Introduction

Name  CHRISTIAN OLDE WOLBERS

Age  42

Location LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA

 

 

 

 

Carping Experience, How many years have you been carp fishing?

First time I hooked a carp was in 1980 on a match pole fishing for bream in a creek in Holland where I was spending my summer holiday. It was a small 5lb common but I remember the fight was so ferocious that I was hoping my next bite would be a carp again. Then I started learning about techniques how to catch carp like using sweet corn. The following summer i was prepared with 2 rods, cans of sweet corn and I caught a bigger common, so kept going back for about 4 summers in a row and I spend everyday from dawn till dark at that beautiful park lake with multiple creeks catching carp.

I was absolutely addicted and hooked so on returning back to Belgium from my Dutch summer holiday I started going to the local lakes where I lived and from then on I knew I just wanted to catch carp.

So I would say when I was 12 in 1984 I started to take carp fishing really seriously and discovered boilies and started reading about them in books and learning how to make them. That opened a whole new world.

 

 

 

 

What got you into carp fishing and why are you currently still carp fishing?

The fight and excitement you felt when hooking a carp, and all the tactics that come with trying to catch a bigger carp. Everything was so secretive back then and all the anglers had their own little tricks and gadgets. The only way you would learn is either from other anglers, a few VHS video’s that were out at the time and books.

Scouting my local lake I noticed a few carp anglers and quickly learned from locals the lake was very pressured and new carp anglers weren’t just welcomed with open arms, I was only 12 or so and I had to get to know these guys and get an okay to fish in area’s not disturbing other anglers swims that they had been pre baiting and most of these swims where claimed all year long. I had never seen anglers bait with boilies and catapults until 1984 when I was 12 and they would hide their stuff upon approaching so you wouldn’t’ know what color their boillies where or where they were baiting, I had to learn all this and I became more intrigued with the mysterious secretive carp ways.

I saw one of the local carp anglers at the lake catch a 30lb+ mirror and I got nervous to hook one of those big fish at that age knowing there was carp care involved and technique not to hurt the fish and lf you didn’t have proper carp etiquette you would get booted and banned from the lake. It was a small town and everyone knew where I lived haha, so it was intimidating and that drew me even more into the sport.

When I moved to Los Angeles from Belgium in 93 I started recording albums and toured the world for 15 years straight and unfortunately never got to fish during that time, but I would pass lakes on the road and always wondered “is there big carp in there?”

About 4 years ago around 2010/2011 I started looking through old pictures from some catches of those days when I was a young angler and randomly started to google some info about carp fishing in Los Angeles and the USA.

I found info on anglers who are part of a So Cal carp Club ,and on doing some more research on the internet I started watching a ton of amazing carp video’s and documentaries which let me to getting the itch more and more to get back out to the bank again. Once it’s in your blood it will always be there.

 

 

 

 

Who are some of your favorite anglers and what makes those anglers stand out to you?

One of my favorite anglers and someone I really looked up to as a kid learning about the sport was a fellow named Frank, he was in his mid 20’s at the time, and when he’s showed up at the lake he would just catch when no one else would. He just had the knowledge and made excellent home made base mixes and perfect boillies.  His rigs and set up, you could just tell that he really knew what he was doing and was very tardy for it’s time in the early 80’s. One day I saw him fighting a fish and even though I was super intimidated by him I ran from across the lake over to see if I could be of assistance, he stared at me intensely for 3 seconds with a bended rod and said’ grab that net and put it right here!”

I handed it to him and just watched how he landed and netted that fish, learning. That’s how I started becoming more friendly with him and getting to know him. He would always let me hang out and I would never really ask questions, I would just watch and learn. There was a point a few years later on when he would give me a few kilos of his signature base mix and said “now go kick everyone’s ass” and I started catching half the lake that season. He definitely shaped me as an Angler.

I just reconnected with Frank after almost 25 years a few weeks ago which has been really fantastic.

(Picture I took of frank on a session with a beautiful old carved mirror circa 1986)

 

 

 

 

(circa 1985 Luc And Frank) 2 local carp Anglers

Other anglers I admire in the sport today are definitely Darrell Peck and Martin Pick.

 

 

What are your favorite tackle items you do not leave home without?

