Fishing holidays

Carp fishing holidays

The monthly trips abroad to write this series have been in the same breath both tiring and rewarding, many miles have been covered, so many that my clapped out fishing van is on her last legs. I thought I was going to lose her as the garage doors slammed behind the rust bucket for a recent MOT. I was overjoyed when the van doctor rang and told me that she is ill but we can save her at a cost of £334 with the best treatment that money can buy, the old dear is worth it for my regular fishing holidays, trout pellet smell and all.
However this left me in a bit of a dilemma as I had every intention of fishing a commercial venue in France over the said period. Not wanting a miniscule problem such as no transport stand in the way, an all-inclusive trip would need to be arranged. A long hard search through the pages of the angling publications magazines was essential to narrow the search. I was tired of driving and yearned for something a bit diverse and somewhat special for you over the change of year period. I was looking to write an article that would keep you on the edge of your seat, a bit like a good book that you cannot put down, however I don’t have the ability for that therefore will write in the same manner that I do every month; the chosen lake needs no introduction as it has been on the European carp scene for a number of years. However the complex has had a face-lift, with the stock, ascetics and holiday packages being vastly improved. Andrea was keen to show me the before and after photographs, and I must say that the new owners have made some major improvements in all areas.

Crap fishing package

The package I chose could be described as a fly, pick up and provide service i.e. the flight is arranged, you are collected by the lake owner at Dinard airport driven to the lake where the bivvy is pre-assembled and all of the other tackle placed for you. All that I needed to take was 3 reels, 3 buzzers, 3 bobbins, sleeping bag, rig bag and a change of camouflage, everything else is onsite. Apart from the body and hand luggage search the flight went with minimum delay; the forceps in my hand luggage were on the verge of being confiscated, I thought I was going to lose them as the airport inspectors quizzed me as to why I was carrying such a lethal weapon. Sarcasm is the lowest form of whit and I shouldn’t jest in this day and age, its good to see that security is on the ball.
Air travel has got to be the way forward to visit lakes in France, for the first time ever I was not fatigued on arrival. I didn’t need a couple of days to recover from the road journey, resulting in more energy to locate the fish! In addition I felt fresh at the end of the session when landing back in good old Blighty.


Swims and features - carp location

Due to the lake being over 300 years old it has had ample time to mature; surrounded by dense mixed forest with lots of the trees of the sweet chestnut and conifer variety. Many extend beyond the margins dropping their fruits into the water; on several occasions carp were seen unsettling the bottom nearby. Maybe the carp were feasting on the fruits of the fall i.e. sweet chestnuts and pine seeds?
The dog bone shaped lake is said to be 12 acres and somewhat larger than some venues that I have fished of a comparable stated acreage. In my estimations I would say that this lake owner has his lake estimations correct.
The 12 comfortable swims are well positioned, each being strategically located to give the angler plenty of water and features to fish without encroaching on each other. There are many spots amid swims that lend themselves to the cautious stalking approach.
A quiet country road passes by the mill house and facilities along the Eastern Damn embankment, this being the deepest part of the lake. The channel that parallels is one of many interesting features, it was from this gully that I enticed a number of 30 and 40 lb carp; a bait placed near to the bend in the rod sign brought many takes, cryptic clue but easily deciphered and seen on arrival.
The middle swims overlook an area of numerous features, from rich brown silt to large gravel patches along the far margin. Don’t neglect the overhanging bushes as I spooked several carp whilst passing in the boat.
The shallower top end has a number of hard-bottomed areas near to the lily beds. A trap was placed on these during the first few nights before moving to the damn swims. I was averaging a couple of mid thirties per 24 hours. Many fish can be seen from the branches of the old oak tree, the ladder that is leant against it enables easy climbing to gain a good vantage point.


4 x 40s, Monster Moggy and Mervin the Sturgeon (aka fight night)

