Exclusive World Pairs coverage
Brits claim second and third places
LAKELANDS & INLAND WATERWAYS WORLD PAIRS ANGLING CHAMPIONSHIP 2016 (MON-FRI) Leitrim, Cavan & Fermanagh (100 pegs)
GERMAN duo Jens Koschnick and Thorsten Kusters have been crowned pairs champions for 2016.
They emerged triumphant from a star-studded 100-strong line-up across five days of fast, furious and typically wet and wild Irish weather with a 189-905 tally. It bagged them the €10,000 prize, plus Daiwa Tournament rods and reels and the Galway crystal trophies.
Having taking the lead early on, Jens and Thorsten never relinquished their grip on the title despite the chasing pack gradually closing the gap.
Their winning margin over second-placed pair Rod Scott and Michael Buchwalder was 15kg, with last year’s champs, Phil and Steve Ringer, coming third.
More money also headed their way as Jens racked up 98-690 to take the Daiwa Cup individual prize worth a further £1,000, plus £1,500 in Daiwa tackle vouchers, ahead of Lee Addy on 97-060. Will Freeman came third with 92-250 – all in all, not a bad week’s work for the two men.
The win followed on from their team gold medals for Germany in the summer’s World Feeder Championships in Serbia and was all the more remarkable as the five days were Matrix-backed Thorsten’s first time match fishing in Ireland. Browning man Jens has fished the pairs on two previous occasions.
“It was a brilliant week, especially as it was my first time in Ireland,” Thorsten said.
“The fishing was as good as everyone had told me it was going to be with lots and lots of hybrids, but it wasn’t all about catching big weights. Once we took the lead it was, I suppose, about keeping ahead and we couldn’t have got off to a better start with over 60kg on day one and then 50-plus kilos on day two.”
Day one pitted Thorsten on Green’s Shore, where he took 19-980 of hybrids on a large dome feeder with maggot or worm.
Jens laid waste to his peg at Killedeas with a massive 45-030 of hybrids again on the feeder with triple maggot fished at between 40m and 20m range.
“After a great start it was all about keeping up the pace, so for me to catch 42-900 was more than I could have asked for,” Thorsten explained.
“I drew on Bunerky Lake and found a snag at 50m, so fished just past this with feeder and lots of worm and caster with triple maggot hookbaits.
“As the match went on, I caught shorter at 20m and finished with 40 hybrids and six bream. Jens had 12-600 of roach on the pole with caster from Brackley, so it was another great day.”
From then on, the two men were going to struggle to hit those heights, but had the damage already been done? The
third day of action put Jens on Garadice Church section, where he worked hard for 9-050 of roach using 5m whip and caster over slop groundbait after a slow start on the feeder. Thorsten caught 7-550 of mainly roach on 13m pole and maggot, plus a few hybrids on the feeder.
A further 34kg was added to the tally on Thursday as Thorsten bagged 12-750 of quality roach on polefished maggot off Horse Island. The Inish Davar section saw Jens again using 5m whip with groundbait, maggot and casters due to the wind to take a superb 21-510 of roach and hybrids.
At this point, the two lads were 20kg in front of Rod and Michael, so a steady day should have been enough to keep them clear and crowned champions.
“I was on Garadice Church Shore and, although I fed a feeder line, I began on the pole at 10m with groundbait holding a lot of casters and then cupped in chopped worm,” Thorsten said.
“I caught roach immediately with maggot and later changed to caster to get some bigger fish and weigh in 8-550 to win the section. Jens was at Pumphouse Lake on the rocks area and, after nothing on the whip, he changed to the feeder with maggot and caught skimmers for 9-050 and another section win.”
Overall: 1 Jens Koschnick and Thorsten Kusters, 189-905; 2 Rod Scott and Michael Buchwalder, 174-010; 3 Phil Ringer and Steve Ringer, 168-790; 4 Will Freeman and Andy Leathers, 161-030; 5 Cathal Hughes and Phillip Jackson, 156-550; 6 Nick Howell and Paul Hiller, 154-055; 7 Dean Barlow and Steve Fleming, 147-850; 8 Lee Addy and Paul Keeley, 146-160; 9 David Herron and James O’Doherty, 142-050; 10 Bob Nudd and Darren Davies, 139-360.
Daiwa Cup: 1 Jens Koschnick, Browning, 98-690; 2 Lee Addy, Drennan NW, 97-060; 3 Will Freeman, Preston Innovations, 92-250; 4 Phil Ringer, Ringer Baits, 95-150; 5 Michael Buchwalder, Preston Innovations, 94-100; 6 Thorsten Kusters, Matrix, 91-215; 7 Nick Howell, Daiwa, 86-580; 8 Adam Wakelin, Preston Innovations, 85-570; 9 Cathal Hughes, Daiwa, 84-200; 10 Steve Fleming, Drennan NW, 73-825.