fishing articles
My first trip to France was in 1989, from then I was
addicted to fishing continental waters, my addiction continued and took me to all manner of lakes, rivers and
canals throughout Europe. In 1998 I received a posting order to Osnabruck in Germany! Only 1 hour from the
Dutch border, 2 hours to Belgium and approximately 4 hours down the autoban (motorway) before I was on
French soil! The carp god in the sky was looking down on me! Here I was an addicted big fish angler smack
bang in the middle of Europe! No expensive channel to cross, no long journeys, weekend sessions for carp
over 50 lbs was within easy reach! Euphoria for any big carp angler!
During the several years I was based in Germany I accumulated upwards of
30,000 miles in search of my quarry and found many pastures new from which
to catch them. I have fished over 150 different venues in Europe ranging from
1-acre pools to vast rivers and lakes, in addition I have approximately 1000
stretches of water on file that contain big carp, with the majority allowing legal
night fishing. Some of my fishing was on the well known venues like
Lac Du Der, Twente canal and the river Mosselle but nowadays tend to fish the
lesser known waters. Which is what I will be writing about in the coming issues.
Due to my extensive travels to some quality French owned venues and repoire
I had gained with the lake owners I found myself working with carp fishing
agencies, supplying the names and locations of big fish venues that they
would go on to promote under there own banners. It was a simple case of field
testing a private venue and giving it the thumbs up to the director, whereupon I
would introduce the agency to the lake owner and contracts would be signed,
pretty much in the same way as Thomas Cooke do business. These venues
are now the responsibility of the companies therefore I will not divulge any
information that may detrimental to them.
Venues I will name in the coming issues will raise a few eyebrows amongst many carp anglers out there, anglers that are secretly having it away. Prior to naming them I would like to dedicate this article to the various categories and sub categories of venues. If you are looking for a new water that contains many big carp then I have plenty to offer, all have been field tested by myself and I was probably one of the first English anglers to fish them.
I believe it is an article that will open a few eyes to European carp fishing and types of
venue out there. Included will be many tips on how to get over the water at a reasonable
cost and fish lakes that contain the fish you are after. Notice the word contain and not
catch? This is due to the misconception that many UK anglers have about fishing
abroad, they see the 40s 50s and 60s in the angling press and believe it is simply a
case of going over there and hauling them in! Its not quite like that, the majority of
anglers that fish in France will return to England without catching the fish of there
dreams! Some will achieve their goal but they are the minority. Put your goals into
perspective prior to choosing a venue, if you are intending to catch fish of over 50 lbs
then ensure the water you choose contains fish of this calibre, stating the obvious but
not all venues do.
If you wish to catch many reasonable sized carp with a chance of a biggie then choose
a lake that is very well stocked with carp of your chosen size but also contains some
big carp. Many anglers blank on some of the most expensive lakes in France, it does
not mean the venue is “crap” It could be that the conditions were not conducive to good
feeding, you were not on the fish or any number of other reasons. I have heard so many
anglers say a lake is “crap” They then go onto say the facilities and food were of poor
standard, the majority of them would not have mentioned the facilities if it were not for
them struggling to catch. I would not advise on making facilities your number one
reason for going to a certain lake, some do have very good facilities but many will only
have a French type hole in the ground toilet. Would that stop you from fishing a water?
It wouldn’t me, I know of several waters all containing many 50 lb + carp but have a
thunder box (wooden porta-loo with a large hole in the floor where one deposits)
Not nice! But the fishing costs are only £75 per week with the average size being over
28 lbs.
Lakes in Europe can be categorized and sub categorized from public venues through to
privately owned lakes, in order to help the average carp angler choose the right type of
venue I will attempt to give the advantages and disadvantages to each type. The
categories will become clear as you read on.
Private Venues
These are lakes that have been purchased or leased and ran as fisheries on a commercial basis. They are on secured private grounds and often the first choice of the holiday angler. They tend to be hassle free and a joy to fish. Carp stock and size vary from heavily stocked fairly easy venues to out and out big fish lakes. The advantages and disadvantages are not the case for every private venue but only my findings on the majority of them. They can be sub categorized as follows:
English owned/leased
There are many more English owned/leased venues hitting the market every year, some better than others, but to read the adverts some give the angler the wrong impression, as already stated the fish will not jump up your line, there are many successes and as many failures. I have not fished all but have been in contact with anglers who rave about some and slag others off. Some of the venues that have a waiting list are usually top quality, they have a waiting list due to the amount of return customers, anglers that were happy with there first trip. Most English owned/leased venues are within a 4 hours of a port, keeping the driving distance to a minimum for the travelling angler. In my view the most important factor of English owned lakes is that the owner is likely to be a carp angler and understands the needs of the visiting carpist.
Prices on this type of venue are normally over £200 per person per week, the proprietor is not trying to rip anyone off, they are simply paying for the lake, the stock, its maintenance and advertising costs, to maintain a quality venue costs quality money.
I must stress that I have no commercial interest in any of the following venues, here are a few that I have had good reports from: Etolie, Maleon, Mirror pool, dream lakes and Mooreland fisheries.
Advantages
1. Travelling distance to the lakes is normally within 30 minutes to 5 hours from a port.
2. They are on secure grounds with no public access.
3. The lakes are usually well maintained.
4. Density of carp is high.
5. Not too many anglers are allowed to fish at any one time.
6. Arrival and leaving times are on set days, minimising disturbance during your stay.
7. Strict rules are in force to maintain the health and beauty of the fishery.
8. Facilities are good.
9. English speaking bailiffs.
10. Pre booking is normally mandatory.
Disadvantages
1.
Some have unusual rules.
Some have unusual rules. 2.They are expensive.
They are expensive.French owned/leased
Again these are privately owned lakes but tend to be open shop lakes, by this I mean anyone can turn up and fish. There are literally hundreds of these with many of them catering well for the travelling angler. Many of the more experienced travelling carp angler fish these types of lakes, I know of several that have a good stock of 30 – 60 lb carp, but in the same breath I know of many that are out and out runs waters but you will be lucky to land anything over 30 lbs.
The main advantage with this type of venue is the price, they rarely exceed 120 euros (£80) per person per week!
Rules can be virtually none existent, the only worry these lake owners have is the constant threat of fish thieves, I know one or two now carry out random checks on vehicles leaving the grounds.
Most French lake owners tend to secure there gates at a certain time in the evening and re-open early morning, leaving a contact number for the angler to ring in case of emergencies through the silent hours.
Here are a few good quality private French lakes that I have first hand experience of: Les Halbrans, Domaine des Illes, Pescalis, Beaumont de Lomagne, Etang de Pesnel, Lac de Poiteviniere, Champ de Ourscamp and Etang Rouge are but a few.
Agencies
Public waters - AAPMA
There are literally thousands of public lakes in France where a carte peche is needed to fish them. Some of the more famous ones include the Orient, mosselle, seine, Chanty & Casien. The licence for these waters can be purchased from many bars and tackle shops. Its a simple case of visiting a shop or bar near by armed with your French phrase book and ask!
Public waters with controlling bodys
This type of venue is becoming more common in France nowadays, they are venues that are public but have a controlling club or body that has the rights to fish, when taking the right to fish, they also take up the rights to maintain the fish stocks and surrounding land. It may not be an angling club that is the main controlling body, for example on lac du der a Carte de peche is required and an additional licence, lac du der is primarily ran by the Nautic club. Another example is Etang Chantilly, the extra cost to fish this lake is approximately 110 euros (£80)
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