Friday 28 September 2012

Roz Sets Two New Ladies Records at French Lake Glehias


French Carp Fishing
30.08 the ladies record for a common
Nottingham based Macmillan Nurse Roz Bexon, here for the week with hubby Neil and son Chris, managed to bust not one but two La Gléhias Ladies Lake Records!!
At around 23:30 Monday evening, Roz’s middle rod ripped off from the shallow end of the Gorse Bank where it meets the reeds and landed herself her first record breaking fish of the week; the gorgeous 30lb 8oz Common was taken on a T1 with Peach & Pepper pop-up snowman rig.
Ladies Record Carp
Roz’s Prize
The second record breaker came midday the following afternoon from a hollow in the bushes midway along the Gorse bank; this time a pretty Mirror coming in at 36lb, again on a T1 but this time tipped with a bit of plastic corn.
Roz’s husband Neil has had 15 fish to 35lb this week and son Chris has had a whopping 143lb of catfish and carp up to 31lb+ this week too!
Well done Roz!
French Carp Fishing at Glehias

    Thursday 27 September 2012

    Lake Record Broken at Notaires – 43lb Mirror Carp


    43lb French Carp
    43lb – the new Notaires record
    Robert had already landed a forty on his first night of fishing at Notaires and had a steady week of catches.  No surprise then that when he found out that the following week was free they decided to stay on.
    So instead of packing up on Friday evening  Robert was able to continue fishing and landed “The Horse” (tag: 961001200054441) which weighed in at 43lbs 10oz – setting a new lake record for Notaire’s.
    Robert was fishing Activ-8 Boilies on a standard 10 inch hair rig with a size 4 hook and had been groundbaiting with boilies and lake carp pellets.
    Congratulations go to Robert for the fine catch.
    Fishing holidays at Notaires

    47lb Mirror Carp – A Great Birthday Present!


    Jack's 47lb Mirror Carp
    Jack’s 47lb Mirror Carp
    Jack Hammond here at Genets this week for his 16th Birthday (which was yesterday) has beaten his PB by over 20lb by banking a beautiful 47lb Mirror !!
    Happy Birthday & congratulations Jack :-)

    Tuesday 25 September 2012

    Molyneux Report to 1st September 2012 – a record week!


