It’s been an exciting time for me and the Hobie kayak so far this year… I kayak fished with my good friend Bob Neuweiler in New York, then managed second place in the European freshwater kayak championships in Wales. I organised two United Kingdom kayak fishing competitions, including the first lure only fishing competition. On to June, and the World Predator Classic in Holland. I came fourth overall, and second in the team event. July saw me catching marlin and roosterfish from the Hobie in Mexico – definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done. At the start of September, I was contacted by my good friend Sam from China. Would I like to join him in China for a kayak fishing competition? There was very little time, but I was determined to travel to China.
I took part in the same competition last year, so I knew how special this event would be. I flew out from the UK with my Hobie Great Britain teammate David Morris, and soon we were making our way to the competition venue high up in the mountains in Shengzhong. The Australian kayak fishermen are a great bunch of lads, as well as being top fishermen, so it was great to catch up with them, and the fishermen from other countries, such as Thailand, Singapore and America’s Brian Nelli and Meli Brock.
The opening ceremony is something very special indeed, with an outdoor amphitheater on the shore of the lake holding 20,000+ excited onlookers. This year I was lucky enough to fly the flag for team GB up on stage. This is something which I will remember for a very long time indeed…
The weather was hot, and the atmosphere was even hotter. After the opening ceremony, it was time for the competition proper.
We were all supplied with identical Hobie Mirage Pro Angler kayaks, kitted out with Lowrance fishfinders and livewells. The object of the competition was to weigh in the largest five fish. After the first day, I was lying in eighth place out of 63 anglers. All to play for on day two.
I lost a good fish on the second day, which would have put me in the top five, but it wasn’t to be. No such problem for our Swedish team mate Lars, who had a storming day, and ended up in fourth position, collecting $9000.
It was a time which I shall not forget, and we made some great new friends too…
The week after we returned from China, it was time to leave for the Hobie Predator Open in Holland. The event was organised by Gero Priebe. David and I were on the road (and ferry!) again !
We arrived in Holland after an all night drive. It would have been much easier to get some sleep, but we were keen to launch the Hobies and get some practice in.
The Dutch competition venue is famous for big perch, pike and zander. Practice day went really well, and I caught three nice zander and a perch, as well as losing a decent pike.
What a difference a day makes… We both struggled in the competition proper. I managed to catch a decent asp, and David caught a bream, but neither fish counted in the competition unfortunately.
My good mate Ronald Traas is a great fisherman, but he is not always lucky in competitions. Luck evens out however, and that was to be the case this time. He caught lots of fish, and on the second day he was in a good position. He took a gamble and spent a long time to get to a distant spot. With only minutes to go, he had a long trip to get back to the registration tent before the competition ended.
David and I were wondering where he had got to, when out of the blue, he appeared ten minutes late. The gamble paid off, and despite the time penalty, Ronald still came in second and qualified for the Sixth Hobie Worlds in Louisiana. The winner of the competition was Tomasz Kurnik who caught and amazing 510 centimeters of fish over the two days of the first Hobie Predator Open.
Congratulations to Ronald and Tomasz, and a big thanks to Gero, Tim, Pieter and Zach for organising the first Hobie Predator Open; let’s hope it’s the first of many.
