Margot, Lake of Dreams

65lb 8oz

I have been to Margot several times & thoroughly recommend the place to anyone looking for big carp but with runs too. To me it is a lake of Dreams.

This April trip was my seventh trip to the lake and it just keeps getting better and better and has never let me down. I organised the trip with a group of 7 friends all eager to fish the lake I keep talking about. So in a way pressure was on me for the lake to deliver.

This time round the fishing got off to a great start, normally we wait 36 + hours to bank a fish…. but Craig Holt was quick to get his rods out first and managed to bank a 47lb common before any other person in the group had even put their rods out.  That’s when I knew we was in for a good week, it was a slower start for me like always, but that was soon to change.

My aim was to bank a 50lb this time round as I have had plenty of 40s here before but never a 50lb or a 60lb so that was my aim…. but I was soon into something that sure felt like a 50lb and couldn’t wait to get it into the net. The fish was soon netted and weighed, a big  mirror that weighed in at 65.8oz. I was over the moon I had to weigh the fish several times because I couldn’t believe my eyes, I had jumped from the 40s straight to a 60 but I wasn’t complaining. Soon to follow was a stunning 52lb mirror…. so you can see why I said the place fulfills your dreams.

My tactics are always the same, running lead system with a 6in dacron braid fishing a pink 14mm pop up, must be pink, popped up 2in with a stick of pellet mixed with halibut stick mix. Feed the fish plenty but not all at once coz they won’t bother at all. Feed them half a kg every time you get a take to keep them there, but only do this when fish are there and until that your stick alone is fine.

My personal tally for the week was - 52 carp, made up of 1 x60, 1 x50, 11 x 40s, 24x 30s and the rest 20s and only 3 carp under 20.  I also banked my 3rd 30lb koi in the last 5 years.

Amazingly our group banked 143 fish with a total weight of 4,736lb.

I have to say I love the new bakers delivery service, which was eagerly awaited at 10am each day. Gorgeous!!

Follow my tactics and I’m sure you won’t go wrong, tight lines.

Rob Allen

Carp fishing in France at Margot