World Carp Fishing Tournaments are always exciting to watch and follow on social media especially when you love the sport of Carp Fishing and just the sight of a big carp gets your juices pumping. Many anglers aspire to compete in these tournaments whether locally or internationally with many of them having massive prizes on offer. South Africa is no stranger to competitive angling with hundreds of fishing competitions taking place almost every weekend somewhere in the country.
This article is aimed at bringing you some perspective and insight into the world of International Competitive Carp Fishing. There are 3 main World events that often get confused with one another. The FIPsed World Carp Championships , The World Carp Classic and the World Carp Masters. Each of these tournaments have representatives from all over the world competing for the number 1 spot in Carp Fishing. Obviously winning any of these tournaments as a Carp Angler will earn you some serious bragging rights and probably some proper cash in the bank.
Here are some key differences between each of these tournaments, how to get there and what they offer:
FIPSed World Carp Championships
The FIPSed World Championships is known as the “Official” World Championships of fishing and is basically The World Cup of Fishing for not only Carp Fishing but all types of Sport Fishing including Shore Angling, Bass Fishing, Coarse Angling and many more disciplines. Carp Fishing was included as a discipline in 1999. At the moment more than 20 nations take part in the official World Carp Championships. Every year the tournament is held in a different country and interestingly it will be held in South Africa in 2019 (which is super exciting). Competitors from every nation participate with a team composed of 3 “DUOS”; there is only one leg of a duration of 72 consecutive hours of fishing.
Entry: To get to the World Carp Championships you have to climb the ladder up to national level (Protea) through local club competitions, regionals, provincial level and eventually compete on national level where you then get chosen for the National Protea team. Very similar to becoming a springbok rugby player…just for fishing. There are also quite a lot of costs involved in terms of entry, kits, etc.
Basic Rules: Every fish counts no matter what the size but penalties are given throughout the tournament which count against you and effect your ranking. Only casting allowed and certain distance restrictions are put in place. Strict Rules apply at the World Carp Championships and match officials make sure you abide by them as the stakes are very high.
South Africa’s best accomplishments: 2008 – 2011 FIPS WCC Champions – South Africa held 4 x 1st place positions from 2008 to 2011
Website: www.fips-ed.com
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World Carp Classic
The World Carp Classic started in 1998 when founder Ross Honey (in his own capacity) decided to run an annual Specimen Carp Event where anglers from all over the world could compete for some amazing prizes. The first WCC was held in France and since then it has moved to lakes all over Europe and most recently was held at Lac de Madine, France where the biggest carp caught weighed in at 29.3kg. The World Carp Classic tournament celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018 which was a huge success and testament to the quality of the WCC and is considered around the world as the biggest, most prestigious and popular carp angling event in the world. The event takes place over a 7 day period which includes opening and closing ceremonies.
Entry: A few of the competing countries have their own qualifying rounds locally. From where top performing teams (consisting of 2 or 3 Anglers – 4 Rods per team) can enter as a team. A maximum of 120 teams from around the world can compete (depending on the lake capacity) Entry fee is £1295 per team. Follow the facebook page to find out about local qualifiers and events
Basic Rules: Only your 3 biggest fish over 4kg count. You are allowed to use boats and bait boats to drop lines, 3 anglers can all fish together using 4 rods per peg. Some distance restrictions can be in place depending on the area and rules at the specific lake.
Website: www.worldcarpclassic.com
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World Carp Masters
The World Carp Masters was founded in 2014 by Steve Bond who is a well known carp angler and product developer for brands like Fox, Nash and Sonik. The WCM is known as the worlds highest paid carp tournament with 1st prize being worth over £45 000. For the first 3 years the World Carp Masters’ existence it was held at the famous Lac du Der which has a lake record of over 44kg. In 2018 the event moved to Lake Orlik in the Czech Republic. This tournament is known to be a more friendly family type environment where anglers can not only compete for huge prizes but also have a great time with other like minded anglers from all over the world. South Africa has been competing in the WCM since its inception in 2014. This event also takes place over a 7 day time period and includes an Welcoming dinner, Opening Ceremony, Strongest Carp Angler competition and Prizegiving.
Entry: Some countries do have a qualifying round for the World Carp Masters but most teams register in their own capacity. Entry fee is £1250 which pays for only 2 Anglers per peg. A runner can be added at extra cost. Follow the facebook page to find out about local qualifiers and events
Basic Rules: Only your 4 biggest carp over 5kg count. You are allowed to use boats and bait boats to drop lines. Only 2 Anglers can fish together and 1 runner is allowed to assist with the very basic tasks on the peg. In 2018 there were no boundary restrictions in place but could change in the future depending on the lake.
South Africa’s accomplishments: 2015 – 2nd Place overall, 2016 – 2nd Place overall and Biggest Fish 26.2kg, 2017 – 5th place overall, 2018 – 5th place overall and Biggest Fish 19.5kg
Website: www.worldcarpmasters.com
These 3 tournaments are the 3 major events that we as South African’s hear about and compete in. So far we have had a fair amount of success on the competitive world of carp fishing and will surely continue to give the rest of the world a run for their money. None of these tournaments are to far to reach and if you have the skills and determination you too can find yourself at one of these prestigious carp events representing South Africa so get out there and give it a shot
