Part 1
From a helpers point of view
As everyone is already aware one of our MaggotDrowners (Dirk) has been asked to attend and fish in the Trials for this years ENGLAND DISABLED TEAM and he has kindly asked myself to be his helper for the occasion and to also help with the preparation that is needed
prior to the trial.
The trial this year is to be on the same venue as the actual WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, which this year is in the UK, and the venue is THE MILLENIUM COMPLEX nr Swansea in Wales.
So i thought that you may find it interesting to follow us on our journey as we try to sort out what is required of Dirk to fish in the trial and maybe the Team (fingers crossed).
Dirk was given just 2 weeks notification that he was to fish in the trial so we had our work cut out as neither of us had even heard of the venue.
When Dirk received all his paperwork regards the trial there was a brief guide to the venue as follows :
Maximum depth 6'
Contains Skimmers, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Perch, Eels, Flatfish and Carp to 2lb.
So not really a lot to go on but at least a start.
There was also a brief idea of what the selectors will be looking for on the day some of these points were as follows :
17 ltrs groundbait required low feed but high attract.
Waggler with Sticky mag and or groundbait at 30plus yds.
Bloodworm & Joker required.
Acuracy with all the above.
Also as far as we can find out the trial is fished to the same rules as the actual Champs which means fishing is only for 3 hour's as well as a lot of other rule's which are totaly different to normal match rule's.
So when you think that 90% of the fishing that Dirk has done for the past few years has been with the Pole and normal quantities of groundbait as well as normal baits it looked like we had our work cut out to sort out the tactics that would be needed for success.
THE PREPARATION
First job was to try to find out what we could about the venue, thanks to Dai & Geoff P who both live near the venue for help with contact's and offers of help.
After much trying all we could really find out about the venue was that it is mainly Roach and Skimmers and it's not been fishing very well with average weights being around 4 to 6lb.
It's very open with wind being a problem, it's very clear and has a sand bottom.
So it was with this vague information that we started to sort out the tactics and bait that Dirk would need on the day of the trial.
Firstly we tried every normal source to arrange Bloodworm & Joker which proved a hard job as there appears to be a shortage of it at the moment but eventually a supplier was found.
Then it was on to tactic's.
The first was to play with the Sticky Maggot and to practise this we spent a couple of hours at Drayton casting into a strong wind with 10 & 15 grm wagglers and feeding sticky mag at 30 plus yards.
After 2 hour's spent casting out and fireing balls of Sticky maggot Dirk was happy with the tactic and i was happy with mixing them (one of my job's as helper).
Then it was what i think is the hardest part which is sorting out the groundbait and to do this we spent 6 hour's at Stockton Res trying out different mixes to get the right texture.
The groundbait needs to be able to carry joker (without killing it) and other freebies and has to be catapulted 30 plus yds and can only be formed with 1 hand, it also has to be thrown by hand on to the pole line at 11 mtrs.
And remember we need 17 ltrs for what is in effect a 3 hour match
(mixing the groundbait is also 1 of my jobs).
Well after 6 hours of playing we were both very happy with the mix and Dirks accuracy.
Thanks must go to Lewis Murawski of Drennen England Youth for some suggestions on groundbait mixes.
That just leaves Dirk with the job of making up rigs for the pole line which he'll need about 5 top kit's made up and to set up the waggler rod's as he'll need 4 of them set up to cover the different
weather conditions that may arise on the day and these will be carried already rigged up on the day.
Dirk is not sponsored in any way and has had to pay for everything out of his own pocket and as you can imagine with the types and quantitys of bait required it will by the end of the trial cost him a small fortune but we are both looking forward to the event no matter what the out come.
Hopefully the above has given a little insite into the preparation that has gone into Dirks effort to fish for his country.
We are due to leave Rugby in the early hours of Tuesday morning to arrive at the Millenium Complex around 9am so part 2 of this thread will appear after the trials.
