The teams and our crew were greeted by a heartaching sight on the location of the 13.th Maconka Cup. Due to the low water levels caused by the summer drought, the organizers of this huge event were forced to abandon some of the fishing spots. The teams selected their places according to the shrunk waters abilities, and although everyone started with high hopes, the chances of geting a prize fish were low.
The race barely started, when Tata Nitu’s team, that chose shallow waters according to their traditional approach, started landing fish. Their zeal surprised everyone. But even if they managed to gain a head start, other teams soon followed in their footsteps. That’s the great thing about fishing, there’s allways some surprise waiting for everyone. Regardless of the expectations and the unfavorable circumstances, the fish started biting with a gusto that made the 13.th cup and unforgetable one.
Their appetite didn’t vane with time, they seemed to be hungry all through the event, making all the participants happy. The outcome was hard to predict, as there were several teams competing for the medals. The SBS SZI-KO team and the SÍP Carp, both at full throttle, ended up in close combat in the finish. They both used the terrain to their advantage and managed to keep the fish near their hooks at all times. Tata Nitu’s team slowed down, which gave them the chance to fight for the win. Things were still undecided on the last morning, giving both participants and viewers something to be excited about. We congratulate the participants for their endurance and the organisers for their great managing skills.

Besides carping I allways liked fishing with different methods. I have received several invitations lately, all to excellent places with lots of fish. I accepted the one from my friend Roland, who invited me to the Szavanna lake for a nighttime walleye hunt.
We knew that place was famous for its walleye population, so we started packing wihtout hesitation. We arrived late in the afternoon, and were greeted with calm water and tons of tiny fish, ideal for bait. We managed to fill our bucket with baitfish within minutes, which were going to be on today’s menu for the walleye. I placed one rod on the bottom, with live bait on it, a 3.60 m rod, a size 40 reel with a 0.20 main line and a 40 cm 0.18 leader.
I put a tyrolean wood on, so the fish won’t encounter any resistance once they bite. Me and my friend Romi then started spinning with the other rod, he even tried using a twister before it got dark, which is a very effective way of catching walleye, on any other day, but it failed on this one. As darkness settled, the first gentle bites came with it, which I mostly botched.
The walleye were so quick to grab the bait, that by the time I got there it was all over. My baitrunner was not on, so they felt some resistance and abandoned the bait. As the night wore on, Romi and Sztyopa both landed a walleye that couldn’t resist their live bait. Spinning did not have the desired result, the fish just didn’t seem to be interested in anything we offered them.
We saw an amazing amount of small fish everywhere, which was probably the reason for the lack of interest in our plastic toys. The clock struck midnight, and Romi didn’t turn into a pumpkin but managed to land another beauty instead. I’ve had 5 fish taste my live bait, but none of them was serious about it. At the end of the day, we were all glad we came to this place. Next time we will try something different, but one thing is sure, we will come back to Szavanna someday soon.