By Tom | No Comments
Last updated: Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Tom Scholey talks to Fishing4Fun blogger, and Garbolino match ace Joe Carass.

How long have you been fishing, and how did you start?
I started fishing when I was 5. I used to walk around the local gravel pits with my dad and watch the other anglers fish, I decided I really wanted to have a go! My dad bought me an Argos fishing kit and took me on the River Nidd where I caught my first fish, a gudgeon!!!! I’ve been hooked ever since! I fished until I was 10 on the gravel pits and the Nidd, and learnt how to catch on the waggler and stick float, which sadly I don’t do much of these days. I then joined my first club and managed to win the league. In 11 matches I won 8, all on different venues, and I didn’t fish the others!

How did you begin your career in team fishing?
I began team fishing for Leeds Juniors when I was 13, and it was probably my most important move ever, as I was around a lot of good anglers at an early age so learnt a lot very quickly. We fished junior nationals every season which was a great experience. In my last season before I left, I fished the NFA National on the River Nene. I came 4th and managed to win the section, which was a massive boost. Later that year we fished the NJAA national on the Horbury canal and I was joint 2nd. This was a massive season for me.

After that, I decided to pack the junior fishing in and fish the opens in my area. I concentrated on my local venue, ‘The Willows’ near York. This venue has been very kind to me over the years. In my first season on there I was 3rd in the spring series and won the summer series. It was my results here that got Ossett interested in me as some of there anglers fished against (and got battered) by me. I joined them in 2005 and have never looked back.

Which anglers do you look up to the most and why?
I have lots of anglers who have had a big influence in my career and I look up to them in a big way. The first is my traveling partner, Barnsley Blacks ace Ian Bowman. I’ve travelled with Ian for the past 2 seasons and he is a massive help. He tries his hardest to help me put the things I have done wrong right for me and never holds anything back.

My second is my Maver pairs partner and Ossett team mate Mick Lodge, who apart from Andy Geldart is probably the biggest natural talent I have ever seen. Mick seems to try loads of stupid things that you wouldn’t think of trying and it just works for him.

My last angler I’m going to big up is Andy Geldart, Andy seems to manage to turn up drunk every week and still win his section! It doesn’t seem to matter if its carp shallow or roach at 16m on bloodworm Andy can do it.

Run through your top 4 matches, and why you find them memorable.
My four biggest matches are the 2005 Maver pairs qualifier at Lindholme lakes, the 2006 Division One national on the Erewash canal, the 2006 Maver pole pairs final at Larford, and the 2007 Division One National on the New Junction Canal.

Maver Pairs

In 2005, I and my good friend Adam Richards decided to spend a fair bit of time at Lindholme lakes. We seemed to empty Bonsai Lake every week fishing our rattler method, so we decided to enter the Maver Pairs qualifier on the venue.
We decided before the match that Adam would go on Bonsai Lake, and I would go on Willows. We drew peg 21 on Willows and 75 on Bonsai, I immediately thought any chance we had, had gone. I decided to fish pellet at 13m with a waggy swim and two margin lines, while Adam was going to start and finish on the rattler!!!! My match started like a dream, and I had 15 f1’s in as many casts then lost a big carp at the net.

From then on my match got worse and worse to the point where I was hardly catching anything. At the weigh in I feared the worst; I didn’t want to ring Adam as I thought I’d ruined it for us. However, when I followed the scales it became clear how hard it had been with 10lb weights common. I suddenly knew I had a chance. I weighed 22lb in and won the section.

I quickly ran over to bonsai and followed the scales with Adam, and his dad assured me we had done enough. The peg to Adams left weighed 20lb then Adam lifted his net out and I couldn’t describe the feeling, as 3 weighs later and 85lb on the scales, he won the section with about 40lb to spare, and also won the match!!!. At the time we where 16 and 17 so it was a massive result and we where just shocked all the way home, a brilliant day!!!!

