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Monday, June 6, 2005
World Carp Anglers Know Title Hinges On Luck Of Draw
WADDINGTON - Perhaps it was fitting that the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino hosted the fishing location draw for the 2005 World Carp Championship.
Prior to the start of this prestigious fishing event, 101 teams representing 17 countries chose their fishing locations via a special "peg" drawing at the casino on Saturday night. And, for many tournament anglers participating in this event, the luck of the draw will play a huge role in the outcome of the 115-hour fishing marathon, which began at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Last week, World Carp Championship officials selected carp fishing locations between Massena and Ogdensburg. This information was kept secret from all fishing teams until Saturday. The location of the 101 pegs was divided between the 35 miles of shoreline and islands ranging from Ogden to Long Sault.
Officials considered a number of criteria for selecting the sites. They looked for the fishability of the site; anglers need to have a location where they can safely land fish, bag - or contain live fish once they are caught - and camp, all with safety and comfort in mind.
According to Ilia Aizikovitch, president of the Latvian Carp Club and a member of Latvia Team 1, the draw figures into about 85 percent of the angling success of this tournament.
"You can be the best fisherman in the world, and if you choose a pool without fish, you will have a difficult time," he said.
The consensus among a number of competitors is St. Lawrence carp tend to spend the vast majority of their day in the clear, deep stretches of the river. As they begin to feed, pods of carp, sometimes numbering in the thousands, will ascend into shallow bays where they will find abundant aquatic vegetation to consume.
Therein lies the key to successful carp angling. A veteran angler will look for swims (a swim is European angling speak for what U.S. anglers call a fishing hole) with adjacent deep-water pools or current breaks, bordered by shallow, weed-filled bays.
These pools, or their drop-offs, should be reachable with specialized casting rods. Additionally, an ideal swim will be tight enough to sufficiently bait. And, since carp don't sport eyelids, bright sun will limit their shallow water activity. Therefore, deep-water access for carpers is mandatory.
Royal Carp Team 1 member, Keith Thompson, from northern California, has fished the St. Lawrence River four other occasions. While working in Montreal, Thompson would pack his rods and spend his downtime carp fishing the river.
"The peg draw is very important to winning the world title," Thompson said.
"A good team who pulls out a good swim would probably win it. An average team could probably win it, but it is less likely. A bad team who pulls out a good swim may be able to make the top 10," he said.
Thompson, who has been fishing for 39 years, looks for a swim that features points and eddies. But, he said, there is no sense plotting strategy until the peg position is known, and the angler is on site.
Representing the United States, Mark Metzger, of Team Mono-Sol, out of Washington, D.C., stressed the importance of the draw.
"The great equalizer to this event is the peg selection," he said.
Prior to fishing the St. Lawrence Metzger spent time fishing his home waters, the Potomac River.
"My favorite river is the tidal basin,"he said. "I have President Jefferson watching me, President Roosevelt. I have the Lincoln and Vietnam memorials in the background where I fish."
Hungarian carp angler, Attila Horvath said that if you are an average angler, the selection of a good peg will make all the difference in your success. Horvath and his fishing partner Attila Odor, reported to be the best fisherman in Hungary, believe it takes just as much skill as luck of the draw. The Hungarian team, fishing only 30 yards from Route 37 north of Waddington, is pleased with their site.
"Even though the water is a little bit cold, we believe fish will rise out of this deep water and begin to feed in the sun-baked shallows," Horvarth said.
Perhaps Rob Henwood, representing Specialist Tackle and the host community of Waddington, said it best.
"The unique feature of the St. Lawrence is that anybody has got a chance to catch the winning fish, and that was proved during the Junior Tournament last year when a 14-year-old kid caught a 46-pound carp with no experience whatsoever," Henwood said.