index
forum
fixtures & results
news
regions
team / squad
carp team
specimens
- record fish
committee
admin & docs
contact
links
gallery
sitemap
search

our sponsor

news
index
latest article
2008 Champs Report
2007 Winter Carpers Eye
Carp Champs 07
Carp Pairs Champs
Natl Fishing Week 07
2006 Winter Carpers Eye
Record Match Weight
2006 Jul Carpers Eye
Carp & Coarse Show
Carp Team created
Weils Dis/Leptospirosis
2005 Season Report
2005 Inter League Champs
Jnr Fishing Week
Moat Project cheque
Natl Fishing Week 05
Safety Survey
2004 Overseas Challenge
2002/03 Season Report

By Carl Hoyle – Fox RAF Carp Team Manager.

Despite the ever increasing commitments on today’s Royal Air Force there are a number of members who manage to find the time between work and family commitments to go carp fishing. Over the past two years, carping in the RAF has gone from strength to strength; in fact it has become so popular that finding a suitable venue to hold their annual championships has become extremely difficult.

The venue for the 2007 event was Cemex Angling’s Sandhurst Lake, where up to 27 RAF Carpers fought for the RAF Individual and Team titles. This year’s event was sponsored by Fox International with substantial support from Mainline Baits and Angling Publications, the latter sponsoring the Biggest Fish prize (more on that later).

With high pressure dominating the UK and little or no wind around the Yateley complex, conditions for carp angling were less than favourable. Add to this some serious angling pressure on the 12 acre venue, catching a single carp, let alone enough to win the 72 hour competition was always going to be difficult.

On the first morning the carpers gathered in the Sandhurst car park, for the eagerly awaited watercraft draw. Everybody had their own ideas of what constituted a good swim. Some anglers were extremely familiar with the venue, where others had only just set foot on the bank for the first time that morning. Silence fell as the event organiser Carl Hoyle invited team captain Mark Jarvis to draw the first name out of the hat. The silence soon turned to jeers and un-repeatable expletives as Mark read out the name Carl Hoyle. With the whole lake to choose from and following some pained deliberation, Carl opted for a swim on the Island, giving excellent access to the central plateau. With that, the draw took on the familiar high and lows for the expectant carpers. Ironically, Mark Jarvis who drew the first ticket and probably the carper with the most experience on the Sandhurst water, came last out of the draw (he wasn’t amused).

With fish showing around the Plateau, some anglers chose to resist the usual marking and spodding bombardment, opting to fish singles in the vicinity of the fish. This tactic proved spot on for RAF Marham angler Alfie Waters, who managed to sneak out a common of 29lb 9oz and a mirror of 18lb within the first few hours of the competition by using small chewed-down balanced baits.

Alfie’s early fish proved to be extremely valuable. Only Carl Hoyle from JSSU Cyprus, fishing in a similar area to Alfie managed to bank another fish within the first 24 hours, another common at 22lb, the fish falling to a tiny Fusion dumbbell hook-bait and a handful of chops. Those anglers who adopted a baiting strategy were to struggle throughout the competition, small, isolated baits or sparse baiting was definitely the way forward. However, with no break in the weather conditions and the relentless angling pressure making the already elusive carp even more cautious, anybody who could bag a fish or two were in with a serious chance of a podium position.

Crash Whittaker from RAF Benson was one such angler and utilising his homemade Pink Pepper Pop-Ups managed to bag a whacker in the shape of a 34lb mirror known as The Twin, catapulting himself to 2nd position. Could Crash begin to dream of 2nd place and possibly the Carpworld Biggest Fish prize? Unfortunately for Crash, the Sandhurst fish have a particular penchant for Mainline’s Fusion, as lake regular Graham ‘Vini’ Vincent knows only too well. Happily ensconced in the known big fish swim number 28, Vini put his Fusion to good use by banking an awesome 37lb mirror – A new RAF record for a mirror carp and surely a Carpworld Biggest Fish winner?

Alfie’s early captures were standing him in good stead, keeping him in the lead following the first 48 hours. However, when Carl Hoyle bagged his 2nd fish of the competition, a mirror of 24lb, taking him to within a couple of pounds of the lead, the pressure was on for the final 24 hours.

Now what followed during the final hours of the competition can only be described as phenomenal. Following his 37 pounder, Vini Vincent from Corsham was now lying in 3rd place. Knowing that one fish could change his fortunes for good, when a decent fish lumped out at 50 yards, he promptly offered it a Mainline pop-up concoction. 20
minutes later it only rattled off and following a protracted fight an extremely large carp lay at the bottom of his net. As the weighing team of Karl Bird and Carl Hoyle parted the mesh, the magnificent sight of a fish with forty pound proportions greeted them. The huge golden discs along it’s flank could belong to only one fish - the largest resident of Sandhurst, Cracker. Vini was a gibbering wreck and stood speechless and shaking as the bronzed beauty was hoisted onto the Reubens. The needle skipped through 360 degrees and settled on 39lb 9oz - Awesome. He had smashed the RAF record once again.

As the reality of Vini’s brace began to sink in, the thought of winning the competition couldn’t have been further from his mind. A brace of 37lb and 39lb 9oz was enough. However, the facts were clear for all to see. With 76lb 9oz Vini was not only winning the Individual competition, his team were winning the team event and he was quite
clearly going to scoop the Biggest Fish prize. That magnificent fish had set up a perfect end to the competition. A late double on the final night for Carl Hoyle still wasn’t enough to dislodge Vini from winning the Grand Slam, although it was enough for the runners up spot, relegating Alfie Waters to 3rd place.

With only 8 fish caught by 4 anglers throughout the competition, it proved to be a rea grueller for many. However, the sight of the magnificent Cracker on the bank went a long way to easing the pain somewhat. The competition had some fantastic support from our sponsors, in particularly, Fox International, Mainline Baits, Angling
Publications and Abbey Lakes. The RAF would like to thank you all for your continuing support of RAF Carp Angling and we look forward to thanking you in person for your generosity at our Sponsors Invitational event in 2008. Special thanks to Ruth Lockwood from Yateley Angling Centre for presenting the prizes and enduring some rather smelly RAF carp anglers.

Individual Prizes:
Winner: Graham Vincent (Corsham),
Runner Up: Carl Hoyle (JSSU Cyprus) and
3rd place: Alfie Waters (Marham).

Team Prizes:
Winners: The Outcasts of Graham Vincent (Corsham), Billy Brown (High Wycombe) and Gav McQuillan (Wyton) – These guys joined forces due to no other carp fisherman being based at their Unit.
Runners-Up: The JSSO: Sean Corbett (Digby), Karl Mashiter (Digby) and Carl Hoyle (JSSU Cyprus).

Team Winners	Team Runners Up	Winners with Prizes