So after a couple of days practise, it was yet another 7 am start, with breakfast being laid on at the venue.
A few probs getting some lads out of their beds had us arriving at the venue at 08.20 late but plenty of time.
Vans were off loaded again with a mountain of damp and wet gear and the lads dropped their gear off at their sections which was to save a bit of time after the draw for pegs.
The Sun had finally come out and the lake looked great which added to everyones excitement and some peoples nerves. Once that was done it was time for breakfast and the usual pre match banter. Robs nerves were getting at him so a small breakfast was in order, tea and toast, I butchered a dirty great big fry up, lovely jubbly..
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| IFI Junior team Ireland |
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After breakfast it was time for the big draw and Gavin drew number 2 and swims were allocated.
Some were happy others not so, Rob was delighted when he realised he had drawn the swim he practised
on and done well on, on the Thursdsay.
Off they went to get set up and the backroom team leapt in to action, well actually we dragged our tired and weary bodies out of the on site cafe and kicked each other into gear. Gavin started on the tonnes of groundbait, Paul was on worm weighing duties1.5kgs per man I think,
I was on the far bank with our lads making sure they had everything and back up and down that blummin hill to fetch missing bits.
I've never realised the amount of work that goes into one of these events, it's immense and I take my hat off to guys who do it for longer trips and more regularly. We had settled on a groundbait mix which day by day was getting darker and the final mix of Leam, Sonubaits F1 and several tubs of black tracix was eventually mixed, weighed and carried to the pegs. We had settled on two lines, 1 at full length starting dead depth using 1.5 or possibly 1 gr floats. There was little or no tow and the wind had dropped right off so nothing heavier was needed. The bites from the F1's were very finnicky so the lighter the better. A second closer line at 6M allowed use of floats in the .5 to .7gr. As a general guide size 16's out long and 18's in short were the order of the day and as I checked on lads, floats were beautifully shot and presentation looked good.
They had listened, they were learning.
With time pressing on, caster and mags were delivered to pegs and shortly after the first signal was given and prebaiting could begin. 3 balls out long with small amounts of caster and chopped worm were slowly and in some cases shakingly cupped onto the long lines. A similar mix but in small quantities were cupped onto
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| First put in, fingers crossed, lets go to work...... |
the short lines. The game plan was to start on the short line and every few mins feed it with cad pots of caster / choppies, topped off with loose groundbait. Go out to the long line for a 5 minute check every half hour, give it a few mins and if nothing there, feed it again and come back short.The groundbait was to be lightly pressed so as it would break up quickly, nobody was to compress it to hard.
"All In" went the shout and Rob had caster on the hook in the 6m swim in double quick time. So had the Scottish lad to his right and wouldn't you know it a couple of minutes later and the Scot is into a lump.
Theres elastic everywhere and after about 10 minutes he has a carp of about 2lb safely in his keepnet.
Shortly after Rob gets his first F1 on the short line and all the nerves are gone. The Scottish lad was getting very little and the Welsh guy even less so as Rob quietly slipped 6 more F1's into his net I reckoned
he was there or there abouts in his section. A walk along the bank didn't reveal an awful lot, Ciaran
in section E didn't have much, Mark and Robert in section G had less and Ronan in G was getting a few but not much. Back to Rob and as I stood watching The Welsh lad had a carp and then a good skimmer and I figured he was now just in front with Rob and the Scottish lad neck and neck. The first and second look on the long lines showed nothing so back short and a few more F1's were bagged.
Gavin was doing the rounds throughout the match and at half way we told the lads to up the amount of feed in the groundbait, more worm to go in, we needed some carp. Another check on the lads, had the Welsh lad in E section baggin, Ciaran was getting a few and was in 2nd place there. Mark and Robert were in a very slow section and nobody there was catching much. Ronan in G had lost a couple of carp and was probably 3rd.
News from the other bank was that we were not getting much there and had lost a couple of carp.
After a couple of hours things weren't looking great then young James in Section A hit into a right lump,Gavin was with him to advise and guide and after a heart stopping time it was in the net and he was in pole position
in that section.
