Belgium angler Alexander Vandekendelaere wins the 10th Hobie Fishing Euros powered by Rapala! After two days of fishing on the Haringlvliet, Hollands Diep and Volkerak he absolutely crushed the scoreboard. With a total of 628cm he had 45 more than the second place finished Sebastian Sommermann (DE), who did best on day 2 on the Volkerak. Franck Gillard (FR), leader after day 1, finished in third place.
After a delayed start on Saturday because of the wind, both the anglers as event staff was ready for a quiet and organised start. And we did exactly not get that. The first anglers and event staff arriving discovered a rave party going on at the launch point. Not being able to start there had us change plans again, but thanks to the patience and help of the competitors and staff we managed to get all of the anglers on the water and fishing just 30 minutes after the original starting time.
A different lake, different conditions and different tactics. It was really anybodies game and with the top 4 being close together. Alexander Vandekendelaere wasted no time and claimed the lead to not give that up anymore. A 75 cm zander was his first submission after which he steadily filled the rest of his card. The scores were shut down at 12:00PM whilst Alexander was having a comfortable lead already. Could any still pass him?
In general fishing was better on day 2 with more fish and centimetres caught. The patrol/media boat was well served by the anglers and plenty of fish was caught right at where they were. Check the images out in the gallery below. The temperature increased in the afternoon and the bite slowed down, but that didn’t make the anglers stop trying. They kept on trying all the way back up to the locks they started from, but at 3:00PM everyone made it back in safely and started loading their kayaks onto their cars and trailers to make it towards de Banaan for the prize ceremony to crown the new Hobie Fishing European Champion.
Thanks to our sponsors we were able to give away amazing prizes. A big shout out to: Rapala, Lowrance, Okuma, C-MAP, Sufix, VMC Hooks, Hobie Eyewear, Traascustoms, Nocqua Adventure Gear, Berleypro! Without these sponsors the event would not be what it is now. Anglers competed for Lowrance Fishfinders, (the champion took home a Lowrance HDS PRO 10), Okuma Reels, Hobie Eyewear Polarized sunglasses, Berleypro kayak accessories, Traascumstoms Monsterboard, Nocqua Power solutions an Hobie Heritage Stand Up Paddle Board and then some more! The champion also will qualify for the Hobie Fishing Worlds 12 (location and dates to be announced).
So, that only leaves the prize giving, or at least, that is what the competitors thought. One of the most asked questions from anglers on or just after the prize ceremony is where the next Hobie Fishing Euros are going to be. The common answer: ‘We don’t know. Follow our socials to find out. We’ll let you know when we know’. Not this year. We called up Frantisek Zderka, who is one of two anglers (together with Hervé Martin) that has fished all Hobie Fishing Euros! Coming from Slovakia, he has put in quite some kilometres over the years, but that never stopped him from coming. Next year, he will have the home advantage as we are going to SLOVAKIA for the 2025 Hobie Fishing Euros.
There is one that already has a free entry to fish HFE2025 in Slovakia.. We had our youngest competitor ever competing this year. Jude Evans, a very skilled angler of just 14 years old. He held his own in the strong competitor field and the tough conditions. After two days of fishing he ranked 25th out of 64 with a total of 252cm. We love to see the young people develop a passion for fishing and especially kayak fishing. Therefor he was awarded a free entry to HFE2025! Keep up the good work Jude!
Here is the top 10 of the Hobie Fishing Euros 2024 powered by Rapala.
- Daniël van der Post (NL) – 408 cm
- Oliver Folle (DE) – 414 cm
- Mario Neigert (DE) – 415 cm
- Pierre Johnen (DE) – 419 cm
- Wolgang Schulze (DE) – 437 cm
- Hervé Martin (FR) – 462 cm
- Christopher Kipka (FR) – 466 cm
- Franck Gillard (FR) – 498 cm
- Sebastian Sommermann – 583 cm
- Alexander Vandekendelaere – 628 cm
The Biggest Fish of the event was caught by Daniel van der Post on day 1. The Traascustomes Tournament Board measured it at 119 cm. Daniël received a Traascustoms foldable measuring board as prize.
Check out the gallery of the day 2 below.
