Very few anglers ever win an individual gold medal at the World Championships, and fewer still manage to achieve the feat twice – but England legend Tommy Pickering can lay claim to the lofty accolade after securing top spot on the podium in the Veterans World Champs last week.
Yorkshireman Tommy first tasted elite glory in the 1989 Float World Champs in Bulgaria, and 37 years on he did it again, this time during the recent two-day event in Croatia on the Ivanec Lakes complex.
Coincidentally, Tommy used very similar tactics on both occasions. Floatfishing for silvers on the waggler suited Tommy down to the ground, and he put in a masterclass to win his 14-man section on both days and become the only person in action to secure a perfect score.
Individual silver went to Italy’s Alfredo Danielli, who finished with five points, while bronze was handed to Germany’s Rainer Wenzel, who had the same score but fell just short on weight.
Angling Times spoke to Tommy to find out how he secured his latest World gold.
Day One
“Peg 11 in B section was my home for the day and, with it being a fair area, I was happy with that.
“The plan was to start on the waggler and feed the pole line throughout, hoping for an arrival of bigger stamp carassio later in the day once they moved in.
“Put simply, I was able to stick to the waggler from start to finish, with Harry Billing doing an excellent job as my runner. He kept on top of all that was going on and was confident that if I carried on doing what I was doing, the section win was coming my way.
“That is exactly how it panned out, and I managed to put 112 roach, eight carassio and two skimmers in the net for 4kg. That handed me the section victory with over a kilogram to spare. It was the ideal start, and all eyes were on replicating that kind of performance on day two.”
Day Two
“Drawing in the same section on day two was great, but peg one wasn’t the best. There was a weed bed at 30m, so I knew I’d have to fish a little shorter with the waggler,” Tommy said.
“There weren’t as many fish in the swim, but the saving grace was the stamp of them, and I managed to land 40 roach, 14 carassio and a carp.
That bonus came with an hour to go, and it put me well up in the section, but that final hour was the longest I’ve ever had in fishing waiting for the whistle!
“I’d won the section with over 5kg to give me two points, but I’m old enough and wise enough to not take anything for granted, so when the news was confirmed, it was chaos!
“It was a moment I’ll never forget, rounded off with a silver for the team, who all worked so hard.
“I’m chuffed for all of them, but especially the boys that ran the bank – Dickie Carr, Keith Austin and Kev Folwell. They’re the ones who really put the graft in.”
Talking tactics
“I’ve had chances in this tournament in the past two years, and lost fish have cost me, but on this occasion things went my way. Looking back, I fished what I consider to be the best two matches I’ve ever fished!
"It was very much my cup of tea and very British fishing, using the waggler to catch on the drop while feeding a little ball of groundbait each time to come back with a fish every cast.”
