp scene in South Wales with not 1 but 2 main qualifying rounds for the Welsh carp Championship 2016 and also the final for the Junior Welsh carp Championship being held at the Birch Syndicate water in Newport, South Wales. Unfortunately i wasn't available to follow the fishing as it unfolded at the Fendrod Lake, due to me being out fishing a new syndicate water, but looking at the scores and how they spread out it looked like it was an amazing competition with lots of stunning fish being caught.

Lee Baker & Richard Seed 150lb 3oz

Andrew Morgan & Callum Way 38lb 12oz

Steve Morgan & Ryan Prosser 26lb 6oz

Mathew & Mike Greenall 25lb 10oz

Andrew Richards & Dean Collins 15lb 12oz

Chris Powell & Steve Oneil 13lb 8oz

Kris Jenkins & Rhys Sales 9lb 10oz

After the score came in for the first night of the qualifier we could see that there was a big lead being built up and it would be a struggle for the others to catch the leading pair. With regards to the other positions it seemed to be a very close competition and 2nd and 3rd places were not guaranteed so there was still everything to fish for as they entered the final day.

Final Results for the The Fendrod Qualifier are

1st - Lee Baker & Richard Seed 210lb 10oz

2nd - Jonathan Jones & Josh Smith 159lb 8oz

3 rd - Andrew Norman & Callum Way 85lb 14oz

 4th - Steve Morgan & Ryan Prosser 75lb 3oz

5th - Mathew & Mike Greenall 59lb 8oz

6th - Steven Maddick & David Relf 38lb 14oz

7th - Andrew Richards & Dean Collins 15lb 12oz

8th - Chris Powell & Steve Oneil 13lb 8oz

9th - Kris Jenkins & Rhys Sales 9lb 10oz

 

lee baker & Richard Seed continued to maintain their lead through out the entire competition with Jonathan Jones and josh Smith chasing them hard during the final stages. the remainder of the anglers were also doing well and catching plenty of beautiful specimens but were unable to catch the two leading pairs who just stormed ahead right to the finish.

With one more qualifier finished it was time again for the next round held on the following weekend at White Springs lake. It wasn't long into the competition and the anglers were catching and starting to build up those important weights with every team managing to grab a place on the score board.

After the first 24 hours the current standings are :-

John Cooper & James Dawson 92 lb 14 oz

John Flewin & Ethan Thomas 91 lb 10 oz

Nathan Perkins & Andrew Roberts 51 lb 4 oz

Craig Thomas & Phillip Griffths 37 lb 12 oz

Kerion Mackie & Matt 34 lb 15 oz

Gavin & Sam Childs 29 lb 12 oz

Anthony James & Curtis James 27 lb 8 oz

Liam Smith & Steve Hughes 28 lb 2 oz

Tony Jones & Mark Dickenson 24 lb

Mark Hopkins & Carl Wright 16 lb 8 oz

As they moved into the second day a lead with the top 3 teams had started to be built but was no way a sure thing as the lake held plenty of high double figure carp and it meant it was any ones game with all the teams catching plenty of fish. As they went into  the final few hours at White Springs Fishery the standings were:

1st John Flewin & Ethan Thomas 178lb 14oz

2nd John Cooper & James Dawson 178lb 8oz

3rd Nathan Perkins & Andrew Roberts 71lb 14oz

 4th Kerion Mackie & Matt 68lb 15oz

5th Liam Smith & Steve Hughes 63lb 6oz

 With just under a 100 lb separating the top 2 teams from the rest of the group it looked like a sure thing as they entered the last couple of hours in the competition. Again the WCC had produced some amazing sport and the anglers showed exceptional skills in both angling and fish care. As they say there can only be one winner and as time was called on the competition the results came in:

