Drennan Team England’s preparations for the World Championship are now complete. They have worked hard to formulate a plan on the very difficult Plovdiv Rowing Course in Bulgaria and now they have two four-hour matches to see if their chosen tactics are right.
The team fishing Day One consists of Alan Scotthorne, William Raison, Steve Hemingray, Callum Dicks and Des Shipp, with Sean Ashby as reserve. To be able to leave a former World Champion out like Sean for the first day shows the immense talent this team has!
Co-managers Mark Addy and Mark Downes were not overly confident before the last day of practice commenced yesterday, but a great final day from a decent area has really helped boost their spirits and secure a team plan. The fishing is extremely patchy on the rowing course with carp and carassio the main target. These fish are mostly recently stocked fish, within the last month or so. There are other species, such as small chub, sun perch and bleak to target, but little else.
There is also a very strange-looking species of carp that seems plentiful in the venue but has been disqualified for the weekend as it only feeds on plankton and tiny particles. This species seems most predominant on the pole, especially where anglers have fed groundbait and they are regularly foul-hooked as they try to sift through the particles. They are called Tolstolobik in Bulgaria and believed to be kind of Asian silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), but the English have christened this large mouthed and boggle-eyed species ‘lostalots’ which sums up what often happens when they are accidentally hooked!
The weather is extremely hot and over 30 degrees every day with little wind. The rowing course itself is perhaps not the most spectator friendly venue either, as the space behind each anglers is quite tight with the competitors vans also parking in their zones rather than further back on the grass where you would normally expect. This venue, however, is no stranger to big international events and was the same place where Tom Pickering was crowned individual World Champion in 1989.
Tactics are relatively simple on this 100m-wide venue which has an almost even 2.5m depth throughout. The fixed waggler or slider are both being used between 30 and 50 metres out and fed with catapulted groundbait. Wagglers averaging 15g seem to be the norm with strong 13ft and 14ft rods to 0.14mm or 0.16mm hooklengths and size 16 and 14 hooks. The feed itself is mostly a very sweet, corn or maize-based mix. This seems to be much more effective in these hotter countries compared to the fishmeal blends you’d expect in England. Hook baits will be two or three maggots, worm, bloodworm or sweetcorn, as only natural baits are allowed, so no pellets can be used.
The long pole at the maximum 13m range will also play a part, especially in tougher areas, and it is predominantly carassio and bleak on this line. There are also sun perch and bleak patrolling the nearside slope, which may be get-out-of-jail fish in the really tough areas.
There doesn’t seem to be standout good or bad areas where there are more fish than others, but it is nevertheless a patchy venue and there is a chance of many anglers struggling for just one or two fish while others will catch 6kg or more. A weight of over 3kg per man will be excellent on the day. The last 30 to 40 minutes could prove vital as a few resident carp often feed towards the end of the match. Most of the fish also appear to be on the bottom rather than swimming off the deck as you might have expected in the sweltering conditions.
As far as other nations to watch goes, there is no Wales or Scotland this year as they haven’t had the funds to travel over and compete. All eyes seem to be on the Italians who have had a brilliant week and look very confident. They seem to be attacking the venue very aggressively and have a very active groundbait mix that is working well. The Czechs and the Hungarians also look strong, and of course there is the home nation of Bulgaria who should also do well.
There are 34 nations fishing this year, so the five zones from A to E will also be split into smaller 17-man sections. All of the anglers will line up on the riverside bank. We wish everyone good luck. This is set to be a difficult, interesting and exciting event where single fish could prove very decisive. May the best team win!
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