If you thought holding 16 metres of carbon pole was a bit extreme, a quick tour around the globe reveals far stranger angling competitions. From massed ice fishing to boozed-up Belgians, here are some of the craziest fishing matches worldwide...
TIGHT PEGGING, TO PUT IT MILDLY!
IF YOU thought competitors got a little bit cosy at your local commercial, spare a thought for the matchmen of China.
Competitor numbers can run in excess of a thousand in events like the China Fishing Club Union Cup, with rivals sometimes sitting less than a whip’s length apart on purpose-dug lakes that resemble muddy swimming pools! Brightly coloured sponsors’ clothing, brollies and day-glow keepnets complete the bizarre spectacle.
Carp are the main quarry, which are caught using line to hand pole tactics. With the waters heavily stocked, the skill is in turning a bite into a netted fish as quickly as possible. As no internal elastic is used, that tends to mean fairly unceremonious playing and landing tactics!
Safe to say that the scene is highly popular in China, with countless competitors dreaming of winning a big final that could mean the equivalent of several years’ wages in a day!
ONE FLY TO RULE THEM ALL...
AMONG the more novel concepts in British competitive angling is the
‘One Fly’ contest. Held annually on Hampshire’s iconic River Test, the challenge is just as the title suggests – to catch as many trout as possible on just a single fly pattern! It sounds simple, but how on earth do you decide which one to use? And do you use thick line to reduce losses, or thinner line to get more bites?