The Final RESULTS at White Springs Fishery the standings are :-

John Flewin & Ethan Thomas 178lb 14oz

John Cooper & James Dawson 178lb 8oz

Nathan Perkins & Andrew Roberts 71lb 14oz

Kerion Mackie & Matt 68lb 15oz

Liam Smith & Steve Hughes 63lb 6oz

Gavin & Sam 59lb 3oz

Tony Jones & Mark Dickenson 41lb 4oz

Craig Thomas & Phillip Griffiths 37lb 12oz

Anthony James & Curtis James 27lb 8oz

Mark Hopkins & Carl Wright 16lb 8oz

To be honest in my eyes it didn't really matter who had won the competitions as they had all done extremely well getting so far and catching so many beautiful fish. Unfortunately only so many could go through to the final and i really can't wait for that competition as if these latest results are anything to go by the final is set to be an amazing event and i really am looking forwards to it. I wish all the teams the best of luck!

Wet Nets & Tight Lines

Junior Welsh Carp Championship 2016 - Final at The Birch Syndicate

by Martyn Russ

Once again the Birch Syndicate, home of Pro Baits UK, is the host to yet another brilliant competition and some great anglers who all entered the Junior Welsh Carp Championship. Its great to see the next generation of Carp fishermen enjoying the sport so much and doing so well on a venue that even the most professional of anglers would find challenging. The Birch is a beautiful large lake with some amazing specimens in and is no way an easy venue to fish. With the carp finishing spawning only a couple of weeks ago the final of the junior WCC was set to be a challenging one.

As all the competitors moved into the first night of fishing it was showing just how much of a challenge this venue was going to be with only three people managing to get on the score board.

Luke& Shauno 21 lb 2 oz

Jacob & Chris 20 lb 10 oz

Matteo & Benji 11 lb 8 oz

The way the junior final was being run was by having adult partners assist the young lads as normally the young anglers wouldn't be allowed to fish this venue. This was a great idea but in no way made it any easier for the boys and they were all having to test their skills to the max. As morning broke and the competition continued a few more had managed to get onto the score board with no one showing a great lead at this point. It was turning out to be a very close competition indeed and one fish could change everything.

1st Lloyd & Chris 28 lb 10 oz

2nd Sheldon & Calum 24 lb 8 oz

3rd Luke & Shauno 21 lb 2 oz

4th Jacob & Chris 20 lb 10 oz

5th Matteo & Benji 11 lb 8 oz

The weather had turned overcast but still remained warm and the anglers were doing the best they could to catch those chunks with more and more anglers joining in the chase for the lead. Still no angler could break away with a decisive lead and it made for a great competition with everyone fishing as best they could. At this point it didn't really matter that anyone was in the lead as the Birch Syndicate water holds a number of high 30's meaning that one fish could actually win the competition.

1st Jacob & Chris 31 lb 4 oz

2nd Lloyd & Chris 28 lb 10 oz

3rd Sheldon & Callum 24 lb 8 oz

4th Joseph & Harry 24 lb 6 oz

5th Luke & Shauno 21 lb 2 oz

6th Jamie & Chris 15 lb oz

7th Mattoe & Benji 11 lb 8 oz

As they entered the closing stages we could see just how close the competition was with some of the anglers beginning to battle for lead position whilst catching some of the lakes smaller specimens. I have to admit this is one of the closest competitions i have seen for a while and, all the way to the end, every angler had a chance of landing that wining fish and it could be anyone. As they entered the last couple of hours the scores only changed by a few pounds here and there which meant even those who didn't get on the score board still had a chance of getting a good position in the competition.

