Maybe from the beginning!!!

My name is Jacek Ożarowski, and I caught the fishing bug back in the 1980s. As a young guy, I learned to understand the water, fish behavior, and how to make baits and groundbait. For many years, I associated fishing with float fishing, and professionalism was most important to me. After a dozen or so years of fishing this way, the constant competitions and rivalry gave me the impetus to take an interest in something new! I chose the “discipline” known as “CARP FISHING.” It was the 1990s, and the entire carp-fishing market as we know it today practically did not exist. Making boilies meant somehow getting hold of casein and, what a thrill, rolling the first little balls by hand!!! What fun it was to “roll” a few hundred boilies until one in the morning, steam them quickly and (with no chance of falling asleep) head out for carp. The first carp takes: two ping-pong bobbins dropping by a metre, and then that run!!!!! Priceless!!!

The years went by and times changed completely. The carp-fishing market became widely accessible, and my passion could move from the backwater to Europe. Together with a group of wonderful friends who were also passionate carp anglers, we began organizing trips to carp waters in Poland and across Europe. For me, the trips were enjoyable but, above all, educational. I managed to learn a lot by observing both shortcomings and useful, practical solutions at different venues.

In 2011, on May 29 to be precise, I received information about an opportunity to take over a beautiful fishery very close to where I live. I had known the water for years and knew I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by! We managed to sign an agreement and formally launched the “Gajdowe Fishery” project!

From the very beginning, I had a clear idea of how I wanted it to look. I got a group of my carp-fishing buddies involved in my “madness” (that’s what my wife calls it—and she’s a little bit right), and off we went. We’ve been here for 10 years and are still developing. The improvements to the facilities are the result of many years of observing what anglers need and what works well at other waters. I know that for some people, the comforts and almost home-like conditions may seem unnecessary, but our aim was precisely to let whole families enjoy their time with a passion for carp fishing. We are constantly improving our facilities to make stays at this charming water even more enjoyable. Ten years have also given us time to carefully manage the fish stock. In the early years, we regularly stocked the fishery with carp and grass carp of various sizes. About five years ago, in 2015, we stopped large-scale stocking and now limit ourselves exclusively to selectively purchasing legally sourced specimen fish. Ten years have given me solid knowledge of the water and its fish population. I know there are a great many fish in this water, including close to 20 carp weighing over 20 kg, the largest being “Basiek,” at nearly 27 kg, and the new sensation, “Artek,” weighing over 30 kg. The grass carp average 12–17 kg, with the largest weighing nearly 30 kg.

The fishery is located in the Opole Voivodeship, less than 8 kilometres from Strzelce Opolskie, in the village of Centawa, within the Rudziniec Forest District.

Gajdowe Fishery is an 8.5-hectare water that, thanks to its varied terrain, will satisfy every carp angler. The depth ranges from 80 cm in a beautiful bay, heavily overgrown with reeds, to 2.5 m on the other side of the water, near the two monk sluices.

The springs are located in the bay mentioned earlier—or rather, in its overgrown, inaccessible part—and supply the water with clean, fresh water all year round. A few additional springs lie in the middle of the lake, giving the fish very good conditions even during hot summers.

The water is made even more charming by two islands which, besides their visual appeal, add to the variety of good fishing spots. The lakebed is fairly soft, but also has plateaus with harder patches. The bottom is hard near the opposite bank and the islands mentioned earlier, which is probably why these spots receive the most attention from anglers. The swims located right by the monk sluices are also worth mentioning, as they produce very good results for anglers. It is worth noting that fishing by the “monks” can bring an extra bonus in the form of a sturgeon as a bycatch. Although there are only a dozen or so sturgeon in the lake, they are caught quite often in this area.