Record Breaker Part 2

“Oz, what kind of rigs do you use for these big fish campaigns? Does your set-up change depending on the situation?”
“I don’t really mess about with rigs too much, they are fairly basic and are tied to the situation in front of me. By this I mean I tie them up according to that session and that particular area, not in advance. I use a different type of rig for each type of occasion, but the important thing for me with rigs is a big hook and the sharpness. I’ve been using a diamond file to sharpen my hooks for years.”

“So what exactly is it that you change for fishing on different types of area?”
“I feel confident fishing Choddy’s, bottom baits or pop-ups at the right time. For instance, when I’m fishing over silt I will go for a straightforward pop-up rig; if it’s on a hard bottom then I will use a bottom bait that’s hard on the deck. When fishing over silt or a bit of weed, I definitely favour a helicopter presentation and due to the nature of the venues I fish and the amount of weed, ditching the lead is often without a doubt a massive advantage. Regardless of whether it’s a helicopter set-up and means tying the lead on with some light line and adding PVA tape for the cast or a lead clip set-up on a harder spot, I always make sure the lead can come free and that the rigs are ejectable. The top bead on the leader always needs to be able to pass over any connecting knots easily.”

“Do you believe you can tailor a rig to be effective at hooking a big fish or do you think that a rig that can hook a 10lber will be equally as good at hooking a 60lber?”
“It comes down to the mechanics of the rig and a few things really. You can tailor a rig to a spot but good rig mechanics i.e. a really sharp hook, good presentation and a good gap between the hook and bait will help ensure whatever takes the bait will be well hooked. I really can’t experiment with smaller hooks producing more bites or fining down with the type of fishing I do, I need to be ready for each bite like it’s the one I’m after and have total confidence in the kit.”

Double Belly, a real old character fish from Oz’s current venue

“After attaining the British Record, what’s still out there to warrant an Ozzy Holness campaign?”
“I think there will always be lots out there. There are some fantastic lakes and fish out there, you can see that from the mags at the moment – and it’s not always about size either. At the moment I’m after a very special fish in the Thames Valley. I think this is probably the ultimate challenge in carp fishing that’s out there at the moment. A vast windswept water, lots of islands and out-of-bounds areas… it has everything a carp angler could dream of. I think there is so much out there and it’s not always about size or a popular circuit water fish, it’s more a matter of finding what you want and deciding if you want to fish a heavily pressured lake or stick it out on a more challenging lightly fished, lightly stocked water.”

“Oz, do you have a set approach that you have for campaigns which won’t change from lake to lake or are there lots of things which change?”
“Well, there are plenty of things I always do as a standard when I join a new water and start ‘afresh’. I do as much homework as I can on the lake, looking at past captures and any info I can get. I then take a leading rod round to get a really good grasp of the topography of the lake bottom and find some likely spots. I will then start getting some bait to these areas; this gets the fish used to my bait. I then adapt the levels, how and where I bait according to the areas that start to produce fish or where I see signs of activity as the campaign starts. As you go along you may find the fish like one spot more than others or prefer to feed in silt or on gravel, so I then think of my fishing like a chameleon and change according to the environment to always blend in and have the upper hand. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, there will always be something that changes from lake-to-lake which you need to learn from and adapt to fit in with a new scenario.”

Rods out on the big pit

“When you approach a lake, do you usually have a different style to other people?”
“Well, without being too nosey, I like to know what everyone else is doing. Going away from the general style of angling on a lake and doing something completely different is something that I find helps me immensely when angling on a new water.”

“So how much is baiting up a part of the campaign?”
“I normally start a venue at the end of winter coming into spring, during these periods location is a real key influence and I normally will fish singles or very small quantities of bait, but these opening few months can give vital clues as to where the carp feel confident feeding and which areas would be good to start regularly baiting. As the weather warms up and the fish start to move about more using more energy, I up the baiting level accordingly.”

“Do you get down to bait up regularly? Is this a key part of your campaign?”
“At the moment my chosen venue is a 220 mile round trip, so baiting up between sessions is a bit of a problem. To combat this I try and do as much work at the lake when I’m there fishing as possible. If there is going to be a long break between fishing, I may try and get down just to introduce some bait and keep the spots ticking over. I always try and have three or four areas on the go at the same time. This means I have a few options open to fish depending on weather conditions or where other anglers are on the lake. I normally try and bait these up on the first morning and keep checking them and topping them up during the session and again when I leave.”

The ‘Box’ Common from Swan Lake at 35lb 12oz

“So, do you have a set bait you are confident in?”
“Yes, I’ve been involved with Jeff Bowers from Active Bait Solutions since I was about 14-years-old, when he was at Premier Baits and he’s always made me up some good baits that I have great confidence in. The last six years or so the bait I use at the moment has evolved, it’s based around a pre-digested fishmeal base, with milk proteins, enzyme liquids and really good quality oils. I have the utmost confidence, it seems to work well anywhere and it’s very palatable and digestible, even if I want to take a campaign right through to winter, Jeff can tweak it up to make a winterised version. Having confidence in a bait is a number one priority for a big campaign, once you have the confidence in a bait, you’re onto a winner.”

