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You need Hans .. getting my hair washed at Salon Sissingh (top)) and a double whammy (above) I felt we had in the bag seemed like it was getting further and further away and time felt like it was passing by so slowly… I started reflecting on the week’s fishing with my team, and I had really enjoyed the time spent on the bank with them. Even if we didn’t win, we got to enjoy the taste of being in 1st place all week - while never giving up without a fight. My eyes were getting heavy watching the rods and a cold shiver ran through my body. Next thing I remember is waking up to the sunrise. I had drifted off to sleep. I picked up my phone to check the leader
board and hesitated. Did I really want to know if someone caught a bigger fish and pushed us out of the lead? No, I thought, it’s either we had won or we hadn’t. No reason to delay. I had to see. The moment of truth had finally arrived as I set my eyes on the live leader board. It looked like we were safe for now, I remember thinking, and it was just a matter of time until Ross Honey, the tournament director, showed up with the film crew to our swim - and we get to open that victorious bottle of champagne we had been saving all this time. It was such a surreal experience and I was in
shock that my team had pulled it off. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would even have a chance to come close to winning the World Carp Classic. Just so many factors play a part in these carp fishing tournaments, starting with the peg draw, then what tactics you use to fish your swim, to the skill of landing the fish and not making mistakes. You have to out- smart the carp and not let the fishing get in your head to the point where you start second guessing yourself, which leads to mistakes or fishing your swim wrongly. I have never been so proud of my team and all the teams of anglers representing Carp Connections. We fished our hearts out and, most importantly, represented the USA! I’m hoping to bring home this win to bring awareness of carp fishing in the United States and help grow it as a recreational sport. I also hope this victory helps diminish that negative misconception surrounding carp - as being nothing more than a “trash fish - and to those who don’t realize just how amazing this fish is to catch and release! Now it is time to head to the Czech Republic to defend our title and fish a lake we have no experience on. What’s our plan? It is the same as last year. Treat the World Carp Classic as a fishing holiday; take the competition aspect out of it. Enjoy our time with each other, stay positive the whole time and catch some fish. It is as simple as that, but, until then, I am going to continue to enjoy being the 2015 World Carp Classic Champion. n LARYSA SWITLYK
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