Carp France

My first carp fishing 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 France, 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.

Carp fishing in France

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 lakes in France – Private

These are lakes in France 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 carp fishing owned lakes in France

There are many more English owned/leased lakes in France 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. 2.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

Location On the initial visit adopt a basic common sense approach applying the main principle of success, Location! Get this wrong and you will struggle anywhere regardless of bait, methods and rig efficiency, yeah, yeah, heard it all before! Yes you have heard it before, location, location, location, it is foremost in my mind when approaching any lake, even if it means wandering the banks looking and listening for carpy splashes, even at times when most anglers are tucked up in their carp duvet. On arrival watch and listen for signs of carp without unloading the gear, there is no point setting up in the first available swim if the majority of the carp are at the other end of the lake. The only piece of equipment I carry whilst searching for signs of carp is a bait bucket. Once they are located the bucket is left reserving the swim whilst the fishing tackle is collected from the car. During the stroll round look for fish movement, normally the best time of day is morning and evening. During hot summer days they may be seen cruising in the upper levels. Tree climbing presents a much better view and allows the angler to

view deeper into the water as the reflection is reduced. As we know carp love weed, reeds and snags, these are obvious spots to look but do tread carefully or risk spooking them. Good quality Polaroid’s reduce the amount of surface glare thus allowing us to see further into the depths, an indispensable aid. Fizzing is an obvious give away, normally created by tench or carp, I have heard anglers say that they can tell the difference between carp and tench fizzing! I find that difficult to comprehend, as the size of the fizzing bubbles is dependant upon the type of bottom and its gaseous content rather than a different feeding manner of the species? On some lakes carp will give away their presence a lot easier than on others, I know of lakes where they very rarely show themselves and are difficult to spot due to the colour of the water. When no fish can be seen, previous experience must be used to aid location. We know that they like to follow the wind; we also know that they are frequent visitors to lake features, especially bars and plateaus. A simple process of elimination may guide you to their whereabouts. During a warm wind there is a good chance the carp will be in the windy half of the lake, if so the area in which they are likely to be has been reduced somewhat, thus narrowing the search? The search is then concentrated to likely areas, if features are found in the windy half then I would probably fish to spots along those features. Its not a rule of thumb but a guide if you fail to visually locate carp. Once you have fished a venue a couple of times, knowledge of fish habits and routes will guide in location, however this article is about the initial trip or even a holiday session rather than using built up knowledge as a guide. Speaking with others can assist even if they have blanked, it may rule out a particular area or method.

Moving Carp Swim – Holiday carp fishing

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)