Dream breaks carp fishing

Holidays in France - Dream Breaks

Partciles, pellets boilies ideal for any Dream Break

Dream Breaks Article by Rod Simpson - The first carp fishing lake in France I was booked on was suffering low water levels consequently the owner was not keen for me to write a feature based upon the venue; the carp had not been feeding too well for several weeks. Three days prior to departure he told me the lake was un-fishable which left me in a bit of a dilemma, finding a new lake at the last minute would not be an easy task, or so I thought. Within an hour of sending emails to various fishery owners and agencies, I received an email reply from Gingi of Dream Breaks; he was kind enough to arrange an alternate lake at such short notice, the fishery being etang Baspier. The venue is 6 acres and lies in the Champagne region approximately 3.5 hours drive from Calais.

Lake size and features - Carp France

The lake is set in rural surroundings with young trees and shrubs surrounding its perimeter. It is at least 6 acres with enough room for six anglers. The average depth is 5 to 6 foot, although the weed was not a major problem there are a few weed beds therefore ensure you take some PVA and pop ups with you to fish it effectively. The gravel pit has a triangular shape with some good stalking spots in the corners. As with most venues there are a few crayfish present but not enough to warrant them as a pest. I counted 5 swims large enough for two anglers and a handful of other areas suitable to the crawling creeping approach. 2 spots stood out as prime stalking areas, these being the bay at the bottom and top end of the lake. Every time I peered into them I noticed fizzing or sub surface movement. If it were not for me having so many runs from my swim then I would have attempted more covert carping and am sure a few stalked fish would have graced my net.

It is typical of a meadow type gravel pit, with the bottom made up of clay and silt with firmer marginal areas. In addition to the hard/soft areas there are a number of overhanging bushes that should produce in the right conditions i.e. when a good wind blows toward that bank. The fish do move closer to the margins during the hours of darkness, my rods followed, which ensured consistent action.

Facilities - Carp Holidays France

There are a number of supermarkets just 10 minutes drive from the lake which sell everything necessary to whip up a bank side culinary delight. The onsite lodge has a cooker inside, although I didn’t use it during my short stay I presume it’s for anglers use.
There are two cubicles next to the main lodge one with a porcelain toilet the other containing a gas shower. The local town is a 10 minute drive and has a multitude of small supermarkets that sell just about all you will need to stock up your bivvy pantry

Fish stock - Carp France

It has been stocked with 150 carp with the majority over 24lb. The lake record currently stands at over 54lb, however due to the growth rate of this strain it is expected that some of them may reach 60lb next year; in addition to the stock of carp there is one catfish present estimated at over 100 lbs. My son spent some of his spare time spinning as there is a healthy stock of predators including pike which have grown to over a metre long.

Baits and methods - Carp fishing in France

We set up in a large double swim 50 yards from the lodge as I had noticed a number of big carp cruising just below the surface in the central area during an earlier walkabout. The swim was large enough for the two bivvies and with a good cast I could cover half of the lake. After some time with the marker rod I found enough clear areas for both of us. The locations of the spots were aligned with obvious marks on the horizon, a prominent mark that would stand out at night to aid casting during the hours of darkness.
I was at the lake for 5 nights however the first night can be discounted due to fatigue therefore had 4 nights of concentrated pursuit, typical of a pack and go session.
By far the most successful methods would have been with remote control boats, however I am not a fan of these and decided to leave mine on the shop shelf. As they are allowed on the lake I could have quite easily loaned and used one to great effect, but that would not be of benefit to those that don’t own them, the majority of the readership. In my opinion the traditional casting methods to catch on smallish venues is a far more rewarding method than releasing an under slung consignment. Please don’t take my statements in the wrong context its horses for courses! If you are a user, it will give you the edge; do limit the amount of free bait in the hopper.
Within the first 24 hours I was beginning to build up a mental picture of the carp’s feeding pattern, small amounts of bait placed in the right spots seemed to be the order of the day. However that may have been due to the previous weeks group landing over 70 carp between them, maybe the fish were still a little spooky from that hit?
Baiting consisted of spoding and slinging balls of ground bait; with my son forming the balls to tangerine size and placing them in the sling whilst I launched them with the spod rod. With practice it is an accurate method of producing an attractive bed of bait in a fairly short period of time. Several spods of mainline 16 mm mainline pulse were placed over the top. The fist take came within a couple of hours and fell to my son’s rods, a nice upper 30! Of course I allowed him to fish the areas where most fish had been located? Action remained fairly consistent throughout the session, after each fish the swims were topped up with a couple of ground bait balls and a couple of spods of pulse.
Rigs were fairly basic with the majority of our catch falling foul of a size 6 line aligned wide gape tied to 8 inches of IQ. The last few feet were pinned down by the tungsten impregnated gravel leaders from Korda. The business end of my roving rod consisted of 12 inches of hybrid, with a size 6 long shank ‘X’ and luminous pop up maize soaked in active, switching to standard pulse during the day. To this I attached a golf ball size bag of crumbed pulse that was dipped prior to casting.
After a couple of days fishing the ground bait had produced numbers of carp whilst the PVA mesh rod was responsible for the larger specimens.
The majority of takes during daylight came from the furthest half of the lake, fishing onto firmer areas between the weed. At night a rod was moved away from the far marginal bay to the softer central areas. This little meshed bag of attraction produced the better stamp of fish.
In the majority of my articles I highlight the importance of location; there are so many fish in this lake that most swims will produce, however it’s still worth finding the majority of them. Once found the area will produce the best catches, but bear in mind that after a few days of pressure the carp may move to less pressured areas, be prepared to move with them.

Stalking has been around for years but how many anglers actually practice it on continental lakes, the majority of holiday anglers tend to sit behind their 3 or 4 rod set up for the entire session. I tend to look for stalking opportunities; there is nothing more rewarding than a stalked carp. Approaching areas via being camouflaged and concealed will enable you to get close, present a bait nearby and create many more chances. On many occasions I have witnessed carp feeding in the margins near sleeping anglers, without them realising it. There are a number of quiet areas on this lake that are suited to that approach.
In total my son and I managed to land at least 9 over 30lb with several of them being upper 30s, we lost count of the caught between 23 – 30 lbs, not a bad average for any lake I’m sure you’ll agree?

Conclusion
Etang Baspier is a pleasure to fish and has a nice relaxing atmosphere; it is well stocked and good for a few runs where a big hit is always on the cards. There is no need to go with big bits and heavy rods, standard small water tactics will prevail. It is a well run fishery which boasts carp of all weights from low 20’s through to 50’s with many upper 20’s, a good head of 30s with a reasonable chance of a 40 lb specimen or bigger. If you are looking for a secured venue in quiet rural surroundings for your group then Baspier may be the right choice for you.

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Dream Breaks - Carp Fishing at Etang Baspier

Dream Breaks lakes in France

Holidays in France - Dream Breaks