Malc
Fish with Friends @ MaggotDrowning.com and take s from Dirk
Edited by - MALC on 15 June 2002 1:45:59 PM
From a helpers point of view
As everyone is already aware one of our MaggotDrowners (Dirk) has been asked to attend and fish in the Trials for this years ENGLAND DISABLED TEAM and he has kindly asked myself to be his helper for the occasion and to also help with the preparation that is needed
prior to the trial.
The trial this year is to be on the same venue as the actual WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, which this year is in the UK, and the venue is THE MILLENIUM COMPLEX nr Swansea in Wales.
So i thought that you may find it interesting to follow us on our journey as we try to sort out what is required of Dirk to fish in the trial and maybe the Team (fingers crossed).
Dirk was given just 2 weeks notification that he was to fish in the trial so we had our work cut out as neither of us had even heard of the venue.
When Dirk received all his paperwork regards the trial there was a brief guide to the venue as follows :
Maximum depth 6'
Contains Skimmers, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Perch, Eels, Flatfish and Carp to 2lb.
So not really a lot to go on but at least a start.
There was also a brief idea of what the selectors will be looking for on the day some of these points were as follows :
17 ltrs groundbait required low feed but high attract.
Waggler with Sticky mag and or groundbait at 30plus yds.
Bloodworm & Joker required.
Acuracy with all the above.
Also as far as we can find out the trial is fished to the same rules as the actual Champs which means fishing is only for 3 hour's as well as a lot of other rule's which are totaly different to normal match rule's.
So when you think that 90% of the fishing that Dirk has done for the past few years has been with the Pole and normal quantities of groundbait as well as normal baits it looked like we had our work cut out to sort out the tactics that would be needed for success.
THE PREPARATION
First job was to try to find out what we could about the venue, thanks to Dai & Geoff P who both live near the venue for help with contact's and offers of help.
After much trying all we could really find out about the venue was that it is mainly Roach and Skimmers and it's not been fishing very well with average weights being around 4 to 6lb.
It's very open with wind being a problem, it's very clear and has a sand bottom.
So it was with this vague information that we started to sort out the tactics and bait that Dirk would need on the day of the trial.
Firstly we tried every normal source to arrange Bloodworm & Joker which proved a hard job as there appears to be a shortage of it at the moment but eventually a supplier was found.
Then it was on to tactic's.
The first was to play with the Sticky Maggot and to practise this we spent a couple of hours at Drayton casting into a strong wind with 10 & 15 grm wagglers and feeding sticky mag at 30 plus yards.
After 2 hour's spent casting out and fireing balls of Sticky maggot Dirk was happy with the tactic and i was happy with mixing them (one of my job's as helper).
Then it was what i think is the hardest part which is sorting out the groundbait and to do this we spent 6 hour's at Stockton Res trying out different mixes to get the right texture.
The groundbait needs to be able to carry joker (without killing it) and other freebies and has to be catapulted 30 plus yds and can only be formed with 1 hand, it also has to be thrown by hand on to the pole line at 11 mtrs.
And remember we need 17 ltrs for what is in effect a 3 hour match
(mixing the groundbait is also 1 of my jobs).
Well after 6 hours of playing we were both very happy with the mix and Dirks accuracy.
Thanks must go to Lewis Murawski of Drennen England Youth for some suggestions on groundbait mixes.
That just leaves Dirk with the job of making up rigs for the pole line which he'll need about 5 top kit's made up and to set up the waggler rod's as he'll need 4 of them set up to cover the different
weather conditions that may arise on the day and these will be carried already rigged up on the day.
Dirk is not sponsored in any way and has had to pay for everything out of his own pocket and as you can imagine with the types and quantitys of bait required it will by the end of the trial cost him a small fortune but we are both looking forward to the event no matter what the out come.
Hopefully the above has given a little insite into the preparation that has gone into Dirks effort to fish for his country.
We are due to leave Rugby in the early hours of Tuesday morning to arrive at the Millenium Complex around 9am so part 2 of this thread will appear after the trials.
Malc
Fish with Friends @ MaggotDrowning.com and take s from Dirk

Edited by - MALC on 15 June 2002 1:45:59 PM