How carp matches have evolved

Wind the clock back some 25 years or so and competition carp fishing in England hadn’t just “not been invented”, it hadn’t even been thought about. Just look at it now though: There are competitions all over the place, every weekend, and a serious amount of wonga to be won too. The British Carp Angling Championships, CarpTeam England, and the World Carp Classic in particular all grab massive support and headlines, and one man has been in the thick of it right from the beginning. We asked him to take a look down memory lane and see how the competition scene has evolved over the years. Over to you, Hughesy… “It’s fair to say I am the most competitive man in the world. I make no apology for that as I’m afraid I have to be. As England Manager if I wasn’t super-competitive I should not be in my position and that’s that. Competition carp fishing runs through my blood, from organising, to managing, to competing. It’s been a part of me for such a long time that I don’t know a lot different. There maybe some of you reading this that don’t like competitions. I get that, but carp fishing is a massive sport with lots of different approaches. I angle on big lakes and small ones, compete and relax, fish at home and away, and more recently fish for other species too. There’s plenty out there and one man’s meat is another man’s poison. One thing is for sure, carp comps are thriving.”

How did it all start?

It all started for me when I used to go to France in the late 80s and early 90s. Back then carp fishing was only just establishing itself as a sport. They had a very good underground scene going on but there were a lot of restrictions about how and where they could carp fish. This is why the competition scene started in France. Back then night fishing was illegal across the majority of French public waters. Private commercial waters like we see these days didn’t exist, and the only way French carp anglers could fish at night was to organise official events. They were more social than competitive, although to get around the regulations there had to be some form of trophy at the end of it so they became competitive. Back in the day I had a lot of French friends that were the very early pioneers of French carp fishing and got invited to a number of these enduros.

Old school Hughes opening up the presentation at the 2000 Horseshoe BCAC finals

In 1994 Fishabil owner Raphael Faraggi decided to organise a very high-profile event that would attract international competitors, widespread television and magazine coverage, and what at the time was a massive prize fund - the likes of which had not been seen before. It was the equivalent of almost £15,000, which would be more like £30k now and was the first ever big-money match in the world. It was ratified by FIPS Ed, the international governing body of carp fishing and was the event that set off the international competition scene as we see it today.

It was called the World Cup and it was held at his venue in France in 1996. A hundred anglers competed in pairs from all over the world and it was even sponsored by Ferrari. Literally thousands of spectators turned up to watch, and the world had never seen an event like this. It really was incredible.

On the podium with Billy and Jamie, Individual winners of the 2016 Six Nation

It was a landmark historical event that was won by two young anglers from England. They were immediately catapulted onto the world stage and big match competition angling was born. The winners of this match were myself and Simon Crow, and it was the start of a journey that would take me through the whole spectrum of competition carping. I absolutely loved the buzz of competition. I still do. The social element. The competitive element. The fact it just keeps you on your toes. It’s another dimension.

The BCAC years

Having won the World Cup I wanted to fish more events but sadly there weren’t any. I enjoyed the World Cup so much that I want to bring the concept back to the UK and adapt it a little so I set-up the British Carp Angling Championship. It was an amazing buzz coming up the concept, writing the rules, deciding on the format etc., because of course there weren’t any back then.

Trying to convince someone to invest in something that they don’t want is tricky. Trying to get people to invest in something that didn’t exist and they didn’t know whether they wanted or not was crazy, especially considering that at the time I was working in a very good job with a bright future and great prospects to look forward to. I turned my back on it to set-up the BCAC and the rest is history.

It started off with a great big bang in 1999 and I recall we had 18 eliminators with up to 20 pairs in each eliminator. Some of the guys were super competitive and wanted to prove just how great they were. Others come along to the social, whereas some just came to experience the new concept. It was amazing. People either absolutely loved it or hated the idea of it. I remember Stan Piecha, the famous match angler and journalist writing about me in The Sun newspaper saying how competition carp fishing was against the fundamentals of carp fishing. That there was no place for big-money matches/professionally run events that charged to enter and that it would never last. I hope you’re remembering your words now Stan!