Division One National- Erewash Canal

In 2006 I got picked for Ossetts Division One National Team and this was going to be the biggest attended match of my life. Seeing 600+ anglers at the draw is awesome! I drew the dreaded A section and after not practicing I did not know what to expect. While I was setting up Andy Geldart and Barnsley’s Glen Lawrence walked up. Their faces said it all, my peg had just been cut out the week before, I had 8m of canal to fish in and couldn’t fish left or right because they hadn’t cut much away!!! They both said you’re going to be last!!!! I started on the squatt and caught about 15 roach in the first 20 minutes while either side was biteless, I kept thinking to myself “just keep plugging away.”

Then all of a sudden a boat came through and it was game over!!! When I was catching I could see the fish I was catching it was so clear and shallow. I had fed a caster line down the middle and sat biteless on it for 30 minutes before I missed a massive bite which could only have been a liner I then hooked a chub next put which turned my orange number 6 elastic white!!!

I quickly fired another pouch of casters in and went to my holdall for a top kit with black hydro through one section. as I was putting another rig on I noticed 3 chub swimming over my caster line, I fired a pouch of casters at them and they all swirled for them, I couldn’t believe my eye’s! I had a change of plan and put a shallow carp rig on, I put 3 casters on to hide the huge hook, and as soon as I shipped out I had chub number 2 on, this one was coming out!!!

With that in the net I was shaking like a leaf. Either side where still biteless. I fired another pouch in and the 2 remaining chub came straight back, I hooked them both and landed one and lost one, breaking my pole in the process.

I weighed 1kilo 700 for 6th in the 66 peg section and won my 12 peg ‘mini’ section for £120. Ossett came 10th which was a mega effort with no practice.

Pole Pairs Final

As well as 2005, I also qualified for the Maver pairs in 2006 with Mick Lodge. We had spent a week practicing and felt very good about our chances in the build up to the pairs match, To cut a long story short. we got it mega wrong and both blew out and went back to the hotel very depressed!!!

If you qualify for the Maver pairs, you also get a chance to fish the pole pairs on the Sunday however. We were both a bit despondent after Saturdays performance and just went for it. I drew peg 4 on Match Lake and Mick drew in a corner on the Specimen pool. As I was walking to my peg with Mick, Steve Ringer stopped us for a chat and asked what pegs we where on. He grinned and said you’re going to have to try and beat Des Shipp off the next peg, something he couldn’t do the day before! I was well up for it and had nothing to lose. After the first hour, Des was at least 20 F1’s in front and it was simply too windy to fish shallow which was my plan, but I kept feeding it in the hope the wind would drop. After 90 minutes it dropped, and I shipped my shallow rig out and ’slapped’ my rig on the surface. Seconds later, I had a fish on!!!

The rest, as they say is history. I weighed in 46 kilos 600 and Des weighed 42 kilos. I’d beaten him!!! I followed the scales and was winning the section until I got to one angler form the end and he weighed 46 kilo 800. I couldn’t believe it. Not even one more F1!!! He ended up winning the match and I was second, Mick had an awesome result with 2nd in his section and we finished in 5th as a pair. It was a very nice moment at the end when Steve Ringer thanked me for beating Des, as if Des had of beat me, Steve and Geoff would have been second and Des and Steve Mayo would have won overall.

Joe

Perhaps my most memorable day however, is when Garbolino Ossett won the Division One National on the New Junction Canal last year. Being what we would call a home venue, we went into the match confident, but with teams such as Barnsley to beat you can’t take anything for granted.

As it happend, all the team fished a blinder though, and we won by quite a good margin. It was an awesome feeling! It also meant that we have qualified to fish the European Club Championships in France later this year! I can’t wait!

What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
I am very ambitious, as I feel I have achieved a lot at a very young age. However, as much as I’d love to fish for England, im realistic enough to know that it will probably never happen.

I really want to win big in the Maver pairs, as after qualifying for two finals I’ve really got the bug, and me and Mick will be back!!!
My ultimate ambition however is to keep doing well for Ossett and just keep enjoying it.