WE CAUGHT UP WITH OLLIE RICOTTI, AMIDST A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN ON THE FAMOUS WRAYSBURY NORTH LAKE.

WE CAUGHT UP WITH OLLIE RICOTTI, AMIDST A SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN ON THE FAMOUS WRAYSBURY NORTH LAKE.


WRAYSBURY IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC LAKES IN THE COUNTRY, WAS THAT THE MAIN DRAW TO THE PLACE FOR YOU?


Of course, I have read and known about the lake since I started carp fishing. It has changed a lot since back in the original days, but while the lake is smaller than it once was and holds a lot more carp, it is still full of atmosphere and along with some amazing carp too. I work in the area too, so getting a ticket on there was a no brainer.

WRAYSBURY IS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC LAKES IN THE COUNTRY, WAS THAT THE MAIN DRAW TO THE PLACE FOR YOU?


Of course, I have read and known about the lake since I started carp fishing. It has changed a lot since back in the original days, but while the lake is smaller than it once was and holds a lot more carp, it is still full of atmosphere and along with some amazing carp too. I work in the area too, so getting a ticket on there was a no brainer.

WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE LAKE WHEN YOU JOINED?


I loved it, of course it had changed a lot from the early days, but it still had a special feeling about it. Many of the older fish still swam in its depths and if you took away the planes it was a little slice of heaven in the Colne Valley. It still had mystery surrounding it, you never knew what was coming next, be it a lovely stockie or one of the ancient Redmire commons.

WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE LAKE WHEN YOU JOINED?


I loved it, of course it had changed a lot from the early days, but it still had a special feeling about it. Many of the older fish still swam in its depths and if you took away the planes it was a little slice of heaven in the Colne Valley. It still had mystery surrounding it, you never knew what was coming next, be it a lovely stockie or one of the ancient Redmire commons.

"THERE WAS SO MUCH MYSTERY TO THE LAKE, I HAD TO CONTINUE FISHING IT!"

THE LAKE CAN BE REALLY WEEDY; DID YOU FIND IT EASY TO COMBAT SUCH THICK WEED GROWTH?


I had fished weedy lakes before, but Wraysbury was a different ball game. Quite a lot of the swims had huge 14ft walls of weed in areas, with small clear spots dotted around. It made feature finding vital, and as a result it really honed my skills. I swapped to braid on my fishing rods pretty quickly too, this vastly improved my accuracy as well as helping to get the fish through the weed. I had to use a Spomb to fish the tight spots, and I mainly focused on Lawn, Springates and Sunnymeads. The fish loved it in those areas in the warm weather pre-spawning. Unfortunately, I only really caught stockies at that point.

THE LAKE CAN BE REALLY WEEDY; DID YOU FIND IT EASY TO COMBAT SUCH THICK WEED GROWTH?


I had fished weedy lakes before, but Wraysbury was a different ball game. Quite a lot of the swims had huge 14ft walls of weed in areas, with small clear spots dotted around. It made feature finding vital, and as a result it really honed my skills. I swapped to braid on my fishing rods pretty quickly too, this vastly improved my accuracy as well as helping to get the fish through the weed. I had to use a Spomb to fish the tight spots, and I mainly focused on Lawn, Springates and Sunnymeads. The fish loved it in those areas in the warm weather pre-spawning. Unfortunately, I only really caught stockies at that point.

WHAT HAPPENED ONCE THEY SPAWNED AND WHAT DID YOU CHANGE WHEN IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK?


The fish moved from the corners and travelled to the middle. The weed was flourishing, and the carp spent a lot of the time. Spending hours with the leading rod searching out small, clear holes was the only option really. The fish were a lot more spread out and the main holding feature was weed and bait. They loved their food in Wraysbury and at times, you could not put enough out. I noticed that others were catching the odd big fish after or during a hit of carp, so catching the smaller ones to me wasn’t affecting my chances of one of the original fish.

WHAT HAPPENED ONCE THEY SPAWNED AND WHAT DID YOU CHANGE WHEN IT WAS TIME TO GO BACK?


The fish moved from the corners and travelled to the middle. The weed was flourishing, and the carp spent a lot of the time. Spending hours with the leading rod searching out small, clear holes was the only option really. The fish were a lot more spread out and the main holding feature was weed and bait. They loved their food in Wraysbury and at times, you could not put enough out. I noticed that others were catching the odd big fish after or during a hit of carp, so catching the smaller ones to me wasn’t affecting my chances of one of the original fish.

"THEY LOVE THEIR FOOD IN WRAYSBURY AND AT TIMES, YOU COULD NOT PUT ENOUGH OUT!"

IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BAITING WAS QUITE KEY WITH WHAT YOU PUT IN AND THE VOLUME OF IT, CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT?


I used a mix of pellets and crumbed Krill or Manilla with particles to keep cost down. I used a load of liquids too, just to make my bait stand out a bit more. The volume depended on the situation, but if I felt that I was on the fish, then I wasn’t afraid to start a session off fishing over a bucket of bait. The fish absolutely ripped through bait and they seemed to be pack fish too. I caught the majority of my fish on yellow Signature Squids too. I don’t know why, but they seem to have a real preference towards yellow hookbaits.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BAITING WAS QUITE KEY WITH WHAT YOU PUT IN AND THE VOLUME OF IT, CAN YOU EXPAND ON THAT?


I used a mix of pellets and crumbed Krill or Manilla with particles to keep cost down. I used a load of liquids too, just to make my bait stand out a bit more. The volume depended on the situation, but if I felt that I was on the fish, then I wasn’t afraid to start a session off fishing over a bucket of bait. The fish absolutely ripped through bait and they seemed to be pack fish too. I caught the majority of my fish on yellow Signature Squids too. I don’t know why, but they seem to have a real preference towards yellow hookbaits.

