In Conversation With George Benos - Part One

We’ve spoken before, George, and you’ve said that North Met was where you cut your teeth, so that might be a good place to start…
“It was, yes. As local kids, we could often be found fishing ‘the Met’, but not necessarily for carp. We must have been only 10 or 11 years old at the time, and back then it was more about the tench and pike. Once I’d started getting more into the carp fishing, me and my mates would venture to various day-ticket waters in the area. I guess the first place I seriously started thinking about catching a certain carp came a few years after. It was from a local club water that held a mid-forty, not too far from the Met—we’re talking early 2000s, so it was a seriously big carp!” 

And how old were you at this point? 
“I’d say I was in my early twenties. Growing up, fishing wasn’t everything, and during my late teens I lived through the rave and party scene. I was also well into motocross, so whilst I always fished, I had plenty of other distractions. Come the early 2000s, though, I set my sights on this cracking club-water common. I was on there for two or three seasons, and eventually, I caught it. That’s where I think it really started for me in a big way, and it led me to where I am now… the fire had been well and truly lit. After that capture I returned to the North Met. If I’m honest, though, it’s a water I kind of dipped in and out of, as being so local, I used to fish it between other campaigns a lot.”

The North Met is an interesting lake, and quite colourful, shall we say…
“Oh definitely. It’s like a miniature Burghfield. I say miniature, but it’s about 60-acres, so not small. It’s similar in that it has lots of little bays and whatever else. Yes, it was colourful! There were lots of characters about, and it’s right in the middle of Cheshunt, so you can imagine…”

You have some interesting stories from your time on there, then?
“Oh, plenty. I’m not sure how many you could write about, but to be fair, I never experienced any issues there. I was local, though. It was one of those places, back in the day, that if you weren’t from the area or your face didn’t fit, you’d get smacked about. Like most places with a reputation, the reputation wasn’t as bad as we knew it to be, but what an incredible lake! The stock back then was insane. You had El’s Fish, Moon Scale, Baby Basil… it was a really special place to have on your doorstep, growing up.”

Were you fortunate enough to catch those fish during your time on there?
“I didn’t have El’s or Moon Scale, but I did bank most of the others. A lot of that stock have gone now, unfortunately, but yes, I did all right, to be fair. I’m fairly sure I had my first forty there, although it may have been my second. As I say, I did okay.”

The Manor would have been next, wouldn’t it? What drew you there?
“Big fish! After that club-water common, I guess I had a thirst for catching big ’uns. Don’t get me wrong, they still needed to have something about them and it isn’t just a case of It’s a big carp, I’ll go and catch that one. I’d seen a carp from the Manor, the Annie, and I remember thinking that it was a nice fish. It was also one of the biggest carp in the country, often going into high fifties. 

“I know there was a little bit of rumour about where it had come from and the like, but as far as I was concerned, she was a proper one. I’d been on there a few years and had caught them all, some three times, all apart from that one. I think it was the end of my third season and I’d been baiting it all winter. It was only half an hour from home, so as soon as the angling pressure dropped off, I decided to go heavy on the bait. Every couple of days, I would drive over with a 5kg bag of boilie. I did this all the way through October, November and December. I remember it being really cold. A lot of places had frozen, but where I’d been baiting with whole boilie for so long, the constant bird activity had prevented an area the size of two tennis courts from doing so—madness, really!” 

What was the reason for baiting such a large area?
“In the winter, when the water cleared the birds could be a nightmare. If you baited tightly, the birds would do a 5kg bag of boilie in no time. By spreading the bait over a larger area, you gave the fish more of an opportunity to get in on the action.” 

And were you fishing it at this point, or just baiting?
“If I’m honest, the weather that winter was really bad, and whilst I’d started to fish it, the lake began to freeze quite early on. Although I was able to keep the bait going in, fishing it wasn’t really an option. I guess there must have been a good two-month period when all I could do was bait. If I remember rightly, my first session back was on 24 January, after the ice had finally started to recede. I recall leading up that morning and there was still some ice on the lake, but as the day wore on, it pretty much disappeared. 