1st Jacob & Chris 41 lb 10 oz

2nd Lloyd & Chris 39 lb 12 oz

3rd Sheldon & Callum 24 lb 8 oz

4th Joseph & Harry 24 lb 6 oz

5th Luke & Shauno 21 lb 2 oz

6th Jamie & Chris 15 lb oz

7th Mattoe & Benji 11 lb 8 oz

As the final hour came into play and the score being so close it remained anyone's match right down to the final minuet. All the anglers did extremely well on such a difficult venue to fish and in my opinion did better than some of the adult anglers i know. As they called time on the match at 1 pm on Sunday 26th June the new Junior Welsh Carp Champion, Jacob Rosser, was announced. All the anglers fished brilliantly and showed great skill in not only the angling but also the fish care and its great to see so many good anglers coming into the scene at such a young age. Well done all the competitors

Wet Nets & Tight Lines

Final results

1st Jacob & Chris 41lb 10

2nd Lloyd & Chris 39lb 12

3rd Sheldon & Callum 24lb 8

4th Joseph & Harry 24lb 6

5th Luke & Shauno 21lb 2

6th Jamie & Chris 15 lb

7th Mattoe & Benji 11lb 8

Lamby Lake - June 18th 2016 - Time for a Tinca

Once again we had planned a weekend session down at our local syndicate water Lamby Lake in Cardiff, South Wales. This water is a new venue to both myself and Brian Chandler who is my partner in Fishing Adventures Wales and Club FAW. We had decided to join this syndicate so that we had a new challenge this year as we had heard it wasn't an easy water to take on but held some beautiful carp in the mid to high 30's. Our first visit resulted in a quick take for Brian and a new personal best for him at just over 32 lb. The session we had planned was just after the carp had spawned and the weather forecast was for overcast conditions with a slight shower meaning the weather would be perfect.

Much to our surprise, when we arrived at the lake , the sun was shining and the weather was rapidly heating up. Both myself and Brian had chosen swims next to each other at the start of the lake near a small walkway/bridge separating a reed bay  from the main lake that the carp love to seek safety in. Our plan of attack was to fish balanced baits or pop-ups over a spread of boilies with a small stick mix on the hook for added attraction. We both set up our swims, got some bait out in our chosen areas and set our traps. Within 2 and half hours of casting out Brian was once again the first person to catch and he managed to land a lovely 13 lb 10 oz common carp that gave a good little scarp. What a great start considering it was so bright and sunny and rapidly warming up. I had decided to target the reed line with one of my rods placed in the margins just in front of the reeds and my other out in open water along side Brian's 2 rods. Unfortunately my rods remained quiet well into lunch and we were both wondering why it was so quiet but not much else was coming out around the lake. 

One of the bailiffs managed a couple of nice carp early in the day and a guy set up opposite us managed a small carp but apart from that it remained dead. I decided to take a walk along the footpath/bridge and see if i could see anything and to my surprise there were loads of carp all sunning themselves in the shallow warm water. I had even seen a couple still spawning so they hadn't quiet finished. It was very tempting to move onto the fish and move the rods across to the swim at the edge of the bridge. Place a bait amongst the fish and see if i could pick a couple off but as i had seen a few still spawning i just didn't want to disturb them and we continued fishing the areas we had started at. It wasn't until early evening that i saw any action from the rods with my right hand rod suddenly ripping of with a screamer of a run but as i struck into the fish i could feel something was quite different and it wasn't very big. To my shock i saw a green flank flash in the water and the front of a Tench surface as i brought it to the net. A beautiful Tench at 6 lb 4 oz was my prize. What a beautiful fish and very welcome even though it wasn't the intended target. I hadn't caught a nice Tench for a few years and was very pleased. 

Both swims remained quiet and the weather was very hot all day and into the evening making fishing very slow. Nothing else came out of the lake that evening and even into the next day it still remained quiet with only 1 or 2 coming out to one of the bailiffs and Brian lost one in the evening the day before. We had tried every thing we could think of trying to get these fish to start feeding as well as PVA bag along the reed line and even 5 ft zigs up in open water yet nothing seemed to tempt them. Sometimes that's just how fishing is and even though the fishing was quiet we still had a great session and can't wait till our next visit to the water. This is only the second time we had fished this venue and to be honest we didn't really expect many results until we got to know the water a bit better so managing a couple was a real bonus for us both.

Wet Nets & Tight Lines