“Talk us through what hookbaits you use and when?”
“In certain situations I will simply go for an out-the-bag standard hookbait. I also hand-roll corkball pop-ups and can get some hard hookbaits made to ensure they are protected from nuisance fish. Normally it makes sense to just use the same base mix as I’m feeding so the corkball and wafters are made to look and smell exactly the same. The only exception is when I opt for a pop-up to use as single which might be completely different.”

A winter catch of ‘Paddles’ at 36lb 2oz from Mid Kent Fisheries. Having total confidence in the bait is essential

“How do you decide on locations from which you target fish?”
“I obviously look at the history of where the fish are caught from and that combined with walking the lake I gradually build up a big picture over time of movements and routines which helps pick an area to fish. I think a huge part of the jigsaw is getting a visual on the target fish. The more you can see and watch your target in certain areas the more you will begin to understand and the better you will do. There are so many influences on fish movement; angling pressure for one plays a big part and areas which get constantly pressured I tend to stay away from, trying to find quieter areas to concentrate my efforts. I always have a few different areas going and I’m happy to bait and not fish areas for months until the moment everything fits into place and the area becomes prime to wet a line. Sometimes it can then become very easy.”

“As you said when you caught Two-tone in part one, the bulk of the fish were down the other end of the lake. Do you think it’s normal that the bigger fish may not be with the rest of the ‘shoal’ as it were?”
“This is really difficult to tell to be honest. I think there are times when the bigger fish will swim with the rest of the bulk of the stock and feed with them, even if it’s on the periphery of the area. I have seen this on Conningbrook with all the fish together as I said in part one. Having said this, I think the larger fish can also be loners some of the time and stay in their own little groups. It’s very often the case you hear of big fish hanging about together or with the same ‘body guard’ fish. The fish’s buddy gets caught shortly before the big ’un.”

“So because the larger fish may not necessarily be with the rest of the stock, do you often avoid obvious areas where fish are showing and there are lots of people because you think the larger fish move off the pressure first and may be in a different area?”
“Unless I see a really big lump crashing out, I try to avoid pressured areas if I can, simply because I like more space to myself and also I think the heavily fished swims obviously have more lines in them all the time and have lots of bait signals being given off. For me, I’m a firm believer that the fish will respond better to the bait more readily in areas that are much safer for them to be in.”

“What do you think the biggest impact on fish location would be?”
“Number one for this would have to be ‘weed and natural food sources’ followed in close second by angling pressure and human interventions.”

“Sometimes it’s these first ice cold winter sessions that teach you the most”

“The carp scene has changed hugely since you started back in 1987, can you talk us through some of the key changes you have seen over the years and how do you feel about the way it’s now going?”
“Back in those days there was so little information out there, everything was kept in-house and the carp scene was a small cocoon of knowledge, anything you got was read from a book or the BCSG. Now anglers starting out are overwhelmed with information in the mags and on the net; there is such a bewildering array of info for them to go on. I think great things have happened with bait and tackle development as well, what’s available now has to be a great advantage to anglers with such good kit being produced.

“It seems that the commercial match scene, as it were, in carp fishing has exploded in popularity with anglers wanting to go out for a relatively short period and get a few bites. The big carp scene seems to be a lot smaller relatively compared to what it once was, I guess that’s a part of the modern scene and how things change but I just hope that this kind of challenge is out there for those that want it in the future.”

Oz checking the spots for signs of fish

“The carp in our waters are threatened from all angles from otters, to poaching, to illegal fish movement and of course, risk of disease. On top of this, a string of big historic fish have passed away in the last year. What are your thoughts on the current threats to carp fishing and the future of this sport?”
“Everything you have mentioned there is a reality and a problem for carp in our waters and ultimately our sport. I think we are really lucky to have bodies actively combating problems to help the fish in our waters who do great work preventing illegal fish importation to protect British stocks and preventing the stress of those fish that are being imported, facing a terrible journey up ended in a plastic bag in the back of a van. The only way to truly stop that kind of movement is for all anglers to boycott instant fisheries that pop-up with big fish which have entered from other countries. It’s a horror story in itself and we pride ourselves with the respect we give to our quarry so let’s help put a stop to illegal movements.

“Otters are a tough topic, with fencing being the only current possible solution. Maybe ticket prices will go up or funds could be made available from the government to pay for the expensive otter fencing. Fisheries need to protect their stock from the re-introduction of otters. We take a lot from our angling with the enjoyment we get and I think the least we can do as anglers is try and make a difference in some way by supporting organisations. At the end of the day, we as anglers all have an interest in safe-guarding our sport so being vigilant for poachers, reporting otter sightings etc. is all part of the modern-day scene we need to adjust to and keep on top of.”

Not the one he’s after but a stunner nonetheless

“Obviously some really historic fish have passed away in the last few years, what changes can you see happening with the industry and what does the future hold for the British carp scene?”
“The last few years has been devastating in terms of history fish passing away, with very few of the iconic history fish left in our waters. I definitely see the pendulum swinging towards these more highly stocked big fish waters which are becoming more common and more prolific each year, with more fast growing carp being stocked all the time and less and less low stocked big pits being about. I guess I hope people see things for what they are and for myself and like-minded people, I hope that this kind of carp fishing is still about and we still have our voice and don’t get lost in the growing industry that really big carp angling was a start of. At the moment there’s something out there for everybody, hopefully that’s how it will remain.”