FOREIGN AFFAIR LARYSA SWITLYK
Team building .. Larysa at the WCC Junior event with fellow Americans, brothers Austin and Brendan (above).
of us to fish a private lake for three days before the competition. What I’ve learned from my experience is carp fishing in every country is a little different. When it is your first time fishing an area, it is best to get some local knowledge and learn from someone who knows how to fish that area. With that background information you can then apply your own tactics and fishing skills. Austin and Brendon quickly learned that
Boilie in the bag .. Junior USA contestant using European tactics
importantly, who was young enough to even be able to compete in a junior event. The Pass brother’s came to mind. I knew they had a passion for carp fishing, any free moment they have they are fishing and I also knew they were good because they kicked my butt in a carp tournament in Texas. I messaged Austin to ask if they were interested in doing a carp tournament in Europe, and to find out how old he and his brother Brendan are. Turns out they both made the cut and after talking it over with their father, they were in! I just built Team USA for the junior event in less than an hour, now, however, we have to put a lot of work in to preparing for it. I told the boys they need to make sure they
could come over to the Czech Republic early so they could do some pre-fishing and figure out the European Carp. Carp fishing in America is definitely different to that in Europe. The boys admitted to me they never used boilies to fish for carp before. It was nice of Pro-Logic to set us up with their
local distributor in the Czech Republic, Mira, who was quite the character. He arranged for all
using the European tactics taught by Mira and I helped them hook up on more carp. I think at first they were a little hesitant to listen to us, but they put one rod out with boilies and tried the others with their normal USA style of fishing with straight maize or fake corn. They quickly learned the boilies were doing the trick and started experimenting more with them. Austin and Brendon brought some materials to make pack bait which they use heavily in America and wanted to test it out before the tournament. They combined bread crumbs, corn grits, and creamed corn coupled with a short supple hook link with three pieces of Trilogy Carp Baits Tournament corn on the hair. It produced results right away which gave them a good insight on what these carp were attracted to. Since they don’t fish much with boilies in
America, it was something for them to get used to, so it was good for them to have a few days experimenting. We gave them lessons in Z-rigs and had them practice creating different styles of rigs with different size hooklinks to see what worked best. What I wanted to see was the boys to apply what Mira and I were explaining to them, catch carp and build confidence in their fishing skills in Europe before the tournament began, which they succeeded beyond expectations. They were in fishing heaven on this lake,
catching carp after carp, having back-to-back runs. I knew that in the rules of the junior carp
tournament, being captain I was not allowed to help or touch any of the gear or bait, which is actually a very difficult task when I have such a strong passion for fishing! I spent the three days literally training myself not to touch anything and making the boys do everything on their own with just a little guidance from Mira or me. However, Austin did end up getting a double run and Brandon was busy playing a carp on the other side of the lake, so I figured this could be an exception for touching one of the rods and landing a Czech carp myself. Besides this lake being stocked with carp, it
also has some sturgeon and beluga sturgeon splashing around in it. After I got tired of watching the boys catch carp after carp I decided to focus my attention on catching one of the Beluga Sturgeon in the lake. Now that’s a fish that can fight!
Team USA for the junior event had a very successful pre-fishing session, however we weren’t so lucky in the actual tournament. I was really proud of the boys for not losing
their spirits, and trying everything in their power to catch carp, however, it is hard to catch fish that aren’t there. I think it was good for them to blank because that was their first time not catching fish during a tournament, and I feel it definitely builds character and makes them even hungrier for next year! I’m looking forward to this year’s World Carp
Classic because I love seeing everyone from my carp family and catching up. Plus excited to apply my skills on these French carp. So Team USA and Carp Connections will be back, dressed to impress thanks to Valley Fashions and we definitely have our eye on the prize, so watch out world! Time to “Go Ahead, Unleash It!”
nLARYSA SWITLYK
I spent the three days literally training myself not to touch anything and making the boys do everything on their own
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