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| Section A, nice lump netted |
We reckoned we were in 2nd place in B, 3rd in C and possibly 2nd in D. Things were looking up and I was in good form until the Welsh manager got a walkie talkie message from his senior team manager
who was sat high on the cafe bank observing the full match. Check the Irish lad in section F has he got his pole marked, where is the mark, cheeky git. Someone had remarked to us during one of our practise days that he thought we were not fishing to full allowed length. So after day two we measured and marked all the poles with red tape as did the other teams. As long as the tape was behind your elbow AOK. We did discover that we were short in several cases. I could have slapped the Welsh Manager, especially as at least one of his lads was 19 which I believe is over the age limit, Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway after about 2.5 hours Rob is on his long line and Gavin is with him when the pole got pulled under the water and out shot the Hollow Vespe at a scary rate. We stood and watched, as did the Scottish and Welsh manager and after several minutes I bottled it and went for a check on the lads. Down to E section and Ciaran is getting a few and definitely in second place after the Welsh lad. Back to G where Mark and Robert are still finding it slow but then so is the Scottich and Welsh lad. We had brought an extra man with us and pre match agreements were in place that the higher weight of those two would be used. That was to close to call and really was a slow section. Along the bank to Ronan in G and he's lost another carp and probably still in
3rd place. As I walked back a round of applause went up and I knew Rob had netted the lump and it was a right good one too,
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| Heart Stopping and arm aching |
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| As seen from the far bank |
He's definitely in front in the section now and thats two sections were winning !!! That certainly was never in
Wales or Scotlands pre match thinking. He re fed the long line and after a couple of seconds where he was shaking so much he couldn't get the worm on the hook, he was soon back on the short line and nabbed a couple more fish. After some fishless minutes he's back long again and there it goes again, pole tip pulled under, Vespe Hollow shining brightly in the afternoon sun, looking good. I managed to stay with him this time and soon enough a smaller carp was in the net. The Scottish lad, pulled out of a carp but 10 minutes later landed one of about 1.5lb. Squeaky bum time !!!!! There's an hour to go now and unlike a lot of matches things have quietend down all round the lake. Theres a few fish coming but not a lot other than to the Welsh lad in Section E who's really baggin. 30 mins to go an another look on the line line, theres nothing happening.
The Welsh and Scottish managers have been on to their lads in Robs section telling them to go all out for carp as they reckoned, like me, that they needed one to beat him. I had a quick walk to the other lads,
Ciaran is still in 2nd, Robs leading, Robert Smithers thinks he's in front, Ronan in G thinks he might be 2nd.
He's had a couple of carp. Back to Rob and a quick look on the long line with 20 mins to go showed nothing so with 10 minutes it's back to the short line as we reckoned even if he did get a carp out long he wouldn't land it. Another final f1 with 5 mins to go had me sure he would get the section win but you can never be sure.
"All out" and a very proud and shattered Da breathes a sigh of relief and shakes his hand.
What a few hours that was, the lake is buzzing with excitement as a large crowd followed the scales from peg to peg. We're putting gear away as we hear the first call that Ireland have indeed won section "A", then it's a second a third and a second in B, C, & D. My head is counting and we might be in second place here.
Round to our side and we've another confirmed second in section E, then it's Robs Section
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| Welsh Competitors weight, 2.720kgs |
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| Robs weight, 4.560kgs |
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| Scottish competitors weight, 3.320kgs |
He's only gone and done it, a section win on a personal note but more importantly, 1 team point.
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| Team Kavo.........lol |
Myself and Gavin are looking sideways at each other thinking things that we probably shouldn't have been.
Section F came in great for us with Robert Smithers getting the best weight having bagged an F1 with minutes to go, thats 3 section wins and now it's all up in the air.
The final section was a heart breaker, Ronan had lost 4 carp, he weighed the biggest individual weight of the Ireland team but still got beaten in what was a high weighing section.
So the weigh in is over and it's pack up and waiting time, we're trying to do maths but were afraid to in case we got them wrong but the first hint I got was when the Welsh manager came over and congratulated me !!!!
I assumed it was a wind up but then the Scottish manager did the same and Gavin came over and said I think we have it. After what seemed an eternity we were finally called for the presentation and though I knew what was coming it wasn't until they said Wales were second that we knew for sure.
A huge roar went up and the lads moved in for their rewards.
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| Fantastic |
So there it is, a fantastic few days. Much learned, new friends made. Our thanks to all the lads, the parents who made the trip but especially to Gavin Walsh for selecting Rob in the first place. For his help, advice, guidance and patience, thanks Gaffer.
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| Final weigh sheet |
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| The whole gang......... |
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| Champion and Ronnie too |
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