Tuesday - Peg Number 5
The real thing. The first real match of the championships was held at a venue called Riva Verde. We had been quite successful when we practiced at this venue with double figures of fish so we went out on to the beach with an idea of how to fish. I set up with my Conoflex quiver tip “azzuri” that had been especially built for the English Ladies Team for these championships. With this rod I used an Abu 5500 mag elite lined up with Suffix, tritanium, 10lb breaking strain and a light 30lb shock leader. The rig body was made of 20lb maxima, three hooks, one below the weight. Snood line was again Suffix, a new fluorocarbon called “invisi” line, I tried a variety of breaking strain from 4lb to 10lb but found that between a 6lb and 8lb worked well. This fluorocarbon was the most successful of the various ones I have tried, as despite being very light it did not tangle like others and tied a tidy knot. Hooks used were Kamasan B983 wide gape; most commonly I used size 10 and 12.
There was quite a high number of fish caught at this beach, mostly mormora. The results showed us that the bigger, heavier fish were the bonus fish. I had the most fish in my section but lost to someone with bigger fish. We had to try to target these fish, but also not risk sacrificing the smaller fish to boost our numbers of fish.
Zone Positions Of English Teams.
Zone A - Peg 5 - Denise Warner - 2nd
Zone B - Peg 5 - Rose Browning - 9th
Zone C - Peg 5 - Emma Davies - 2nd
Zone D - Peg 5 - Pauline Ferry - 9th
Zone E - Peg 5 - Jane Hopkins - 7th
Overall Position Of Team 6th
Wednesday - Peg Number 10
Off to battle again we went to a venue called Bibbona. This was a venue close to the Men’s Shore Angling Headquarters and Hotel. We had practised here and so had our English Men’s team, with little success. The sea had been rough and the locals had told us that in bad weather the fishing went quiet, so much so that the previous night the men’s first match was held at this venue, out of the 55 men only between 16 and 20 fish were caught. It was similar conditions on our match night, and we were not hopeful but tried to keep up team spirit. We knew it was to be down to the odd fish and to try for the bigger fish.
Starting with a similar set up as the previous night using the Conoflex “azzurri”, same reel and line etc we commenced fishing at 9pm. By 10.30pm there was very few fish on the beach, just the odd couple in each zone. No tactic in particular was working from the little that Joyce our reserve could see as she walked the beaches. By 11pm I still had not caught a fish and waited eagerly for Joyce to pay her next visit to me, the only contact we had with the rest of the world for the duration of the match. Bad news followed we only had one weigher. I had tried different rigs, working in short gradually casting further out. In the end I got my Conoflex “vixen” out. I believe that this is a prototype of the new rod from Conoflex. It is a wonderful all round rod suiting so many styles of fishing and casting. I use and rely on it back home, as it is a rod that has so much tip action that it boosts my casting, yet it is a light rod, with superb bite detection. After trying all distances from in the gutter at a rods length out to long distance I still could not scratch out a fish. Then I thought that with an hour to go I had cracked it. A great bass like bite on the “vixen” and I thought that I could breath a sigh of relief. I reeled in slowly, feeling the fish kick all the way in. I pulled it up the beach, with my heart thumping, cast out my next rig and then called over the steward. But all my hopes soon faded. The fish was an Orata, it had to go 20cm, and mine went 19cm. This happened again a further four times and the match ended with my first ever blank in an international competition.
When the results came in the following day we dared not look, we had four blanks on the night and it did not look hopeful. Only 28 people weighed in and most only had one or two fish. The end zones had the most fish, as the men had found the night before.
Overall Position Of Team 8Th
Thursday. - Peg Number Three.
A new night and we tried hard to put the previous behind us. We were back to a more southern venue, similar to the first match venue. We had done well here in practice but found that it could be peggy. The venue was called Quagliodromo. The “azzurri” again came out of the rod bag, with another quiver tip from Conoflex, that had been provided for the Championships last year in Portugal, the “reflexor”, that came out as a spare. Again simple rigs, made on light line, with “invisi” fluorocarbon and kamasan B983’s.
The fish were late coming on the feed. I watched the tactics of the Brazilian next to me as they had been doing particularly well. She did not appear to be doing anything different, apart of moving the bait, picking up the rod and slowly reeling in a couple of turns then putting it back down again, leaving the line slack. I tried this and bingo the fish were there. There was lots of undersize fish again; this is especially disheartening when you are fish to very small size limits.
We left the beach feeling better, but the results came out and we felt sick. The big fish had again, smashed our bags of fish. One big fish was beating sometimes four or more of the smaller fish. We just could not work out what we were doing so wrong. The Portuguese, Italians and Brazilians were doing something but we watched and could not work out what they were doing so different.
Overall Position Of Team - 10th (well the only way is up)
Friday (last night)
Well, although we felt gutted we walked out to the last venue, heads held high. We knew that we were doing our best and we were going to try our hardest again to prove that we could compete in a strange country where we are never thought to be a threatening force. We were suddenly stopped in our tracks when rumours in the camp suggested that our venue for that night was not fishable due to bad weather. We waited around for nearly an hour for a decision to be made. We were told that a strong cross wind along the beach, high seas and weed would cause problems. The continental teams all opted for the venue to be changed, we did not object because although we can cope in these English like conditions the continentals around us cannot. They would cast over us all night, reel us in and cut our line. We waited for a decision to be made. A half hour later we were told that the venue would not be changed and we were to fish as normal. We got to the beach to find it was calm, no wind, flat sea and little weed. We decided that the continentals did not want to fish a venue that they knew would produce fewer numbers of fish. The venue was close to Bibbona, where there had been a large number of blanks. So that’s why they did not want to fish it!
We went out and proved that we can do it. It might have been too late to get in the medals but we came fourth on the night as a team and we could hold our heads up high. The Brazilian team, who had been leading the championships until the last night, blew it. They did not even get in the medals, coming ninth on the night, and fourth overall. It proved to us how much luck and chance can come in to fishing.
Celebrations followed on the Saturday; this is the time that competitors become friends. Winners and losers all celebrate together, but there are no real losers as being at these championships is an achievement and an honour that we should celebrate. Maybe next year the English will have that little bit of luck that we all need.
Overall Placing Of Teams
1st - Portugal
2nd - Italy
3rd - Holland
4th - Brazil
5th - Spain
6th - Germany
7th - Wales
8th - England
9th - France
10th - Croatia