SUCCESS FOR THE CARP ANGLERS FROM CZŁUCHÓW
From 6 to 9 July this year, Lake Urzędowe in Człuchów was the venue for a sporting competition featuring Poland’s finest carp anglers. The Polish Angling Association’s (PZW) Central Sports Committee entrusted the PZW Branch in Człuchów with organising a national competition as part of the Polish Carp Grand Prix series. Nine two-person teams lined up at the start, representing the PZW districts of Białystok, Radom, Opole, Piotrków Trybunalski, Bydgoszcz and Słupsk. The line-up also included all 10 current members of the national carp fishing team – the full squad. Never before has Człuchów hosted a fishing event of this calibre. This is a great honour for our club and the town.
Following the official pre-tournament briefing and the draw for fishing spots, the anglers made their way to their allocated positions. After two hours of preparation, they began at 1.00 pm on 6 July. The weather plays a major role in angling, and whilst it was fine, it was not particularly favourable. High pressure, changeable winds, a sweltering day and cold nights meant that the carp were very unpredictable. On the first day, only one carp weighing 10.63 kg was caught. The fish was caught by the team from pitch no. 7 of the Człuchów Carp Club. The following day brought more fish. At stand no. 4, the team from Radom landed a beautiful full-scaled carp weighing 8.11 kg first thing in the morning. By the evening, competitors at stand no. 9, representing the Bydgoszcz district, had also landed fish; one carp was outwitted by the team at stand no. 7, and another was caught at stand no. 1 by the team from Białystok. As a result, the team from CKK took a clear lead. However, the competition was only just entering its decisive phase. Saturday, 8 July, ‘brought’ a fish to the team from Opole, fishing at stand no. 10; the CKK team caught two carp, whilst the team at stand no. 1 caught one. With each passing day, the heat became increasingly unbearable, and the large carp ignored the anglers’ elaborate lures. On the final day of the competition, the anglers managed to land just two carp: one was caught by the team at pitch no. 1, and the other by the PZW Damno team, fishing at pitch no. 2. Both of Sunday’s catches were landed in the early hours of the morning. These were the last fish of the competition. The higher the sun rose in the sky, the less keen the carp were to feed. A total of 11 scoring fish were caught. Of course, one would have liked more, but given the unfavourable weather conditions, we should be pleased with this number. Generally speaking, Lake Urzędowe is home to a large carp population, which has been systematically ‘nurtured’ for many years by the Człuchów branch of the Polish Angling Association (PZW).
At 1.00 pm on 9 July, the referee’s signal brought the competition to a close. The judging panel set to work; as well as tallying the competition results, they also calculated the standings for the 2023 Polish Grand Prix annual series. At 2.30 pm, a formal closing ceremony was held. The ceremony was attended by: Teodor Rudnik, Chairman of the Słupsk Regional Organisation of the Polish Angling Association (PZW); Stanisław Szymański, Head of the Słupsk Regional Sports Authority; and Paweł Gibczyński, Mayor of the Człuchów Municipality, representing the local authorities.
The results of the competition as part of the National Carp Fishing Championships (GPP series) in Człuchów were as follows:
1st place – Słupsk District of the Polish Angling Association (PZW) – Człuchów Carp Club – Winicjusz Białek and Piotr Nowicki – 32,830 points (4 carp);
2nd place – PZW Radom District – Łukasz Gut and Piotr Zagóra – 8,110 points (1 carp);
3rd place – PZW Białystok District – KarpiowycDuch Podlasia – Paweł Bankowski and Jakub Ofiarski – 7,670 points (3 carp);
4th place – PZW Opole District – Paproch Team – Krzysztof Tomaniak and Jarosław Sobolewski – 6,670 points (1 carp);
5th place – PZW Słupsk District – PZW ‘Okoń’ Damno Branch – Jacek Fogt and Oleksandr Kolesnyk – 1,620 points (1 carp)
6th place – PZW Bydgoszcz District – Janusz Nowicki and Oskar Nowicki – 1,500 points (1 carp).
In addition, special prizes were awarded for the largest fish of the competition to Winicjusz Białek from CKK; for the first fish to score points in the competition to Winicjusz Białek from CKK; and for the last fish to score points in the competition to Oleksandr Kolesnyk from PZW “Okoń” Damno.
Only fish weighing 1.5 kg or more were scored. The winners received trophies, medals, certificates and prizes. The prizes were purchased with the support of the HOBBY fishing shop in Człuchów.
Following the wrap-up of the Człuchów competition, there was also a summary of the year’s carp fishing competitions as part of the Polish Grand Prix.
1st place – PZW Słupsk District – Człuchów Carp Club – Winicjusz Białek and Piotr Nowicki;
2nd place – PZW Opole District – Paproch Team – Krzysztof Tomaniak and Jarosław Sobolewski;
3rd place – PZW Białystok District – Karpiowy Duch Podlasia – Paweł Bańkowski and Jakub Ofiarski.
The winners received commemorative trophies and certificates. The Polish Grand Prix in the carp fishing discipline took place for the first time in history, so we are delighted that first place in this competition went to the team from Człuchów. The competitors are members of our club and the Człuchów Carp Fishing Club. The Białek and Nowicki team will soon be taking part in the World Carp Fishing Championships in France. This is testament to the high standard of this discipline amongst Człuchów’s anglers.
The entire competition took place in a very friendly and sporting atmosphere. From an organisational point of view, everything went smoothly. The competition was judged by: Karol Dziemiańczyk (SKK) as chief judge, Maciej Wdowczyk (SKO) as recording judge, Łukasz Szeremeta (SKO) as sector judge and Mateusz Kolter (SKP) as supervisory judge.
If circumstances allow, we would be delighted to host events of this calibre in future years.
