Golden reward after fight with a perfect adversary

Oct 2 2007 by Moc Morgan, Western Mail

ON FRIDAY last, 50 expert carp fishers descended on Celtic Lakes Fishery, Creuddyn Bridge, near Lampeter. They were there to chase a rainbow and seize its elusive crock of gold.

The comparatively new Celtic fishery has already proved to be the perfect venue for championship carp competitions and is destined for even greater things.

The task facing each of the 25 pairs of fishers was to catch more carp than any of the other pairs. They had all travelled far, some even from North Yorkshire, and all had the same dream and ambition: to win the coveted prize – a glass bowl filled with 10,001 pound coins.

This was the biggest prize ever offered in a fishing competition in the UK – by just one pound – but the request for £10,001 in pound coins broke not one but three different banks in Lampeter town. With the cash also went a superb silver cup to adorn the winners’ trophy cabinet.

The 25 pairs had earned their place in the Welsh Celtic Grand Carp Final after their success in the five eliminators on fisheries in different parts of Wales – Peterstone (Newport), Llyn y Gors (Anglesey), Celtic Lakes (Creuddyn Bridge), Llyn Gweryd (Snowdonia) and White Springs (Pontardulais). One competitor had travelled in excess of 2,000 miles in his effort to win a place in the grand final.

The organisers had decided to use the biggest of the six lakes in the Celtic complex for the competition and the 25 pegs had to be drawn by lot. There was a lot of speculation around as it appeared that some pegs could prove to be more productive than others. However as the lake is full of carp – some of immense dimensions – all competitors were expected to catch a lot of fish.

Carp is, without doubt, the most popular fish created on that blessed Fifth Day. All the fishers at Celtic Lakes were unanimous in their praise for the species. To them the carp has some stupendous beauty – the Miss World of the finny tribe. It is a hard fighter and a hugely sporting fish – the perfect adversary. (Well done God!)

The match kicked off at 2pm on Friday afternoon and had to be fished continuously without a break until mid-day on Sunday. The competitors had to spend Friday and Saturday night in tents close to their rods which had alarms to warn of any pressure on the line. Yes this competition calls for concentration, skill, dedication and stamina.

It was fascinating to see the huge supplies of food carried by the competitors – some for them and a lot for the fish. Enticing carp to feast in the first instance is an art but to ensure it remains feeding near your peg demands experience and expertise. There were boillies, maggots, casters and worms on the menu as well as several concoctions dreamt up to ensure the carp did not wander far but came back for more. The bait was very important and could prove very expensive. I saw a small tub of worms which set one competitor back £50.

What a weekend of feasting for the Celtic lake carp. It will undoubtedly add materially to their midriff as it is often said that fish are the best converters of food into flesh.

Surprising as it may seem, carp has been a favourite fish in Wales for many centuries. The Abbey at Strata Florida had fish ponds to hold carp as in those days carp was an important part of the monks’ diet.

It was astounding to realise the amount of hard work that the competitors had put into the preparation for this event and perhaps it explains why there are nine monthly magazines and one weekly paper devoted entirely to this sport.

The Welsh Carp Champions website had 181,000 hits in a very short period of time – again concrete proof of its popularity.

The Environment Agency also contributed to the success of the venture and their Taster Day for the Boy Scout Movement of south Cardiganshire was well appreciated and enjoyed by the youngsters.

Eifion Davies, fishery officer, stated that the venue was ideal for their participation projects. He was glad to be able to say that the sale of fishing licences this season has shown a good increase on that of previous years.