The line-up that first year was absolutely incredible. Some of the biggest names in the sport, including the likes of Terry Hearn who you would not think would be competitive in this way, all jumped on board and embraced the concept. Some complete unknowns would really go on to make a name for themselves through the BCAC, and others came and went.

That first year they were 18 eliminators fished at some fantastic venues, some of which didn’t usually allow night fishing so we were following the French example. Walthamstow for example allowed night fishing for the first time and people would enter the competition purely to be able to fish there overnight.

It was competitive but there was also a really nice buzz. It was much about the social as it was about the competition, and some real jokers used to compete in the early years. Mark Bartlett’s Dad, Adrian, was one of the main characters and was a match angler turned carp anger. He used to turn up with a Darth Vader mask on as he was representing the Dark Side. His tactic was to fish his events at the same lake as Mainline’s Kev Knight and hopefully come out in the draw just after Kev. He’d then choose the peg next-door just to torment him!

There was a wooden spoon for the person with the highest draw that finished the lowest, and in every final and semi-final there was a news sheet that was delivered to every peg with results, news and funny stories from throughout the day. Remember: This was before the days of smartphones - and even internet access.

The first ever final at Horseshoe was immensely competitive and very serious. The fish were in the Winter Bay and it was a very close battle between two pairs in particular. Peter Holehouse and Ian Huntington, two very talented Northern anglers from Blackpool in the White Post swim, and another two lads, this time from Yorkshire, Andy Murray and Keith Napier fishing on the Road Bank in Winter Bay. Both were fishing to a similar area where a lot of fish were stacked up. It was neck and neck between them and in the end Murray and Napier took the title to become the first ever British Champions by just 6-ounces.

The 2000 winners were Tim Fromant and Mike Winston

There were a number of absolute classics over the years. Bryan Jarrett and Dave Gawthorn winning the title for a second time with an epic performance of spodding over Zigs at Furzton; Poole and Finch winning at Broadlands and then Bartlett and Hewitt doing the double over at Wraysbury. Every winner of that BCAC title is a deserving champion.

The BCAC ran under my control for 13 very happy and amazing years during which many friends were made. In fact, a lot of the lads that are at the forefront of carp comps now I saw coming through the ranks years ago as youngsters. Mark B, Billy and Jamie, Kev H are all fine examples of dedicated and competitive anglers.

The trophy, limited edition Reuben Heaton scales and £6,000 - plus of course the glory was what it was worth to the winners

In 2012 a life-change meant that I couldn’t dedicate the time to the event so I sold it to a guy called Simon Bennie. He immediately put the prices up, made a number of changes, and for me and a lot of other people, it seemed the heart had been ripped from the tournament. People stopped entering in the numbers that they used to and the marshall team drifted away. It was withering. Within a couple of years he sold the event and the current owners, Dave and Jo Barlow, are at the helm. The event is gaining in popularity again with a lot of anglers returning to compete and it’s getting back to the glory days again.

Carp Team England

Carp Team England has only fairly recently been in the public eye but it’s actually been running for quite a long time. In fact, the FIPS Ed official World Championships evolved from that first ever pairs match won by myself and Simon. It changed from a pairs match to a team event and ran from 1999. England entered their first team event in 2005 but it didn’t catch the imagination of the UK carp angling public properly until 2015 when a series of films broadcast live from the event kept the UK public in touch with what was going on.

Competition carp fishing is spreading with the girls too

The pic that has become the most iconic of England’s history in the World Championships

I had been appointed manager and brought a totally new approach to the running of the squad, the selection and also the sponsorship arrangements. The team gets no official funding or support from the governing body and has to do virtually everything for itself. An openness to let people know what was going on rather. A win firstly in the 6 Nations event in France and then the World Championships in Spain put the team on the map. The squad was increased and a ladies division was set up. History was made with the first ever all female international match between Wales and England in 2016 and and Holland joined the party a year later for a tri-nations ladies international, this time won by Wales. Ladies competition carping was now established.

The competition scene is thriving and there are now more international and national competitions than ever before. From weekend knock ups to full blown internationals and big money matches the scene is increasing. TV coverage, big pay cheques and a drive to professionalise the sport will push it further and 2018 will see the first ever £100k event.