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.
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