“It’s funny, actually, but in the end, the spot I fished had been under ice at the start of the day. I remember flicking the marker around the zone and this particular spot was that bit better than everywhere else. I got an almighty donk, and it was so smooth, like glass. It felt a bit special. I clipped the rods up and got them out sweetly. I thought that I’d put some bait out with the catapult, but after rummaging through my kit, I realised that I had left it in the van. I decided to leave the rods out and wait for it to get dark, when I could then pop back to the van and grab it.

“The Manor was a sociable lake, and as I was clipping on the bobbins, a mate turned up in the swim. Distracted, I forgot to turn the alarms on. On went the egg and bacon, and I sorted my mate’s sandwich first, before I then put mine together. As I was about to take a bite, I looked down at the rods and noticed that the line on one of them was bowstring tight. I threw the sandwich at my mate and jumped down to the lake’s edge. I pulled into it, and unbelievably, I had one on! It hadn’t been out very long, so you can imagine my surprise.

“By this time, there were a couple of people in the swim. The banks are raised around the Manor, so these guys could see the fish I was attached to, whereas I hadn’t a clue. I was leaning into what felt like a sack of potatoes and could hear one saying, ‘Go easy with this one, George,’ but no one dared tell me what I had on the end. I’m one of those anglers who, having had a bite, don’t like other anglers giving me advice. If I need help, I’ll ask! 

“There I was, playing this fish, which by this time had gone on a couple of powerful runs in the deeper water. After a while, I had it back, closer to the bank and up on the surface. The Annie had these sort of drop scales on one flank, and as they flashed on its side in the water, I clocked them, and that’s when the knees went! [laughing] I was an absolute mess, but before much longer, my mate had slid the net under it. I let out a massive shout, as you do, and we sorted her out. What a buzz! At 59lb 12oz, she was at her biggest ever weight, and in January, too!” 

What year was that? 
“I’m pretty sure that was 2009, so she was a proper big carp, back then. There were a few I knew about off the beaten track, shall we say, but she’d be a serious carp nowadays, let alone back then! I think you had the fish from Ashmead, a known big ’un, at the time, and obviously Two-Tone, which was a sixty.”

The Manor is a deep pit, so did it have much winter form?
“It did, but it didn’t get fished hard, and those that did fish it, generally used Zig Rigs. The Manor is like a big bowl, and although there are some really deep areas, it shelves up to three or four feet in the edge, before bowling out to twenty-seven feet in the middle. Going back to the year before, I’d done the winter alongside Steve Eves, an old-school Essex angler who was mustard. He showed me the way, to be fair. He was having five fish a day during the winter, fishing on the bottom. I don’t know what he did differently, but he was something else. He’d re-cast every 10 to 15 minutes, and he was just on it. If I’d had ten, say, he’d have fifty. He was an incredible angler, and I guess he showed me that it could be done.”

What was next on the list, then?
“I actually went back on the Met for the rest of the winter, and that’s when I started to consider St Ives. I’d known about the Fat Lady and had put my name in the frame for a ticket during 2009. At the time, syndicates were a lot easier to get on to. The ticket came around quickly, so I deferred it and just hoped it would come around again the following year, if I caught the Annie. 

“I’m not going to lie, the first time that ticket was offered to me I was probably a little intimidated by the challenge. It was a low-stock water, with only around a dozen carp in 40-odd acres. She was probably one of the friendlier ones, so to speak, doing two or three captures a year, but I was still a little apprehensive by the thought of it, if I’m honest. The ticket did come around again, though, and I started on there at the end of February.

“As you’d expect, I saw nothing during the remainder of the winter. I fished it hard, regardless, and leading up to them spawning, I had a bit of a red-letter session when I caught three fish, a couple off the top and one off the bottom. That was it, though, and I had nothing for the remainder of that season. 

“The following year, I took some time off over the winter. I’m not one for reading books, but I decided to read Dave Lane’s, more specifically, about his capture of the Fat Lady. I don’t know what it was, but it got me fired up. I remember thinking, I’m having it this year. I don’t know… I just seemed to come out the blocks a little differently at the start of that season. 

“As we got into spring, I hadn’t had anything, but I’d only just started. I wanted to be there as much as possible, but I remember having a speed awareness course booked, and typically, it coincided with the best weather we’d had that year, as well as a prime moon phase for that fish. Rather than getting down there for first light, I had to wait, all the while staring at the clock, willing the hours away—I was absolutely gagging! Eventually, I got the course done, and I was lucky not to get another speeding ticket on the way to the lake! 

