High fuel costs take toll on carp tourney

WADDINGTON — The high cost of fuel and airfare is taking a bite out of the 3rd Specialist Tackle Carp Challenge.

"We've got fewer entrants this year because the cost of the flights from Europe to the U.S. is so high that we had a few teams drop out," said Peter R. Henwood. "We've also had a few drop out from the U.S. and Canada because of the price of gas. Of course, it's frustrating, but what can you do? If people can't afford it, they can't afford it."

Mr. Henwood, a summer visitor from England who lives most of the year just outside London, owns the Riverview Hotel on Route 37 in Waddington and Specialist Tackle, a bait and tackle company based in the United Kingdom with shops throughout Europe. Specialist Tackle runs the Carp Challenge.

Sixteen two-angler teams have signed up for this year's tourney, compared with last year's 27. The number of European teams has been cut in half, from last year's eight to four this year.

"The American and Canadian teams are down more than that," Mr. Henwood said.

The tourney, which begins Wednesday morning and runs through 10 a.m. Saturday, began two years ago with 26 teams.

Each team is scored based on the total weight of its catches. Top prize is $10,000 and the prize for the biggest fish is $3,000.

Each team pays a $1,000 entry fee.

Last year, the winning team hauled in 1,694 pounds of carp in 72 hours, Mr. Henwood said. The total take for the tourney was 7.5 tons of carp. During the inaugural event in 2006, more than 6.5 tons of carp was caught.

Though disappointed by this year's low team turnout, Mr. Henwood said he still plans to continue with the tourney next year.

"We'll continue to do it as long as we can attract enough entrants to warrant a sensible prize," he said, adding that at least 10 teams would have to sign up each year in order for the tourney to continue.

The carp tourney is unlikely to be the sole fishing event to be adversely affected by rising fuel costs, Mr. Henwood said.

"It will be affecting bass tournaments and any other type of fishing tournament that people have to travel to," he said.

Waddington bills itself as the world's carp capital. In June 2005, it hosted the World Carp Championship.