The 2026 World Carp Fishing Championship in North Macedonia, held on the shores of mountain-ringed Lake Mavrovo, will go down in history as one of the most vibrant, emotionally charged, and dramatic tournaments ever. It wasn’t just a competition—it was a true test of nerves, endurance, and skill down to the very last second, where the Latvian national team delivered a phenomenal performance!
World Vice-Champion Title and an Incredible Battle
The tournament’s biggest sensation and our greatest pride—Valters Pirktiņš and Raivis Kabiņeckis (Zone A)! In their debut World Championship, competing shoulder to shoulder with 99 of the world’s top carp fishing pairs, our boys clinched 2nd place in the individual standings and secured the title of World Vice-Champions!
With a fantastic total catch of 194 kg, they fell short of the gold medal by just over 20 kilograms! Such tactical discipline, feeding accuracy, and stamina under the challenging conditions of Lake Mavrovo deserve the utmost respect.
Barons Baits Team Members in the National Squad & Overall Success
A significant contribution to the success of the Latvian national team was made by the members of the Barons Baits team—Konstantīns Silakovs and Deniss Višņakovs, who represented Latvia at the World Championship and fought tirelessly in their sector alongside the rest of the team.
Every sector gave everything they had. An uncompromising fight for every single gram, sleepless nights, and relentless teamwork culminated in 9th place overall among the world’s strongest nations—one of the best and most convincing results in the history of the Latvian national team!
However, the sheer drama of the sport is best illustrated by how tight the final results were. If only Zone B had managed to land just one more fish, the Latvian team would have claimed the World Championship bronze in the overall standings! Such razor-thin margins of seconds and grams show just how fantastically close we were to absolute triumph, and at what an extraordinarily high level our anglers are capable of competing today.
A huge thank you to the entire Latvian team, the coaches, and supporters—Latvian Angling Sport Federation, www.carpline.lv—for this historic success and unforgettable emotions!