"Behind The Rods"

dezza · Feb 9, 2011

I popped into the Rotherham headquarters of Nutrabaits yesterday to pick up a copy of Bill Cottam's recently published book: "Behind the Rods". It tells of Bill's progression from persuing carp in local Notts, Lincs and Yorks waters to landing some of the biggest carp in the world.

At £25.00, direct from Nutrabaits its an interesting read that will surely interest any keen carp angler.

The book was of great interest to myself as although Bill is younger than me, we certainly have crossed paths in terms of the waters we fished when we were kids.

I will write a more detailed review of this book in the not too distant future.

Dicky (Angling Trust PAC) · Feb 9, 2011

Bill has to be one of the most successful carpers of all time; I look forward to the review Ron.

He lists his favourite capture as the Scarred Fish from The Graviers at 82lb... and as you can see below it is one heck of a fish!

Bill%20Cottam%20with%20the%20Scarred%20Carp%20Weighing%2082lb.jpg

noknot · Feb 9, 2011

"Bill has to be one of the most successful carpers of all time"

Really, are you being serious here? He may have caught a few lumps, but that is only because he fished where they lived! Do you not think that you could catch the same Carp given time on the same water? No knocking Bill as I have met him, and what a nice guy, However "Bill has to be one of the most successful carpers of all time" is a little of mark IMO!

dezza · Feb 9, 2011

Bill Cottam is without doubt one of the most successful catchers of big carp of all time. Why, because he has gone out, found the fish and caught them, even if it meant travelling all over France to do so.

He has done this because he has had the enthusiasm, and most of all the where-with-all to do it. He also has to prove that his products catch big fish, and that they do. I have used a couple of Nutrabaits products on barbel - products like Trigga, and they certainly have worked for me, catching me a fare number of double figure barbel.

And lots of carp anglers fish the same waters that Bill fishes and they don't catch anything like the fish that Bill does. So I reckon that Bill knows a thing or two when in comes to carp fishing and because of that I reckon this book will help any budding carp fisher.

And I do not recieve a penny for what I have just said.

---------- Post added at 13:18 ---------- Previous post was at 13:16 ----------

Oh and he is a proud Rotherham man, bred and born there.

Philip · Feb 9, 2011

All this new found praise for a Carper.

Glad to see you agree fishing for Carp with Bolt rigs, on buzzers while asleep in a bivvy is skillful and worthy of praise then Ron...and all of it given freely...

dezza · Feb 9, 2011

Hell I've done a bit of it in my life too.

Be doing it on Rushmere in a couple of weeks or so.

Philip · Feb 9, 2011

Rushmere as in S Africa ?

Dicky (Angling Trust PAC) · Feb 9, 2011

noknot said:
"Bill has to be one of the most successful carpers of all time"

Really, are you being serious here? He may have caught a few lumps, but that is only because he fished where they lived! Do you not think that you could catch the same Carp given time on the same water? No knocking Bill as I have met him, and what a nice guy, However "Bill has to be one of the most successful carpers of all time" is a little of mark IMO!

Fair comment NK,

I'm not a big carper and don't really keep up with the 'access to waters' politics, but he found out where they were and then caught them well ahead of equally competant anglers?

From a layman's point of view I have followed Bill's captures and he always seemed to me to be one step ahead of the game?

dezza · Feb 9, 2011

Where else?

After 3 weeks in SA after big carp (Rushmere has them up to 60 lbs), I move onto South Island after seatrout and then NSW after kingies.

A nice trip indeed. It will probably be the last world trip I do in my life.

Philip · Feb 9, 2011

Well I guess we don’t need to ask who is supplying your bait…

You actually answered the question I was going to ask which was how big do they go in there now. It seems they may have peaked as I recall they were coming out from there to about that size a few years back and it looked for a while that that it had the potential to do a world record. Mind you you never know what might be tucked away.

Last world trip ? …I doubt it…plus the irony.. how could you ever live it down ? …your last trip and you were after Carp…

dezza · Feb 12, 2011

My bait will be supplied by a South African boilie company - pineapple flavour is what is working at present.

And I have been booked into the hot swim!

dezza · Feb 13, 2011

Oh and Philip, from 1968 to 1975 I fished intensively for carp. The later of these years saw lots of success but not initially. British "Walkerian" carp fishing were not very successful for carp which lived in huge silty bottomed inpoundments.

Philip · Feb 13, 2011

Yes I know you have done a bit of Carping in your time. It just seems strange that after what appears to be literally 1000s of posts chastising them and carpers in general, you suddenly have what appears to be an epiphany and embrace a new found love for them and session fishing....and all of it given freely without any incentives whatsoever...

Still, whatever your reasons I think its great that you have finally decided to do some proper fishing again. Lets face it, trout fishing has its moments but it can become a bore as yet another suicidal trout decides to impale itself on a bare hook being monotonously stripped back in. After all were's the skill in that?

dezza · Feb 13, 2011

Ooohh, you've asked for it..........

"And we set another carp trap in the hope that a hapless fish will take the proffered bait and hook itself!"

Where's the skill in that?

Philip · Feb 13, 2011

What !? What !?

My word this appears to be a rather monumental 180 U turn we are seeing.

Just a handful of posts back you were singing the praises of Big Bill and all his skill full captures yet isn't setting self hooking traps exactly the style of fishing he employes ???

Goodness Ron, make your mind up will you..look let me make it easy for you....you cant have free Carp bait AND criticize carpers and carp fishing at the same time so pick one and stick to it :

Free/bait or Carp/hate ...Which ones it gonna be ?

dezza · Feb 14, 2011

Free Bait????

Why is it that people think that anglers such as myself who write the odd article get free bait? All I've had over the past few years has been 3 packets of hooks, a few dozen flies as payment for "letters of the month" and several spools of line.

And you cannot take packets of boilies over to SA under any circumstances. Read the forms you are given just before you arrive. If they find organic food stuffs in your baggage, you are likely to be fumigated along with all your other clobber.

Remember what happened to that silly fool of a pike angler who took live F1s over to Ireland in an aerated tank. I can assure you that SA jails are a heck of a lot worse than Irish jails. Ask Nelson!

Philip · Feb 14, 2011

I am winding you up Ron! ..let's hope those SA carp are as easy to hook as you are eh!

Btw...regardless of what everyone tells you is the going bait, I would have at least 1 rod with hard maize or a tiger on it.

Good luck!

Peter Jacobs · Feb 14, 2011

Philip said:
Btw...regardless of what everyone tells you is the going bait, I would have at least 1 rod with hard maize or a tiger on it.

Just a thought but, aren't Tigers a protected species Phillip?

dezza · Feb 14, 2011

Hard maize baits were invented by South Africans ca 1904. It was one way of avoiding small fish.

A friend of mine once baited a spot on Vaal Dam with 2 tonnes of plain white hard maize. It took an afternoon to row out the 2 dozen or so sacks of bait 80 yards or thereabouts from the shore and place it in about 20 feet of water. That night he caught 20 odd carp beween 15 and 30 lbs. For over 3 months that spot was the best carp swim in the area. I also caught some big Largemouth Yellowfish there.

In case you think this was gross baiting, Vaal Dam is about 50 miles long and varies in width from 1/2 a mile to 2 miles. It is heaving with small carp and occasionally these fish are netted for food.

dannytaylor · Feb 14, 2011

bit of a bold statement too say maize hookbaits where invented in south africa back in 1904 :wh

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