WORLDCARPCLASSIC.COM
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ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE CLASSIC The wish to fish the WCC, the hope of catching a Bolsena carp and the dream of a podium spot – this is the ambition of every carp fisherman. My name is FERRY VERHOFSTAD and here’s my Classic journey ..
I became infected with the carp “virus” in 1990 when I was 10-years-old. I often went to local ponds with an old rod and some bread and corn. One pond was located in the town where I was born and was about .5ha and rumour had it that there were fish in the pond that were bigger than 70 cm.
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Many months passed before I saw a fish come out of there. I did not catch it but it was caught by a man who was sitting on another spot. It was a fight of about 15 minutes before the fish was in the net. It was an unbelievable sight for me. I asked the man what kind of fish it was and he told me it was a carp. As he released the fish lots of questions popped into my mind- and one was, How can I catch these fish? The rest of the day I spent sitting next to the man, listening to his wonderful stories about the carp. Within a few years I completely forgot how it felt to fish regular. I was completely focused on the carp fishing. I did not have the patience to stare at an orange floater or a piece of bread – not my way of fishing. What I liked most was being around the water and simply observing, looking where I could find the carp and after many hours, I thought I knew where the carp were and at what time of day. That was my signal to get the rods out and try to catch as many as possible! This went on for several years. Then I got a moped. That opened up more possibilities and I was able to fish venues further away. Night fishing was something that I liked and when I reached 16, my parents trusted me to do my own thing and fish from the banks of several waters. I was now able to venture further afield – to greater canals,
big lakes and rivers. For over ten years I fished these venues alone, without any friends. I did not read books about carp fishing, nor magazines or watch videos. I minded my own business. I was satisfied, so why should I care about others?! Six years ago, however, there was a big change in my life. Every weekend over two years I was driving to Groningen. On my way there I passed Veendam and saw lots of beautiful lakes and canals where I could go fishing. I never knew that there where so many beautiful venues to fish in the north of the Netherlands. I decided to move to Veendam and rent a house. The house I rented was near a 120ha lake. The biggest portion of the lake was part of a nature reserve, where there were carp anglers and, of course, I got in contact with several of them. That first year a lot of things changed. I called at a friend’s tackle shop on a daily basis, and the contact with several other anglers triggered me to start reading carp books and magazines. At that time I also came into contact with people of Gulp Carp (Carp Only) and JRC. My fishing got boosted from having several great carp friends and I was delighted when Frans de Cuelear and the Pure Fishing team gave me the opportunity to fish with the baits of Gulp Carp. These powerful baits helped me to catch even better and bigger fish ... Ah, these were unforgettable times and unforgettable moments. In many blogs and during several carp exhibitions I could share my adventures with others. But, of course, like every good thing, there was also a down-side that I had not experienced before – coming across those who harboured envy and jealousy. Everyone – not