“I rocked up, but immediately felt downbeat. It was red hot and the lake was, unsurprisingly, busy. With all the decent swims taken, I went for a little wander around. There was one swim, known as Silty’s, I believe, in one of the corners, with a wicked tree you could get up. This gave me a view of that particular corner of the lake, and after I’d climbed it and had got to the top, I nearly fell back down again. Every fish, other than the Fat Lady was there! As they milled around on the surface, I clocked the second-in-command, the fish they called the Black Pig. A mid-forty, it was behaving a little differently, swimming around in big circles and disappearing under the tree I was up. Then, out it would come from the other side, sucking little items of food from the scum on the surface. I watched it repeat its route a couple of times before I shimmied back down the tree. I didn’t have anything with me to mark the swim, so I darted back to the van, trying not to give anything away as I passed the other anglers. I loaded up the barrow, and as soon as I was out of sight, ran all the way back to the swim. 

“When I got back in the plot, I shot back up the tree. She was still there. Quickly, I set up the floater rod, got in my waders on and carefully edged my way out in front of the overhang. From there I couldn’t see which fish were taking them, but I continued to ping out a couple of mixers at a time. No sooner had they hit the surface than a set of lips would appear to slurp them down. Another couple of mixers went out and the feeding continued. 

“By this time, I was buzzing, as you can imagine. This was all happening really close to where I was standing. I still couldn’t see which fish were taking the mixers at this point as I was too low to the water. Quickly, I took the controller float off, my plan being to freeline a rubber mixer. The fish came back around, slurped the remaining mixers, and carried on their arc to the other side of the tree. I thought, Right, now’s my chance… I flicked my mixer slightly past their route, and as I could see them approaching, I carefully teased it back, getting it bang in line with them. This big back dropped below the surface a couple of feet from my hookbait before resurfacing just in front of it, inhaling it with no hesitation whatsoever! The water erupted as the fish turned and stripped me of line. Eventually, after a wicked fight, I managed to bundle it into the net. There it was: the Black Pig!”

That must have been a real confidence boost after that little bit of doubt…
“Yes, definitely. I can’t actually remember the weight, but regardless, what a capture! And yes, a real confidence boost. I knew at that point that it was only a matter of time. It’s funny, because I had ‘the Pig’ again a couple of weeks later, but off the deck.

“Leading up to the capture of the Fat Lady I was in a swim called Dave’s, and a mate of mine, Rich, was in a swim known as the Lawn. I was sitting in his swim one morning, having a cup of tea, and all of a sudden this absolute hippo slid out of the water. There was no mistaking that it was her. It was a definite feeding show, right over a known hard spot in the weed. We both looked at each other, knowing full well what the other was thinking, and I remember saying to him, ‘You’re going to have her.’ He was buzzed, and I was a little envious, I won’t lie. The next three mornings I watched her show over him. Whilst I had to go, I told him that when he was done, I was going to drop in there, had he not had her by then. 

“St. Ives was a circuit water and it wasn’t like everyone had their own swims. The main plots were one, in one out. There wasn’t a time rule, either. He was going to sit it out as long as he could. After I’d gone, I prayed that no one had seen it. Another mate, Jerry Hammond, was on there at the time. He was due down and I knew he’d be on the ball. I remember thinking, If he sees her, he’ll be straight in behind Rich, and I pulled a bit of a blinder. A mate of Jerry’s was fishing next door in Fatty’s, another popular swim. I made a point of ringing him the day before, making out that I wanted to get in there, knowing full well that he’d ring Jerry to give him the heads up. I’m renowned for getting to the lake early, and I rocked up at about three. Sure enough, Jerry was already there with his kit, in Fatty’s! [laughing] It was a little ‘sheepy’, I know, but it had to be done. I walked straight round and placed a bucket behind Rich.

“Rich had seen her again that morning. I don’t know what he was doing exactly, but he was known for fishing little traps and trying for a bite at a time. I’d jumped into a swim a bit further down the bank. I think he’d been there for five or six nights by this time and was getting to the point where he had to be off. I’d booked all of my leave and had the whole of May to fish, so I wasn’t too bothered. I knew that once I was in there, I’d have plenty of time ahead of me.

