ENGLISH PAIR TOUGH IT OUT FOR WORLD CARP GLORY
England’s Rob Tough and Tom Duncan-Dunlop are on top of the world after overcoming an international field to win the 2009 World Carp Classic.
Rob, 45, and Tom, 36, produced a stunning all-round effort to beat off competition from 126 pairs from 21 different countries to claim the £10,000 first prize from the £70,000 prizetable at the six-day event at Lac de Madine in north-east France.
Surviving on just twelve hours’ sleep throughout the marathon non-stop competition, the duo bagged an event-record 26 fish weighing a total of 347.5kg to easily beat their closest rivals, headed by Dutch pair Koos Walters and Bert Teuben (eight fish, 125.65kg) and Robert Ceaus and M Gulke of Germany (eight fish, 123.45kg).
And Rob and Tom completed a clean sweep of the major prizes as they also helped England’s Team Mainline Carpworld clinch the best team prize for the third year in a row.
Rob, an accountant from Dartford, Kent, who has been fishing since he was 16, said: “This is the highlight of my angling career and I think I can speak for Tom in saying this is the best week we’ve ever had in terms of the magnitude of the event.
“The number of fish we caught and the size of them was staggering. We’ve been inundated with messages of congratulations since we got back, it’s a great feeling to have won and it’s one we’d love to repeat next year.
“These are the events you live for as anglers. We were totally exhausted at the end and were surviving on adrenaline alone but we wouldn’t have swapped the sleepless nights and the moments when the fish are taking the bait for anything. You can sleep for the rest of your life, after all.â€
TF_geepster.
