Carp France – The less than scenic journey around the M25 consisted of avoiding the usual early morning road hogs prior to picking up Seth ‘O’ Callaghan, an Army carp angler that I had promised to take over for a session on a carp lake in France. My 10th return trip across the channel this year was fairly turbulent due to the onset of late season conditions, wind and occasional rain. A rough crossing but also reasonable carpy conditions! I was hoping that these meteorological fronts would continue thus presenting us with more than a favourable chance. Unfortunately the weather forecast was predicting the lows to subside, within 24 hours of arrival the weather changed to still, calm high pressures. Not at all the conditions I would choose, unlike fishing in England I cannot coincide my fishing with the right conditions, due to the organisation being well in advance. Despite being aware of the large stock of carp present I was still prepared for a scratching session. When conditions are dire even lakes with a dense stock can prove to be hard going for the most experienced of us.
The route to the lake was fairly straight forward, heading west along the coast road before following the motorway south past Rouen and on through the tranquillity of a number of rural French villages. The 3.5 hour journey flew by due to hearing the war stories from Seth, having recently returned from the conflict in the Gulf .
It being his first trip to a carp France venue he was brimmed with excitement and wanted to break his personal best of just over 20 lbs (9 kg) his Everest should be fairly easy to conquer? Shouldn’t it! Well what follows is the most demanding session I have had in France this year, not due to the lake as it is good venue and I would have no hesitation in a return trip, but due to the feeding intensity of the carp, or lack of it.
On reflection, why did we struggle? Location was spot on when the fish moved so did we, many baits were tried to achieve success. All of the factors that coincide with results seemed to be in order, in my opinion it was not our angling ability that was questionable, it was a simple case of dire conditions for carp fishing. My interpretations of poor carpy conditions are; still high-pressured fronts which often go hand in hand with foggy nights. In addition the man that resides on the full moon was clearly visible throughout the week, an omen in itself.

That said we still managed to entice a few pick-ups and convert them to fish on the bank by adapting an approach to suit the feeding conditions and intensity of the period. There have been some awesome catches of big carp from Neuilly when conditions were favourable; however when they’re not feeding you are going to struggle on any lake! I am pleased to add that the several carp that we landed was more than had been caught in the past 10 days and there were considerably more anglers present during this said period, we must have done something right!

Swims features – Carp France

This long narrow lake is approximately 800 yards in length and 140 yards wide; the majority of it averages 2-3 feet deep apart from the area out to the front of the damn swims where the depths drop to several feet. Fishing is allowed from one bank only which tends to pressure the fish to the tree line of the furthest margin. These overhanging branches are known producing spots but not the only feature, many carp can be observed patrolling the old streambed and a good spot to intercept moving fish. The swims are evenly spread giving each angler ample room to row, cast or remote a bait out using a maximum of 4 rods.
The lakebed is prominently silted; the only firmer areas are located close to the damn wall. The water level was quite low which I am sure had an impact on the fishing; the far margins located opposite the last pegs were not fishable due to the depth being less than 12 inches.

Fish stock – Carp France

The owner informs me that over the years he has placed over 800 carp into this 27-acre venue, the majority being between 20-30 lb. A reasonable amount of which have grown to good 30s (15 kg +) with the lake record close to 50 lbs (22.5 kg.) In addition to the healthy carp population there are sturgeon and catfish present, with the later going over 70 lbs. There were no nuisance species problems, unless you class a 2 lb crucian as a pest?

The approach, baits and methods – Carp France

How can I dictate the best approach to adopt on this venue when I only caught a handful of carp? Quite easily, don’t make the mistake of assuming my approach was not successful; it most certainly was in the given conditions and feeding intensity of the time!

