Syracuse.com - New England pair win team event at Wild Carp Week Triathlon

[HuntingNY-News]

They caught nearly 1 1/2 tons of carp to take first place. Watch video

A pair of weary New Englanders won the 75-hour team event of the Wild Carp Week Triathlon this morning, landing nearly 1 1/2 tons of carp.

Robert Duprey, of Brattleboro, Vt. and Dmitri Consolati, of Lee, Mass, won $3,000 for their feat of catching 186 carp that weighed a total of 2,811 pounds. (Only carp that weighed more than 10 pounds were counted in the catch-and-release contest.)

Robert Duprey readies a carp to be weighed.Dick Blume | [email protected] 

The two, who both got between them no more than 5 minutes of sleep for the entire competition, put down their rods with a half hour to go at their mud-covered site. At the time, they had 10 unweighed fish in a large mesh bag in the water attached to shore.

 

"We feel we've had enough. My feet are sore, my legs are sore. I've been these waders since Sunday morning. I haven't slept at all. We're beat up," Consolati said.

Duprey said he had a "serious case trench foot going on," in addition to poison ivy on his backside.

In second place was Jason Edwards and James Hill, of Atlanta, Ga. They caught 164 fish, with a total weight of 2,580 pounds. They won $2,000 for their efforts.

Second place finishers James Hill, left, and Jason Edwards, from Atlanta, Ga., with one of the carp they caught during the 11th hour of the tournament. Dick Blume | [email protected] 

With about 45 minutes to go, the southerners were still in a frenzy, landing nearly a dozen carp. They were admittedly tired, getting no more than four hours each during the 75- hour stretch..

"My big toe is mad at me. My back is killing me, but that's OK," said Hill. "Like I told my son, it's not about the money. It's the recognition."

Third place went to Adam Holodan and Tomasz Falaszewski of Illinois, who registered 140 fish, weighing 2,135 pounds. They won $1,500.

Duke Stratchie, of Baldwinsville, and his partner, Tom Brooks, of Kings Mountain, N.C., turned in the biggest fish of the tournament -- a 38-pound, 5 ounce common carp caught by Strache on Monday. The largest mirror carp was turned in by the team of Barry McPeak and Gary Ruble, of South Carolina. It weighed 22 pounds, 10 ounces.

Duke Strache, of Baldwinsville, with his 38-pound, 5 ounce common carp -- the biggest of the team tournament.Wild Carp Companies 

Those two fish won those teams $1,000 and $800, respectively.

The Big Four award (total weight of four biggest carp), went to Bogdan Bucur and teammate, Mihai Aciu, both from Chicago, who registered 117 pounds, 9 ounces. They won $2,000 for that feat.

In addition to those awards, tournament director Jason Bernhardt, broke the 30-team field down to six sections, awarding the team with the largest total weight in each section an additional $1,500.

See the updated leader board. Sorted Final Results.pdf

The catch in this year's tournament was bolstered by several factors. In addition to the good weather and water conditions, Bernhardt limited the field to 30 team to allow the anglers a larger area to fish their assigned areas, and also allowed them to pre-bait their areas Saturday evening before the competition began Sunday morning.

And finally, he extended the tournament time from 50 straight hours of fishing to 75.

Following this afternoon's awards ceremony, a separate day-long Big Fish competition is scheduled on Thursday and a Big Four contest is set for Friday.

Each competition will have individual prizes and a point system will determine the overall winner of the triathlon.

For more on Wild Carp Week and updated results, see The Wild Carp Companies website, the "Wild Carp Week" page on Facebook or email Bernhardt at [email protected].

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View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog