What does it take to win the world’s largest carp fishing competition? A solid strategy, unwavering perseverance, and a generous dash of luck.
At the 2025 IBCC, the primary challenge for teams was adaptability. Lake Balaton’s weather showcased its many faces: stormy winds, spring sunshine, heavy rains, and summer heat alternated rapidly throughout the week. At one point, there was a storm warning in the eastern basin while the western basin experienced a heatwave. Understandably, the teams’ preparedness and adaptability played a significant role.
The winner MIKBAITS & KRYSTON team
Such a high-quality broadcast of a fishing competition has never been seen before. Four filming crews and ten webcams were on constant duty.
The Fishing & Hunting Channel prepared with a large team, as befits the world’s largest carp fishing competition. A 40-member crew provided content for both television and online broadcasts. For carp fishing enthusiasts, it was a real treat that the organizers installed webcams at ten points, allowing 24/7 monitoring of professional teams’ activities. The international reports were elevated by Rob Hughes, a three-time world champion carp angler. As the 2025 IBCC ambassador, Rob visited teams throughout the week, providing frontline coverage of the competition up to its thrilling conclusion.
Rob Hughes Riporting
This year, teams from 28 countries participated, highlighting the event’s growing international appeal.
The IBCC holds immense prestige among anglers, so it’s no surprise that the 300-team limit was quickly reached after registration opened. Competitors came in large numbers from European countries, with teams also representing South Africa, New Zealand, and Vietnam. Accordingly, the traditional flag parade before the April 12th opening ceremony was more colorful than ever. Notably, due to the large number of teams, the draw for fishing spots—the most crucial moment of the opening—lasted nearly five hours. Participants eagerly and fully equipped took their positions along various parts of Lake Balaton’s shore by Sunday noon.
Strict rules are essential for a professional, credible, and sustainable competition.
Top-performing teams at the IBCC can win substantial cash prizes in addition to glory, making result reliability paramount. A unique digital system ensures accurate data, while 80 competition judges and a satellite system enforce the rules. The IBCC is fundamentally a boilie and so-called bait boat competition. Here are some key rules: Only fish weighing over 10 kg count towards the results. Teams can only operate boats within GPS-designated boundaries. The maximum bait boat distance is 500 meters. The amount of boilie used is also limited to 100 kg.
This latter rule is just one of the sustainability considerations. The 11-year-old event places great emphasis on environmental protection and preserving the lake and its shores. Naturally, all caught fish are returned to the lake as quickly as possible after weighing.
A strong start on the northern shore amid windy conditions.
April’s weather immediately began its unpredictable dance on the first day of the competition. Just an hour and a half after the start, a second-level storm warning was issued, preventing teams from using boats due to safety regulations. Those who managed to deploy their baits quickly benefited, while others had to resort to the less effective “casting method.”
The sections in front of Badacsony Hill quickly revealed an abundance of fish. The first fish of the 2025 IBCC, weighing over 20 kg, was caught here. The lucky team, GRUNTY.CZ, had two notable points: one of the Czech anglers, at 19 years old, was the youngest competitor in the field, and they led the competition for days before securing third place overall.
Photo of GRUNTY.CZ’s first catch
Local teams only had a chance in the early days.
On Monday, the second day, local knowledge still mattered. The team fishing at Csopak Beach, HOTEL PAGONY, caught a 22.5 kg carp, temporarily leading the biggest fish category, though it was expected to be short-lived. By the afternoon, another local team, BALATON CARP, led the overall category with seven fish totaling over 100 kg.
During this phase, the leaderboard changed rapidly, but the northern shore continued to set the pace. Experts believed the cold, windy weather favored those fishing there. By day’s end, Team CONQUER SK, assigned to Balatonfűzfő, raised the stakes in the biggest fish category with a 23.77 kg common carp.
By Tuesday, most teams’ tactics and baiting had matured.
Despite new storm warnings, the morning saw a parade of big fish. Teams BLANKBROTHERS AUSTRIA and BOOKINGFISH POLAND both showcased 20+ kg specimens. The official gallery was enriched with many beautiful photos. By noon on the 15th, Slovak team GRUNTY.CZ took the lead in the overall category with nine fish totaling 138 kg.
In the afternoon, the storm intensified, significantly complicating competitors’ efforts. During the evening TV show, excitement peaked with news of a fish over 30 kg! It was later revealed that this massive 31.18 kg carp was caught at Balatonvilágos by the PARYS-MIKBAITS.SK team.
Wednesday brought hope to the southern shore.
On the 16th, warm sunshine finally favored the southern fishing spots, yielding many impressive catches in the morning. The “Top 5 Biggest Fish” category saw significant movement, with PIRKO BAITS SLOVAKIA taking the lead by noon. Their performance was remarkable, having caught only five fish, each weighing over 17 kg. Their glory lasted five hours until Hungarian team VMFISHING surpassed them with a stunning 28.45 kg common carp. By day’s end, the leader in the mirror carp category was a 24.78 kg giant caught by STANKOV CT – MIKBAITS CZ at Balatonkenese.
Double catch by CONQUER SK
On the fifth morning, GRUNTY.CZ led the overall competition with 25 fish totaling 336.55 kg.
By Thursday, teams in the Mikbaits sector in front of Badacsony had significantly pulled ahead in the overall category, but a single fish could still change positions among the leaders. Around 3 PM, MIKBAITS & KRYSTON took the lead with 403.13 kg, just 0.14 kg more than GRUNTY.CZ’s total. That day, an exotic Vietnamese team also caught their first fish—a flawless 21 kg specimen, bringing them immense joy.
Friday dawned with the competition’s largest fish making an appearance.
Around 12:30 AM, an alert reached the judges and on-duty TV crew about a 32+ kg fish hooked at Pálköve Beach. The filming crew quickly arrived from the Tihany headquarters to capture the ZEMNÍK–BODOVKA SLOVAKIA team’s impressive 32.25 kg carp. The team was ecstatic, even though it was only at the competition’s end that it was confirmed as the largest fish of the 2025 IBCC.
The excitement continued to build, as both the overall and top 5 fish categories saw such intense competition in the final hours, almost unimaginable in such a lengthy event. Meanwhile, the competition’s largest mirror carp quietly swam into Balatonakali. The AQVARIUS TEAM weighed this impressive 24.95 kg fish.
Photo of the competition’s largest fish
Czech dominance in the overall category, Slovak team took the big fish awards.
On Saturday morning at 7 AM, the competition’s head judge and TV crew set out for Szigliget, uncertain which of the top three Czech teams would emerge victorious. The competition ended at 8:00 AM, but GRUNTY.CZ’s boat was still on the water with a valid fish that could have influenced the final results. The fish turned out to be too small to change the standings, resulting in the following overall rankings: 1st MIKBAITS & KRYSTON, 2nd REBEL BAITS CZ, 3rd GRUNTY.CZ.
ZEMNÍK–BODOVKA SLOVAKIA not only secured the largest fish title but also won the top 5 fish category.
Throughout the week, the teams caught a total of 23.7 tons of carp, amounting to 1,740 fish with an impressive average weight of 13.63 kg.
Photo from the award ceremony
Saturday afternoon’s award ceremony saw tired yet joyful faces.
The International Balaton Carp Cup, the world’s largest fishing competition, reached new heights in 2025, thanks to extensive television and online coverage, increased international interest, and professional organization. Radu Morar, the IBCC’s owner, emotionally thanked all contributors and the teams departing in all directions after presenting the valuable prizes. The big question for the future is how organizers can accommodate even more teams. Lake Balaton will have no trouble, as Hungary’s sea is in better shape than ever.