Fishing in a World Championships is demanding enough, with the calibre of anglers, unfamiliar surroundings, and travel issues, the last thing you need is for Mother Nature to test you and make conditions impossible to fish in.
This is exactly what is happening right now at the World Youth Champs in Serbia. The majority of the field cannot fish due to an explosion of floating duckweed that is covering the entire match length. Not only does this weed float, but it is also too dense to get a rig through. It can grow up to 25% per day, so what isn't covered now will be covered by the time the match is set to be fished on Saturday, 10th August.
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Current England under-25's manager, Mark Downes, has been speaking about the conditions:
“It’s a thick duckweed that, once cleared, returns within a few minutes. It’s also carried with the wind, meaning an area that’s been clear the day before could resemble a bowling green just 12 hours later.”
“It’s a joke! We fished for only a few hours on one practice day and the Under 15s in their area had an entire day of practice scrubbed off. I’ve never been to a place this bad!"
“We’re even planning on using polystyrene tubes locked together to create a bit of a boom out to 8m, which will keep the weed away. I’ve no idea if this is allowed in the rules, but we have to do something,” he added.
“If you can get away from the weed, the fishing has been hard but fair, with 2 kilos a good weight. That’s small fish such as bleak, catfish, and gobies close in, plus some pommies and better catfish on the long pole.”
Mark went on to say:
“In some sections, seven anglers have clear pegs, the other seven have solid weed out to 30m – and the trouble is what you think is a clear peg one day becomes unfishable the next.”
"We even saw the Italian team take the middle out of a plastic sieve, attach it to some rope, throw it out to about 6m, and fish inside the sieve. To have to do that at a World Champs is just ridiculous."
With no wind forecast to blow the weed away from the length that will be fished, it is very concerning that the match may even need to be abandoned, which after all the effort, hard work and preparation in getting there, would be a real blow for all involved.
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