WHEN DID YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST MEETING WITH ONE OF THE OLDER ONES?


It was October time, I racked up over 60 fish before I actually fell lucky! Thankfully it was a cracker, one of the old Redmire commons. They are such special fish and it gave me a real buzz to add it to my album. That wasn’t all for that session either, I had the one called the Friendly Fully too, a cracking thirty-pounder.

WHEN DID YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST MEETING WITH ONE OF THE OLDER ONES?


It was October time, I racked up over 60 fish before I actually fell lucky! Thankfully it was a cracker, one of the old Redmire commons. They are such special fish and it gave me a real buzz to add it to my album. That wasn’t all for that session either, I had the one called the Friendly Fully too, a cracking thirty-pounder.

"THEY ARE SUCH SPECIAL FISH AND IT GAVE ME A REAL BUZZ TO ADD THEY TO MY ALBUM!"

DO A LOT OF THE FISH SPEND TIME IN THE SNAGS AND OUT OF BOUNDS AREAS?


They do, but they often come out at night time. At the back of Cigar Island there is a long channel of snags and out of bounds. Quite often during the day you see a large amount of the stock sat in there chilling out. They know that they can’t be fished for, so if they are not too keen on feeding, this is often where they end up. There are a lot of fish that you see in there that just don’t get caught, or haven’t for years, which is great and adds to the mystery!

DO A LOT OF THE FISH SPEND TIME IN THE SNAGS AND OUT OF BOUNDS AREAS?


They do, but they often come out at night time. At the back of Cigar Island there is a long channel of snags and out of bounds. Quite often during the day you see a large amount of the stock sat in there chilling out. They know that they can’t be fished for, so if they are not too keen on feeding, this is often where they end up. There are a lot of fish that you see in there that just don’t get caught, or haven’t for years, which is great and adds to the mystery!

THE LONG SUTTON WAS ONE OF YOUR MAIN TARGETS, WHEN AND HOW DID YOU FINALLY CATCH IT?


I knew the Long Sutton liked an area of water in the shallow end of the lake, but as it happened on that session I started in the deeper area. The lake was busy, but there were a few fish on me, so I was happy where I was. Over the next two nights I had four bites, topped by one of the largest Redmire commons at 38lb.

I noticed more and more fish showing in the shallows and so I moved onto them. I felt I had a great chance of catching the Long Sutton. I had to be at work for 8am the next day, but I felt that I had a chance of a couple of fish. The rods went out bang on, all on clear spots and the traps were set. Unfortunately, I lost my first bite, but landed the second one, only for it to be the Friendly Fully again. Just when I thought I had made the wrong decision, another rod melted off and I was attached to an animal of a carp.

It was the rod positioned on the edge of the bait, which was there to try and catch one of the more wary carp. As it happens, that was exactly the kind of carp on the end and after an epic battle, I slid the net under the one I wanted most, the Long Sutton. She looked immense and huge too. A friend came around to give me a hand and she went 43lb 4oz, a truly special carp and a pleasure to catch.

THE LONG SUTTON WAS ONE OF YOUR MAIN TARGETS, WHEN AND HOW DID YOU FINALLY CATCH IT?


I knew the Long Sutton liked an area of water in the shallow end of the lake, but as it happened on that session I started in the deeper area. The lake was busy, but there were a few fish on me, so I was happy where I was. Over the next two nights I had four bites, topped by one of the largest Redmire commons at 38lb.

I noticed more and more fish showing in the shallows and so I moved onto them. I felt I had a great chance of catching the Long Sutton. I had to be at work for 8am the next day, but I felt that I had a chance of a couple of fish. The rods went out bang on, all on clear spots and the traps were set. Unfortunately, I lost my first bite, but landed the second one, only for it to be the Friendly Fully again. Just when I thought I had made the wrong decision, another rod melted off and I was attached to an animal of a carp.

It was the rod positioned on the edge of the bait, which was there to try and catch one of the more wary carp. As it happens, that was exactly the kind of carp on the end and after an epic battle, I slid the net under the one I wanted most, the Long Sutton. She looked immense and huge too. A friend came around to give me a hand and she went 43lb 4oz, a truly special carp and a pleasure to catch.

"THE RODS WENT OUT BANG ON, ALL ON CLEAR SPOTS AND THE TRAPS WERE SET!"

AFTER ACHIEVING YOUR TARGET, DID YOU CATCH ANYMORE BIG, OLD ONES?


Thankfully I did. The stockies decided to spawn again and I found a group of fish feeding right on the causeway between the North and South Lakes. I knew they were bigger fish and introduced a few boilies. I could throw them out there, they were that close in! I setup close by and positioned a few rods on Hinges nearby, and the following morning I had one of the Scotty’s, Pawprint at 40lb 2oz!

I ended up following that one up closely with another one of the real special ones, the Broken Linear at over 42lb! I really did enjoy my time on Wraysbury, despite the changes, it is a great venue with some incredible fish.

AFTER ACHIEVING YOUR TARGET, DID YOU CATCH ANYMORE BIG, OLD ONES?


Thankfully I did. The stockies decided to spawn again and I found a group of fish feeding right on the causeway between the North and South Lakes. I knew they were bigger fish and introduced a few boilies. I could throw them out there, they were that close in! I setup close by and positioned a few rods on Hinges nearby, and the following morning I had one of the Scotty’s, Pawprint at 40lb 2oz!

I ended up following that one up closely with another one of the real special ones, the Broken Linear at over 42lb! I really did enjoy my time on Wraysbury, despite the changes, it is a great venue with some incredible fish.