“The next morning, she didn’t show, so Rich decided to get off. Later that afternoon, I got my kit round to the swim and shot off to Waitrose. I had plenty of boilie and pellet with me, but I wanted to load it right up. I emptied the shelves of all their corn, chickpeas, kidney beans, tuna, etc. I also picked up some vegetable oil before heading back to the lake, full of confidence. She was known as an absolute pig, so I wanted to give them a right feast, and that’s exactly what I did! 

“I went all-in with all this bait—I reckon you could’ve seen it from Mars! My mate Gaz rocked up as I was putting more out. Rich must have told him about the Fat Lady, because he knew she’d been showing and asked how long I was down for. I said at least a week, but he also had some time to put in, so he placed a bucket behind me.

“As I finished the last 20ltr bucket he asked whether I was done. I remember saying, ‘No, mate.” I looked at him with a big grin on my face before grabbing a 5kg bag of boilie from the back of the bivvy and catapulting the entire contents over the top. At the time, I was using bog-standard Blowback Rigs with the Knotless Knot and a 20mm bottom bait topped with a bit of colour, so I stuck the same out over the bait and settled in for the evening. 

“I’ll be honest, I woke up the following day, not expecting to have had a bite. As I took a leak, I looked out over the lake and saw an almighty slick coming off the spot. Then, as I sat back down on the bedchair, I had a really slow bite. As soon as I picked up the rod, I knew what was on the end—I’d already had the Pig twice that year, remember. It was making big heavy lunges in and out of the weed, so I screamed for Jerry next door.

“Jerry came running into the swim, just as the fish managed to lock me up solid in a weedbed at the back of the spot. At this point, I started to panic. I asked Jerry if he’d run to the van and grab my boat. To be fair, he didn’t need asking twice, and off he sprinted. I laid the rod back down on the rest. I was in bits, thinking I was going to lose the fish. After Jerry had returned, he started to pump my boat up for me. I picked the rod up again, and as I leant into the fish once again, it started to move. All the while, I gave Jel a running commentary as he pumped up the dinghy at the back of the swim. I felt a couple more heavy lunges, and then it went solid a second time. 

“Jerry was trying to calm me down at this point, but I was certain it was her and so was in full panic mode. I’d never been like that before, or since, truth be known, but for whatever reason, that one got to me. Again, the rod went down on the rest. The boat was nearly ready, and once again, out it came! This went on and on, with me getting locked up another three times. The whole fight must have lasted no more than 20 minutes, but it felt like forever. 

“In the end, I managed to get it close enough for Jerry to land it, and yeah, there was no mistaking it, it was the Fat Lady! As my shout went out, my relief was unreal. It was another very special capture, and probably my favourite to this day. She went 57lb 10oz and looked incredible. They don’t make them like that anymore.”

Clearly, that one meant a lot to you. A common thread in what you’ve said so far would be the large quantity of bait you used. Would you say that’s a regular tactic of yours?
“It was, and it still is at times. If you go back 10 or 15 years, however, it was something that wasn’t done as much as it is now. Putting in a lot of bait back then was an edge, whereas now, a lot more anglers, I’d say, can afford to do it, so there’s a lot more going in. I’d say that I’ve probably gone backwards. Back on the Manor it wasn’t unusual for me to go through a ton of boilie a season, which is a hell of a lot of bait, so yes, I’ve certainly eased off a bit these days.”

What about set-ups? You said you favour a simple Snowman Rig. Has that changed at all over the years?
“I go through little stages, I guess, and it depends on where I’m fishing. When I started at Burghfield, the issue with crayfish wasn’t as bad as it is now, so you could use proper hookbaits. I used that rig and caught loads of fish on it. I had the Classic, along with a couple of the really big mirrors. Now, where the crays are a problem and I’ve been using the plastics, I’ve gone more down the pop-up rig route, with Spinners and Hinges. Also, as the crays move your hook about a lot, I tend to use a rig that I can quickly change the hook or hook section on. I guess that things have evolved a bit, but I always go back to the Snowman. It’s such a basic rig, but it works. I’m sure there are others that might do a better job, but let’s be honest, you can have the best rig in the world, but if there isn’t a fish there to pick it up, you’re not going to get a bite, are you? That’s what I concentrate my efforts on: putting it in the right place.”