A measure of success is not necessarily having a big hit every time you fish; it is more realistic to measure your achievements in accordance with the feeding intensity of the carp or against others? During this trip we adopted the right approach in the given conditions and managed to winkle out a few when others had failed the previous week. The visiting anglers are more likely to find themselves in this situation than in intense feeding conditions. The northern European climate is such that it presents us with many more poor carp fishing conditions than good carp fishing conditions. Therefore it is more important to be aware of the methods to use when the going is tough, than it is when they are feeding strongly! In a nutshell prepare for hard sessions and if they are feeding strongly take advantage of it.
I tried a number of different baits throughout the week including various pellets particles and boilie’s. The most successful bait was a hair rigged 12 mm halibut pellet over small amounts of ground bait that contained bloodworm. Worms were experimented with during the day cast to fizzing carp, unfortunately it was not until 2 days of stalking with a lob on that I managed to get a take which resulted in a nice carp, unfortunately of the crucian variety. On speaking to the lake owner he informed me that some of the big hits from the lake have come over small beds of pellets. Therefore when the carp are feeding it is a method that I would try on a couple of rods.
As the evening sun lowered so did a heavy nighttime mist (more like a thick fog.) By 2200 hrs on the second night my gut feeling was that the fish had moved out of the area. The double swim had already produced a couple of 20s to Seth, but now seemed devoid of fish. The biggest of which was Seth’s personal best, nudging the needle close to 29 lbs (14 kg.)
Although I sat out listening I heard nothing to indicate the presence of carp in the swim! I will not rest when I am fishing, if the fish have moved I won’t be far behind. After an hour of a listening search and walking the banks a number of the fish were located near to the damn. It was now 2355 hrs and a quick relocation was looking imminent. Within 10 minutes we were in the process of a light mid night move, no bivies or mountains of gear only the bare essentials. Would you move at this time of night in thick fog? Not many would! I can understand those with a medical condition or older generation of anglers being stationary session anglers. There is no excuse for the younger able-bodied person not too.
The large carp were still lumping out as we quietly lobbed small bags of pellets and ground bait to them; a lot of carp were in the area. The liners started within minutes of the bags hitting the surface, fishing slack minimized the risk of spooking them. Rods were now out so we retired to the sleeping bags under the stars, or should I say thick fog. The bleeping alarms from fish bumping the line ensured minimal sleep. It was half an hour before first light when a slow protracted take had me up at the speed of a fleeing gazelle and playing a Neuilly carp. It turned out to be a good thirty, which was sacked up for an hour to get a few daytime shots.
The sleepless freezing cold night took its toll, the sleeping bag cover was dripping wet, I was fatigued and had caught a chill. As a result I woke up looking not too vivacious; my phizog resembled something between a slater’s nail bag and a bulldog chewing a wasp! (I wasn’t aware of phizog being in the thesaurus.) Seriously though, the photographs of myself for this piece tell a tale, but that’s the reality of chasing fish and moving when necessary whatever the time of day!
Unfortunately the following night yielded the same type of weather, the carp could be heard crashing further left at a range of about 180 yards, not wanting to move again due to not feeling too well I loaned Seth’s bait boat (cough, cough) and for the first time ever sent a remote controlled load on a maiden voyage towards where the fish were moving! As you are aware I don’t own one, am not a fan of them but felt that they would give me an edgein the current situation, yes I’m a hypocrite! The night passed without a bite to our 8 rods, the fish crashed all night but were not feeding on anglers baits. I have come across this situation a number of times and have found that the only baits to entice a pick up are naturals. In hindsight I wish I had taken several kilo of frozen bloodworm with me, but hindsight is a marvellous thing, yes frozen bloodworm is available in kilo blocks and I bet it is the next big winter bait!
So there you have it, my excuses for not bagging up on what is considered a very productive venue by many anglers. It is a very good venue and one I would recommend, I’m sure if I were to return under different circumstances I would catch bigger carp than on this trip. Many of the fish that I saw were estimated to be between 25 – 35 lbs (12.5 kg – 16 kg) and several were estimated at over 40 lbs (17.5 kg).

Facilities – Crap France

Within 15 yards of the damn lies a gite that can be reserved by a group, it is clean and tidy and suitable for a carp holiday session. Due to its close proximity to the waters edge it is possible to sleep in a comfortable bed with a sounder box on your pillow, session angling at its most comfortable.
The English style shower and toilet are situated close to the gite; in addition to the comfort block there are a number of French style thunder boxes (wooden huts with a hole in the floor, for use after a vindaloo.) I don’t mind these as they are there for emergencies rather than every day use.

Conclusion – Carp France

For every successful visiting angler to France there are 10 who are unsuccessful, in fact many of the lakes that I fish are more difficult than many UK waters and as pressured. Don’t go to France and think you will bag up every time as the majority come back with their tails between their legs. I’ve been quite lucky to catch on every venue I have fished in 2003, having several big hits amongst them. But does that mean that the waters that I have done well on are the best lakes? Or does it mean that I was there during a period when the carp were getting their heads down? French carping is not as easy as some may have you believe I have put a lot of time and effort in to catch on the venues I’ve fished.
Ending the 2003 season with many 20s (9 kg +,) 39 carp between 30 lbs and 40 lbs (14 kg – 18 kg) and 5 x 40s to 45.12 oz (20 kg +) Before the French fish don’t count brigade pipe up, I would like to add that a number of the 30s were from the UK and some of them the Donald Leney strain.
I have been a fairly busy of late organising next years visits and most of the waters pencilled into my diary will make interesting reading. Ill let you know how I get on as the series develops in 2005.
Next month I will be concentrating on the approach to Etang 5.