Throughout the series I have worked hard to find the approach to suit the chosen venue and Brittany Mill was no different, when the approach and location are correct, results will come: I was averaging 2 thirties per 24 hour period whilst at the shallower top end of the lake, but could not help thinking that I could do better. 2 days into the session my mind kept wandering to past stalking sessions, the creeping amongst the undergrowth with a lobworm impaled on the hook, oh how I enjoy this approach. Swim hopping and stalking has several advantages: it helps in location due to visiting a number of swims, it is probably the most exciting of methods and it can be extremely productive both in the UK and France.
So there I am with a stalk on the brain, the tribal was adorned and 2 rods prepared, I was off in the boat to the first of several areas that had been pre noted, those areas that lend themselves to such tactics. The delicate deliberate approach was adopted, laying low, creeping with finesse like a sniper approaching the enemy. As I crawled into position I peered through the bank side foliage and noticed several carp uprooting the rich brown silt. Not wanting to move in fear of spooking them the worm was gently lowered into position. The carp’s tails dimpled the surface as they buried their heads in search of food items, and slowly nearing my hook bait. The bait was too succulent to be ignored, the float slid across the surface, my heart felt like it was in my mouth as the beats increased, I struck into nothing, what a wasted chance! I had messed up pulling the hook from the carp’s mouth.
After giving myself a dig in the ribs through my failed effort, I retired to safe haven under the bushes, awaiting their return. And that they did, this time closer to the lilies to the right, slightly out of reach of the float. An alternate approach consisted of crushed maple 8 in a bag with a small maple boilie on the hair. This was lobbed to the edge of the decaying pads and fished with a slack line. As I sat out of site, out of mind in the side brush the bait runner churned as a carp bow waved towards the security of the lilies, the rod took on its battle curve. The sling was hoisted and scales registered 36.2 oz of pristine mirror and a fish I would not have caught if I had not taken the stalking opportunity.
There seemed to be more fish in this area than in the area we were bivvied up in, a quick gathering of the gear and Shep and I were in position with 3 rods each. Within an hour of arrival the left alarm signalled a slow laborious take, the signs of a good fish, the powerful fight that ensued tested the provided rods. As the carp was engulfed in the net I estimated it to be around the mid 40 lb mark. However the scales told a different story as the big framed mirror settled the needle at 41 lb 4 oz, not as big as estimated but my first 40 of the session.
Whist I had disturbed the swim it was an opportunity to re-cast to the carp that were shouldering within 10 metres of the damn embankment. 30 minutes passed before Andrea the lady of the lake and onsite owner’s wife delivered lunch. Within minutes of her leaving the swim another take was struck into, lady luck was on my side as I netted a 44 lb mirror. Although the fish took some time to land, the story has been cut short due to wanting to get the remainder of the day’s results in this short article.
As the sun descended I was able to land the fourth good fish of the day, it being a 33.6 lb mirror.
The sun glistened its final rays of the day, my gut feeling indicated a night of arm aching action. As I sat reminiscing of the day’s events one of the Damn rods let out a single bleep, eyes focused on the LED as it gave a second and third bleep. Rather strange I thought, as most of the takes had been slow, ponderous but hittable, this was different. As I lifted the rod it was almost wrenched from my hands, the clutch was slipping as the creature on the other end decided to strip over 100 yards of line. I felt powerless and was loosing control, my suspicions were now gearing towards a catfish, it seemed too beefy to be a carp.
At times it sulked on the bottom, what a stubborn immovable creature, only maximum pressure would get it mobile. I was not going to let it regain energy by allowing a stationary breather. Each time I got it moving it would power off up the lake taking half a spool of line with it. After 50 minutes I was wondering how much longer the size 6 barbless hook would hold. After what seemed like a decade, the catfish was seen within 10 yards of the bank, maximum load was applied and the moggy neared the 50-inch net. There was no engulfing this beast; it was more of a slide and scoop to fold its body in the mesh.
As we unhooked it, the lake owner arrived to lend a helping hand. None of us possessed big enough scales to weigh the fish; therefore he suggested that we use his bathroom scales. A long shot but it just might work! The idea being to stand on the scales then again with the catfish in my arms, whereupon we could extract my body weight from the weight when I was cradling the fish! As I stood on the scales the crowd hoisted the monster into my arms, as the weight of the catfish was slowly released my legs started to buckle under the strain. The weight was read, I expected the helpers to immediately take the fish from my grasp. No such luck as they insisted on some happy snaps of a potemtial hernia and me! We settled for a weight of 87 lb, a personal best catfish caught on carp rods and methods.
Within half an hour of the monster moggy, line started to leave the baitrunner at a rapid rate of knots. This time I was connected to a rather large carp that also took some time to beat, the scales settled at 45 lb 12 oz the third 40 lb plus carp within several hours.
Due to fatigue I was silently hoping that I could now relax into the soothing properties of my sleeping bag and have a recuperating nap. I had just started to watch the carp crash on the back of my eyelids when the buzzer had me up and into another fish, it didn’t feel too big. The fish was only 20 yards from the bank when all hell broke loose and it turned to take over 150 yards of line from the reel, this was whilst applying maximum pressure. I stood in awe, there was nothing I could do but glare at the spool in disbelief, the only other animal I had ever hooked with such power was a cow, but that’s another story. At this point I could see the silver of the spool base and had no choice but to clamber into the boat and clamp down solid. The fish towed the 12-foot rigid boat to the top of the lake before turning and heading towards the fibreglass dinghy, causing me to franticly wind to regain control. 50 minutes had now passed; my body was trembling due to the catfish, the numerous big carp and now 50 minutes of this beast! I had no choice but to hand the rod over to Shep, I needed to regain energy. During the next hour we passed the rod between each other until the huge head of a mighty sturgeon named Mervin slid head first into the long mesh of the net. The battle had lasted close to 2 hours and the fish was landed in a swim 200 yards from where it had been hooked. Again the fish was too heavy to be weighed however the lake owner informed us that it had been stocked at 72 lbs! I wasn’t going to climb on the bathroom scales again! Now you can see why I named it fight night! Within several hours we had several mid 30s, 3 carp over 40 lbs, a moggy of 87 lbs and sturgeon of approximately 70 lbs!
Two days later Shep had a take from an open water rod, as he struck, 70 lb of shear muscle cleared the surface, Mervin the sturgeon had put in a second appearance. The fight was pretty similar to our first encounter, but not quite as long. After an hour and fifteen minute lakeside tour the head slide towards the bottom of the net, what a creature! Due to having caught him 48 hours previous I took the opportunity to get some day shots.



