75lb 4oz – Villefond Lake Record Catfish
The unsettled weather over the last few months has seen the fish spawn in a more staggered way to usual. Usually by the end of May most of the fish have finished and are back on the munch but with the weather being hot one week and wet the next this has been a more drawn out process this year. Some of the fish had finished spawning a week or 2 into June but others have only just finished and are just starting to feed up.
In the last two weeks of July we have really seen some of the big character fish showing up on the bank such as the awesome Bennett’s and the huge shouldered Arnold (both of these captures can be seen on videos on our video page)
July has also seen Villefond’s big catfish going on a feeding frenzy with 4 x 70+ catfish caught this month. It is one of these captures that I have chosen to focus on in more detail.
73lb catfish from France
73lb’er caught on the same session
Fish of the month…
For the first time I have decided not to choose a carp as my fish of the month.  This is not because there haven’t been any worthy but because this fish I have chosen is a new official Villefond record catfish at 75lb 4oz. This particular catfish is not the biggest catfish in Villefond but is the biggest one banked to date and is a fish that was named Dan by one of our customers a few years ago.
Manager Mark Lambert caught it along with a 73lb cat whilst targeting this predatory species as a break from the carp fishing. The thing with catfish is if you hook them the only break you are likely to get is a break in your rod. Mark was able to avoid that fortunately and got the powerful creature to the bank.
Mark was again fortunate enough to capture some of the awesome fight on film which can be viewed on our video page too. Very few people have tried to target our catfish but if you are interested in doing so please ask Mark of some tips on swim choice as he has really got these predators habits sussed out.
Carp Fishing in France at Villefond