ENGLAND BID FOR WORLD GAMES GLORY
World Champs squad face the unknown but new manager has the faith
AS YOU read this, the Preston Innovations England Feeder team will be soaking up the South African sun in preparation for this weekend’s World Championships.
But if you reckon their southern hemisphere trip will be all sunbeds, sauvignon and strawberries, think again!
The six-man squad under the stewardship of new manager Dean Barlow are facing the enormous Bloemhof Dam near Bloemfontein, scene of the 2013 event when England took bronze. This time around, though, they’re on a different section at a different time of year where different species will be on the agenda. It’s pretty much as alien a venue as you can get.
Tapping into local contacts in South Africa hasn’t yielded much information as the match stretch isn’t fished very much, but Dean is confident of a good showing and the team are well prepared, arming themselves with a tonne of feeders and more than 1,000 hooks per man.
“What happened in 2013 will only be of limited use,” Dean said. “In February the weather is much hotter, around 40ºC I believe, and alongside the carp there are catfish and grass carp to catch. The match length is shallow, meaning we could have to fish anywhere between 30m and 120m out, and it could well be snaggy in some areas.”
Made up of Phil and Steve Ringer, Mick Vials, Adam Wakelin, Lee Kerry and Rob Wootton, the squad are at least targeting familiar fish – carp – but fishing rules in South Africa mean that only corn, hemp, worms and groundbait are on the allowed bait list. At least that puts everyone in the same boat.
“It’s a little odd, to say the least, and it means that additives will play a big part,” Dean explained. “The South Africans have hundreds of dips and goos to pick from so we have to try and find a big edge by picking the right ones. Tackle has already gone out in a massive container from Preston Innovations, so we can get cracking straight away.”
Size of the carp ranges between 800g and 4kg but they will be mainly on the small side. Identifying target weights on such a lightly-fished section will be difficult in the sweltering heat – but Dean has total faith in his boys and their professionalism.
“I’m really looking forward to my first match as manager but I’d always rather be fishing!” he laughed.
“Normally there’s a lot of pressure on us, but with so little known about the dam, that’s eased off a little. The pressure, I think, will be in sorting out an alien venue in five days of practice, but I believe I have the six best feeder anglers in the world to do it and win.”