World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012
| Australian Team Unite |
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 Well, I made it! I’m on English soil at long last. I landed on the 12th of July, and suffice to say it has been quite mad since my arrival, what with catching up with relies and mates, and at the same time hankering to get to some sort of carpy venue for a fish.
The latter happened much faster than I’d anticipated though, due to the kindness of a pair of fellow UK carpers, namely Vince Palmer and Stuart Griffiths. Within six days of touchdown I was almost fully kitted out, and considering I’d brought virtually nothing with me from Australia I’d really not expected to be behind the rods quite so quickly.  So my eternal thanks for that lads!I brought a 10” netbook computer over from Oz with me to keep in contact with everyone back home, for social networking, and keeping my blogs up to date. But more so for giving eBay UK a proper mullering to try to acquire all the gear needed for Madine. I‘d envisaged a very long and grueling task of bidding, hopefully winning auctions, and then driving all over the SE of England to collect the second-hand items of tackle being won. But that arduous process has been completely averted by unexpectedly being lent a veritable treasure trove of carp kit from my two mates... simply incredible!  The humongous haul included: two bivvies, two bedchairs, a four rod holdall, 80ltr backpack, three Grey's F1 Mk2 12" 3.5 tc rods, three Daiwa Infinity-X reels, a pair of 12' 6" Daiwa Infinity 3.5lb tc carp rods, two Shimano 10000 XTE Baitrunners, a stainless steel pod fitted with ATTs buzzers + receiver, a boxed set of three Fox Micron RX’s + receiver, a 50" landing net, Nash digital scales and weighing gear, a paddling pool sized unhooking mat, bivvy table, and a massive quantity of terminal tackle! Absolutely everything and more for what’s ahead of me, I’m still quite overwhelmed by this unbelievable generosity from my mates. Getting everything I need so soon after my arrival has not only been a huge relief, but has given me time to familiarise myself with it all at a local water, as well have the opportunity to try some CCM products for the first time. To catch a few ‘British’ carp over the last couple of weeks with CC Moore AUS team captain Ben Cook, and my older brother Roland AKA ‘Disaster Caster’ (who is our team runner), has been a magical experience.The three of us got to meet up for the first time briefly in Canterbury for a coffee on Sunday the 25th of July. Then, last Saturday I had an overnight session on the rods with Ben, which was amazing. I’m still trying to come to terms with the fact that he’s a ‘True Blue Dinky Di Aussie’ yet is so passionate and clearly adept at all things carpy....he must be quite unique in this regard? I’d expect there are a few full-blooded Aussies Downunder practicing catch and release (with carp), but I’ve not met any yet, and I can say with confidence that none of them would possess the skills or carp kit that Ben has!  We hit it off together from the get go, and although we’d not met until a few days ago, it was instantly obvious that we are on the same page as far as our views on carp fishing are concerned. Our night at the lake together was highly productive, if not for fish, but for planning, and gave us the first proper chance to discuss our tactics and bait strategies for Madine face to face. Though, I did manage to winkle out a couple of kippers in the closing hours of our 24hr session. I'll just close off this blog by sincerely thanking Stuart and Vince on behalf of our team for all this amazing help. Which has removed a massive millstone of stress from my shoulders in the lead up to our debut at the World Carp Classic. In times like these it's refreshing to know that there are still some really decent people like Stuart and Vince about... kudos to the both of them. Lastly, we would like to thank Platypus Fishing Line in Brisbane Australia for their donation of some bulk spools of mono and braid, t-shirts and hats for our cause, that Ben was given before he left Oz. It’ll be interesting to see how our Australian manufactured lines perform in French water, particularly if they have some lumps attached to the ends of them?  Bonza Andy Wallis AKA Niblet Vice Captain CC Moore AUS |