I have been really liking the Skinless hooklink from a Dutch company called PB Products, it’s a coated hooklink, super easy to strip, strong and just a pleasure to fish work and fish with. Basically I haven’t been leaving home without it. The other piece of kit I have been super buzzing about is the new Jag Black Prolite Pod and bankstick system. It was friggin expensive, but it’s such a versatile lightweight portable tarty piece of kit that suits my fishing style and it’s the last pod system I will ever buy again.

My next purchase is going to be the Sonik Tournos 10000’s reels and hopefully get my hands on those new Sonik Gravity X rods this spring.

 

 

 

 

What is your most memorable carping memory or best session?

There has been many, but I would say catching a nice 38lbs common on Christmas day 2 years ago at a very difficult lake here was very memorable. Would love to beat that here in the USA this year.

 

 

 

What are your top 3 favorite baits to use?

 

I am a boilie angler at heart, It’s my favorite way of fishing , simple hair with a 18mm, even though I don’t get to fish that way where I live in Southern California that much, it’s not much of a boilie environment here, we might add boilies or boilie crumb in our spod or bag mix but Carp are not so familiar with it on a hook, it also attracts the plague of other species like catfish and turtles but Carp here are easier to attract with a piece of white or yellow plastic corn, or a trimmed down pop up can work as well. I have been using CCMoore’s Northern Specials and the matching fruity booster Liquids

I get my full satisfaction of fishing boilies when I travel back to Belgium to visit my family. The lake I will be fishing there this year holds over 100 known documented fish up to 70+lbs.  I will be using CCMoore Live System And Equinox 18mm boilies over there to hopefully attract a big one.

So 3 favorite hook baits I would say.

1) 18mm CCMoore Equinox/Live System hook baits

2) 12/14 mm CCMoore Northern Special Yellow or White pop up

3) Korda Yellow plastic pop up corn

 

 

 

 

Favorite go to rig?

A stiff coated hinch style rig with either a pop up or plastic corn presentation. No hardware, no shrink tube. Simple.

 

 

Can you tell us something about yourself that doesn’t involve fishing? It can be anything you choose.

Well I am actually a Musician, I was the bass player for a few groups one of them being the metal band Fear Factory for 14 years, and I also worked and wrote music for Cypress Hill and a few others. I played some shows filling in as a guitarist for Korn, I play now with an old punk outfit called Beowulf that I grew up listening to as a youngster. I also produced a bunch of hip hop songs, played bass for Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, appeared on Jay leno playing a few times etc. And had the chance to work with a few other amazing artists and bands. All this music stuff unfortunately kept me away from Carp fishing for a while.

 

 

 

What are some of the regulations that affect you currently while carp fishing that you would like to see changed in the future?

As for California, it has many unfavorable rules and regulations towards carp angling and the sport unfortunately. I am positive in some other states as well. The non baiting law is one of them, I would like to see more night fishing opportunities, and we definitely need new rules and laws against the bow fishing massacres and try to preserve the European native Carp species and educate people. Yes we understand some of the Asian carp are invasive and becoming a plague in some rivers but we have other lakes with 30+, 40+ and even 50’s that we need to preserve to enjoy a sport that’s getting more and more popular here in the US. Be able to buy a license using 3 rods for carp fishing would be a great improvement as well in a few States. In Texas the fishing laws are much friendlier so I am definitely making the trip out there in spring time.

 

Can you share a tip with our viewers that may help them out?

I can give you many but here’s a good simple tip. Of course this depends a bit of your fishing situation but should work in most scenario’s. After you land a fish in the net, unhook and leave the fish in the landing net or sling safely in the water, get back to the rod and get a new rig on to cast out right away. After the rod is back out fishing then tend to the fish for weighing and pictures, this way it keeps you fishing for the next bite rather then having that rod out of the water for the next 45 minutes possibly missing an opportunity to the next bite. Waiting that long and then smashing a 4 oz lead on possible fish coming back into your swim was never a great tactic I reckoned.

 

 

What was your worst experience or session ever?

I can’t particularly think of any really bad experiences or sessions. Even losing a potential monster doesn’t qualify as a worst session because you will learn from it. I would say getting harassed by regulations departments for possibly baiting or the plague of the disturbance you get with being at most lakes. When I go fishing I like to be away from everything and everybody. It’s very crowded where I live so getting away from the crowd is tough.

 

In Closing all of us at The Big Carp News Team Welcome you aboard Christian and look forward to hearing more of your stories and sharing in your adventures.