Carp fishing baits, tactics

My normal choice of crumbed maple 8 with a matching or pineapple enticed the majority of takes, this combination accounting for at least 100 carp in the last 8 weeks with approximately 35 of them being over 30 lbs and 6 x 40s. When conditions and feeding intensity improved loose feed was increased and when feeding activity reduced I experimented with pastes and some of the onsite carp pellets. It is a rounded pellet that I have not come across, they do look the business and do not dissolve in water but go soft and retain their shape. Similar in appearance to an 8 mm boilie, they are different and effective! They are introduced in large quantities during the winter months therefore a known food source to the carp.
Since the release of Korda hybrid I have used it in the majority of my fishing and believe it is a leap forward in rig length material. The flouro carbon stiff outer naturally forces the hook bait away from the lead and makes the lead and rigging less obtrusive. In addition to the press away effect an inch or two of the flouro can be peeled back to the braided inner. Quarter of an inch of this flouro is left to form a bend effect at the hook. This not only presents better hooking properties but also protects the carps mouth against sharp braid. I have seen cut mouths and flanks so many times that I no longer use fine braided hook lengths or braided mainline without employing a protective sheaf i.e. tubing.
Although bait boats are allowed I opted not to use one, preferring to cast the small PVA meshed parcels to showing fish or features. A scan of the entire lake with sonar early on in the session helped build a picture of the lakes topography in most areas. The idea being that if the carp moved I would be aware of the features in the area that they moved too, this eradicates the need to row over showing fish. Occasionally the onsite boat was used to place baits, but the time on the water was kept to a minimum, I have noticed that when boats are used in shallow water the fish often spook.


Carp Stock

In addition to the large amount of big carp present there has been recent stockings of 30/40 lb plus fish and Mervin the sturgeon. There are a number of catfish present with at least 2 of them surpassing the 100 lb mark.
There are few venues that can boast an average size of over 30 lbs, in fact I managed to subdue 16 fish over 30 lbs of which 4 were good 40 s to 45.12 oz and my average was calculated to be 36 lb!!
The lake record for both common and mirror carp is over 50 lbs. The lake record common is an immaculate fish and one I would love to cradle, during the last 2 days of the session I switched tactics to boilie’s over hemp in an attempt to focus on the large commons, but failed in the quest, maybe next time.

Fshing facilities

The food package is encompassed in the fly/provide package and must say that it is more suited to a high class restaurant! My mouth was watering every evening as I took my seat at 1745 hours for the coming delights. The starter was brilliant, the main meal was awesome and the pudding was difficult to consume, without doubt some of the best food I have ever tasted. I have always classed my good lady wife to be good in the kitchen (cooking I mean), but nothing in comparison to what is on offer at Brittany Mill Lakes.
The onsite toilets and showers are situated within a modernised block; they are spotless and suitable for the other half. Steve and family have achieved their aim of a carp fishing holiday venue rather than just a weeks fishing, I take my real tree cap off to them.


Fishing holiday Conclusion

As stated in the first article of this series I will endeavour to constructively criticize all venues, however constructive criticism for this lake/package is difficult to find. I will say that I came back a few kilograms heavier due to the gourmet food. Having informed Andrea of my criticism, she promptly informed me that she also provided for specific dietary requirements.
When Steve set about achieving his dream of purchasing lakes in France he asked himself one question, “ What would he like from a fishing holiday?” He then set about his aim with the all-inclusive fly and provide package. From an outsider’s point of view, the package sets precedence!
If the approach that I have outlined above is followed, the majority of anglers visiting this lake should catch, put the effort in and the rewards will come.
I wish to return to Brittany Mill lakes when the second lake is opened but in the mean time I am searching for other venues to visit, therefore if you believe your lake is worthy of inclusion in my approach to commercial venues series don’t hesitate to get in touch, but bare in mind if its not up to scratch I will say so in a constructive manner!Coming soon! Etang Neuilly, a down to earth approach on a Carp Fishing Holidays venue

More about my fishing in France at www.anglinggraphics.com