Drennan Team England are still in contention after finishing in fourth place after Day One of the World Championship. Individual medal hopes are also high for Des Shipp and William Raison.
Sport was tough but exciting to watch with carp and carassio on the waggler dominating. Anglers have had to battle the sweltering 30-plus degrees heat as well as the difficult to catch residents of Bulgaria’s Plovdiv Rowing Course.
Top on the day today was Hungary who put in a stellar team performance to post just 12 penalty points. They had a 5.783kg section win from Gabor Magyar plus three second in sections to thank and clearly had the tactics right on the day. While most nations sat it out for the all-important quality fish at range, several of their team, including Gabor, also targeted the nearside slope for tiny bleak and sun perch during the quieter periods to give them precious extra grams.
Italy went into the competition as pre-match favourites and were not far behind on 15 points. They had three outright section winners in the shape of Ferrucio Gabba (9.991kg), Giuliano Prandi (8.986kg) and Gianluigi Sorti (7.387kg).
The Italians really attacked a waggler/slider line at around 40 metres with plenty of groundbait accurately and regularly fed by catapult. They appeared to have a really active mix that helped to draw in fish and also fed plenty of chopped worms throughout the day. A bunch of bloodworm, two or three redworms or maggots were the top hook baits.
The Czech Republic finished the day on 19 points and also had two section winners; Ladislav Konopasek (7.856kg) and Josef Konopasek (6.7kg). Things could have been even better had one of their team managed to net a huge fish (rumoured to be a catfish) that was played for over 45 minutes before it shed the hook!
England did well to amass 23 points for fourth on the day. William Raison has been the team’s star man all week, so few were surprised to see him win A Section with an impressive 19 fish for 8.539kg. After a slow start he ended up overtaking former World Champion Goran Radovic from Serbia who ended up with 7.3kg.
Des Shipp also came good later on in the match with a terrific performance that saw him end with 20 fish for 9.808kg and second in E Section. He had a great next-peg battle with 24-year-old Kevin Ebner from Germany, who took third in section with 7.694kg.
All eyes, however, were on Slovenia’s Mitja Kmetec, several swims to their right. He managed to very skilfully net a last-gasp carp with just a minute to spare, screamed with joy, then immediately stopped fishing and had a well-earned beer! He ended up with 11 fish for a section and match-winning 11.458kg. Redworms on the hook and a ‘secret’ additive in his groundbait were the key, which we believe was fishmeal – something very few teams had opted to use, including England!
Elsewhere for Team England, Callum Dicks managed a hard-earned fourth in section with 4.4kg behind Italy, Serbia and Hungary. Steve Hemingray had 4.2kg for a sixth in an extremely tight D Section. Alan Scotthorne had a frustrating day in B Section to end up 10th with 2.981kg. He had a good carp disallowed for tethering another angler’s rig. Just another 500g would have placed him fifth!
England learnt a considerable amount from Day One and will now be looking to put their findings into practice on Day Two. As any international will tell you, a World Championship cannot be won on the first day, but it can definitely be lost. They will be happy to end the day still in contention. Des and William also have a fantastic chance of an individual medal if things go well. We have an exciting four-hour match ahead!
Day One Result: (34 teams)
- 1st Hungary 12pts
- 2nd Italy 15pts
- 3rd Czech Republic 19pts
- 4th England 23pts
- 5th Sweden 25pts
- 6th Serbia 30pts
England Day One:
- A Section: William Raison 1pt (8.5kg)
- B Section: Alan Scotthorne 10pts (2.9kg)
- C Section: Callum Dicks 4pts (4.4kg)
- D Section: Steve Hemingray 6pts (4.2kg)
- E Section: Des Shipp 2pts (9.8kg)
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