World Carp Classic - Offical Global Website
Lake Bolsena 3rd - 9th September 2012

A new year presented new opportunities. I joined the Ultima consultants group just before Christmas and was also very busy with renovating my gym in The Hague. By the end of January the first session of the year was looming and together my great friend Frank Warwick planned a trip to Rainbow to catch some great winter fish.

The temperature was very low and the fish knew the score. After having given several ideas some considerable thought in the weeks leading up to our departure, I decided to make my rigs in a completely new way for this water on this occasion. I opted for a long leader in combination with a long hair.  Generally, people fish Rainbow with short leaders. Because of this long leader, I felt the most natural presentation could be achieved on the lake bed and I was sure this would help outwit the fish.  For bait I selected Dynamite’s 15mm Chilli Tuna with an artificial corn from Enterprise as a stopper, so that the bait moved naturally and was lighter. Hidden snags are a big problem at Rainbow and so strong line is a must. As mainline I selected a braided line connected to a 20 metre length of Ultima’s new super strong Power Shockleader. I also used a flying back lead to help the line just off the bottom.

With determination and purpose, we travelled through the French countryside and when we arrived at Rainbow there was quite a surprise waiting for us. There was not one angler at the bank side and we found everyone is in the clubhouse.  There was an approaching storm and the lake owner, Pascal, has decided to get everyone off the water just in case. After a long wait, the storm finally broke on Saturday night. The clubhouse was now also acting as a dormitory and everyone was very thankful to Pascal for his forward thinking. Outside the wind raged and trees fell all around. It was quite terrifying as we had never experienced such a storm. The next day, we went to have a look at the damage that had been done, it was very extensive. Our Scandinavian friends were particularly good at clearing up the fallen trees, it must be in their blood!  It wasn’t until Monday that we could finally start fishing. We were located on the dream Swim 19 with all the beautiful islands and banks where many top fish have been caught in the past, including the former world record of 40+ kilograms. Frank and I set up our rods one by one so we both could make best use of the swim. We carefully fed the swim with a mix of corn, hemp, pellets and boilies.

All was quiet until the middle of the following afternoon, when a fish gently registered on one of my rods. I grabbed the rod and walked back in an attempt to keep the fish away from the snags. Slowly but surely I manoeuvred the fish into a safe area and Frank and I jumped into the boat for the final part of the contest. Because of the cold winter the fish moved quite slowly and after a short fight it was safely in the boat when the scales registered 23kg. I couldn’t believe my luck. A gorgeous winter mirror and at the same time the heaviest fish I have ever caught in depths of winter. During the rest of the week I managed to catch a second smaller fish and Frank picked up a nice 18kg common. Unfortunately, Frank lost an enormous mirror that we had already seen twice at the surface. These things happen but it still takes time to get over the disappointment. Cheer up mate! I am sure there will be many more chances.

I’ll be back.

Ardy Veltkamp
February 15th  2009