József Keresztes won the Carp Fishing Championship semi-final in Abert-tavi.
Between August 7-9, 2026, the Abért II lake in Lukácsházi hosted the 1st semi-final of the MOHOSZ–OTP Bank Hungarian Championships V. Rakós Botos Carp Catching OB, where 39 competitors fought for the final in Paks.
Carp fishing with a pole is an extremely technical discipline: the limited fishing distance, precise feeding, appropriate tactics and tiring of large fish all pose serious challenges to the competitors. Lake Abért has been the venue for the national championship semi-finals in this discipline before, but this is the first time that a semi-final has been held here.
On the first day, the weather also put the field to the test: the morning storm delayed the start, and then a strong north wind accompanied the round. The carp had to be worked hard, while in sector A, the strong grass carp of Aber provided the excitement.
The situation didn't get any easier on the second day either. In some places, the maximum had to be made from a few bites, while in other places, cautiously feeding fish or even dwarf catfish tested the patience of the competitors.
By the final day, the carp were finally moving more. In Sunday's round, 934 kilograms of fish were weighed, more than 200 kilograms more than in the previous rounds, and two catches exceeding 75 kilograms were also made.
The semi-final winners:
- József Keresztes – 4 points, 147,650 g
- Ferenc Hamar – 6 points, 144,830 g
- Attila Ferenc Balogh – 6 points, 87,060 g
The following advanced to the final in Paks:
József Keresztes, Ferenc Hamar, Ferenc Attila Balogh, Sándor Sebők, Roland Biczó, György Baki, Tamás Urfi, Gábor Imre, Zoltán Horáth, Tamás Ribi, Szilárd Berczi, József Kristóf Boda, Sándor Vida-Szűcs, Balázs Magyar, László Iflinger, Márton Szekeres, Sándor Szarka, Zoltán Gyömörei, Károly Domján and Szabolcs Szigeti.
Congratulations to the podium finishers, all those who advanced, and all competitors who fished through these three challenging, but exciting rounds!
The main organizer of the competition was Tamás Vegh from the MOHOSZ Sports Office, and the prizes were presented to the winners by Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations and the president of the Hungarian National Fishing Association .
Detailed results can be found by clicking here.
We would like to thank MOHOSZ Competition Sports for their trust, and our colleagues and all the helpers for the hard work behind the successful organization of the competition.
We wish those who advance to the finals good luck in Paks, and we hope that overall everyone returned home from Lake Abért with good experiences!
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