I have just returned from Slovenia fishing for England in the 32nd FIPS Mouche World Championships - and what a Championships it was, with a record number - almost 6000 fish caught and returned.
Team England were represented by Howard Croston, Simon Robinson, John Tyzack, Phil Dixon and myself, with Scott Nellins as reserve and Paul Page managing at World level for the first time. I was drawn on the lake for the first session and following a few marble trout and rainbows in practice, I was hoping to catch a few fish and start well for the team.
1st Place on the Lake
Most of the teams headed toward the river, but 2 of us; Davie Chalmers and myself, waited for the start in the middle of the lake where a few fish were rising. To cut a long story short, I had a fish 3rd cast, then a marble trout and then 3 other rainbows - losing another 5 on the way and missing a few takes. DI5 sinking line and a mix of Black, green or white minky flies was the technique, with slow retrieves and fishing the hang absolutely essential.
That was enough to take top slot and get the lake sector off to a good start.
River sessions very "peggy"
Howard Croston started in scintillating fashion, scoring a 1st and then a 2nd place on the rivers - then following that with a 4th place on the lake and with 3 sessions complete, it was Howard who topped the individual leader board.
Sadly, England dropped a bit going into the last day - down to 13th place, with most of the team failing to draw good beats. However, Phil Dixon kept up his consistent form from last year and made the most of some reasonable, albeit not brilliant, pegs. Simon Robinson had 3 bad pegs on the trot, but caught on the lake and finished well on the river.
I had a couple of better pegs on the Upper and Lower Bohinka and finished with two top 10 placings. John Tyzack recovered from a blank on the lake and 3 very ordinary pegs to take a brilliant 1st place on the fickle River Kokra.
So England pulled up to a creditable 7th place and Howard Croston missed out onb an individual medal finishing in 4th place - a fantastic effort by a very talented angler.
Results
Gold - Czech Republic Silver - Italy Bronze - Spain
Ind Gold - David Arcay Fernandez - Spain Ind Silver - Valerio Santi Amantinbi - Italy Ind Bronze - Tomas Adam - Czech