    Russell and a 32lb 2oz mirror
    Russell and a 32lb 2oz mirror
    Anthony and Micky, were packed and away nice and early on Saturday morning. The weather had changed dramatically, with high winds and it was becoming increasingly wet by the minute. Perfect carp fishing weather for Molyneux !!
    We were due three anglers on this coming week, and two of them soon arrived, brothers, Russell and Paul Bowles from Basingstoke. After a wander round the lake, they generously decided to wait until the last angler arrived to see where he wanted to fish. A short while later he did arrive, John a more senior angler was brought over by his daughter and son in law. They had originally planned to stay in our cabin, but it had already been booked by the Bowles brothers, so they were now staying in a small comfy Gite in the next village which I managed to find for them.
    John Sheppard with his 33lb 12oz pb carp
    John Sheppard with his 33lb 12oz pb
    The cabin is now proving to be very popular, and is booking up much more than ever before, so anyone thinking of bringing their better half, which more and more anglers are now doing, or wanting a little more luxury than their bivvy affords should think about booking as soon as they are able to avoid disappointment.
    Once John had looked around he decided to spend the week in Jacks. Paul then decided upon the cabin, whilst Russell chose the boat swim, due to it being fairly close by. I handed out the bait that I had prepared for them all, and the brothers decided to have some Rahja spice boilies plus pop-ups as they have been so popular on the lake this year accounting for so many fish.
    They all went off to set up for the week, and Paul not having a bivvy to set up and organise was soon getting the rods ready and a short while later he was to land the first fish of the week. It was a tench of about 5lb’s but catching it within a few hours of arriving gave him a real confidence boost.
    I shot Russell out in the boat and showed him one or two spots in front of him, and told him not to ignore the margin close by the overhanging willows to his right. It was just in front of this willow that he hooked his first cap from at around 5.30pm that afternoon. After a good scrap, he slid the fish over the draw cord to see a serious lump in the net. On the scales it went 35lb’s exactly. What a start!
    Around 90 minutes later one of his other spots near to the island came into its own as that rod tore off too. Again a hard plodding fight followed, and yet another large fish was finally netted. Unbelievably it was another of exactly 35lb’s. Two carp of 35lb’s and he hadn’t been fishing for three hours. During the early evening Paul in the cabin lost a fish early into the fight.
    At 10pm Russell added to his tally with a 20lb mirror, and a short while later landed a 20lb catfish, before reeling in for the night and getting his head down, the journey having taken its toll.
     Paul with a 34lb 8oz mirror carp
    Paul with a 34lb 8oz mirror
    The following morning saw all the anglers up bright and early after all had reeled in for the night and got some sleep. John in Jacks was first away, like Paul his first fish was to be a tench of around 5lb’s.
    10am and Russell was away again, a large fish picked up from the island, giving him an almighty tussle. Once again, Paul shot down to help him and shortly afterwards slid the net under another chunky mirror. I almost had to check their scales were right as this one spun the needle around to the 35lb mark. Russell was overjoyed, as he had never caught fish like this before.
    At 2.30pm it was Pauls turn to call for help, and Russell duly went to help. Help was most definitely needed as Paul had hooked a Grasscarp… and a big one!
    After playing it out in the water as I ask all the anglers to do, he finally netted it and hoisted it onto the scales where it weighed in at 38lb’s.
    At 4pm Russell was in again, this time landing a 27lb mirror. An hour later he landed another for his brother a cracking mirror of 34lb 8oz.
    9 pm saw Russell catch a 34lb Grasscarp, and then whilst doing the photos heard his brother alarms going off again. In his rush to the cabin Paul, pulled or tore a ligament in the back of his leg, which was to cause him some serious problems for the rest of the week. He managed to land the fish which had caused him to run though, another 35lb mirror. The week was going incredibly. Again after a busy day the brothers called it a night and got their heads down. John in Jacks had already done so, reeling in and settling down for the night each evening as it got dark.
    The following morning Paul was in some serious pain with his leg and so decided not to fish, but to ghillie for his brother for a day or so, to see if it improved. With no lines in the water I took the boat down to Jacks to help John out a little. He was yet to catch a carp, and as he could only cast a very short distance was severely limiting his chances. I took his rigs and some bait out a little further and lowered them onto some spots I knew.
    At 11am, Russell was away again, this time a 24lb Grasscarp, at 12.30, he landed another good mirror weighing in at 33lb 4oz. Then John in Jacks had two fish in fairly quick succession, the first a 24lb 12oz mirror, the second a 29lb 8oz mirror. The spots were working. I took them out again for him and he set himself for hopefully another fish. At 5pm, Russell landed another Grasscarp of 24lb 8oz. At 7pm John landed his second 24lb 12oz mirror of the day, he then called it a night and reeled in for the night. 7.30 saw Russell land another Grasscarp this one 22lb, this was followed at 10pm by yet another at 31lb. At 11pm he landed a 20lb catfish, and his brother still struggling with his leg called it a night, resulting in all rods being reeled in and a good night’s sleep for all.
    The following day John was to catch first with a 24lb mirror, Russell was next with another Grasscarp of 30lb 6oz. A short while later he landed a mirror of 26lb 8oz, whilst at almost the same time Paul in the cabin, who had decided to give it a go today despite the state his leg was in, was landing a small tench.
    4pm saw Paul land a 27lb 8oz catfish. 9.30pm saw him land a cracking mirror of 36lb’s. Russell topped this at 11pm when he landed a 37lb mirror, followed by a small catfish at midnight. The brothers had decided that Paul would reel in tonight as he was still unsteady on his feet, and the days angling had taken its toll.  Russell was going to fish a little later, and at 1am he caught a 13lb 8oz common, followed by a 34lb catfish at 2am. After this he reeled in for the night.
    The following afternoon after a trip to town, Paul caught a 27lb mirror at 4.30pm, which Russell followed at 5pm with another Grasscarp, this one of 31lb 8oz. Again, nobody fished through the night.
    Next morning, and Paul, or hop-along as he was affectionately called landed a mirror of 32lb. Then at 2pm John landed the fish we had all been hoping for his first ever thirty pound carp. It was a beauty as well when it finally came. A mirror of 33lb 12oz, a moment I was very pleased to share with him.
    Things seemed to have slowed up a little for Russell in the boat swim, hardly surprising after the number of fish he had caught. With Paul struggling to walk at all now they decided that they would both move down into the barn swim and Russell would fish whilst Paul would sit and relax and help with any fish caught. Russell, being so close now to the lake record of 23 carp and cats caught in a week set earlier in the season by Sean Jessieman, was keen to try to scrape over the line. That evening at 5.30pm he caught a 22lb mirror, and then he caught three more in quick succession. A 32lb 12oz mirror and an 18lb catfish, followed 10 minutes later by a 23lb Grasscarp. He had done it with 24 fish under his belt a new lake record for the amount of fish caught during a single week. The guys retired to the cabin, and after a few beers enjoyed a good night’s sleep in the comfort of proper beds.
    The following day was to prove very slow, and the first and only fish of the day fell to Russell’s rods, a 8lb mirror, taking his total to a staggering 25 fish, having only fished during the day and reeling in around midnight, at the very latest each night.
    Once again the Quest boilies had done the business, most of our big hits this year have come using Quest boilies, a combination of their undoubted quality as a bait plus of course the amount the fish see on a regular basis which certainly helps as they recognise them instantly as a food source and they are accepted readily.
    John in Jacks had achieved his goal of a thirty pound carp, and was very pleased with his weeks fishing.
    All in all an exciting and productive week all round. The brothers left nice and early, with Paul’s leg now lovely shades of yellow and purple and looking very sore indeed. John’s daughter Louisa came in around mid-morning and helped him pack down and after a cup of tea they left to make their way back to the gite where they were staying another night.
    All in all a cracking week’s fishing, and some real chuckles along the way.
    French carp lakes – Molyneux

    Monday 24 September 2012

    A great week at Vaux…


    38lb carp from French lake Vaux
    Dale, 38lb 8oz … his 2nd PB
    After their excellent first night at Vaux on 1st September, the Badcock party ended a fine week’s fishing by landing 29 carp between them, all three with personal bests.
    By the Monday afternoon they had had 11 carp between them, including a second PB for Dale at 38lb 8oz, but they had lost five, although not through cut offs.  So there followed a quick change of leads, hook lengths and changing from tubing to leaders for all of them, which lead to Alan becoming top rod on Tuesday with his third PB of 39lb 10oz caught that evening, having already produced his second PB of a 27lb 12oz that same morning.
    Chas was invited to fish with them and in a 24hr stint, he landed a further four carp, three thirties and a 25lb+,  taking the week’s total to 33 which included nine thirties.
    Fishing Holiday at Vaux

    Wednesday 19 September 2012

    A Great Margot Week


    Hi Julie,
    First of all let me say what a fantastic time I had last week….and a very big thank you to all concerned for the arrangements etc to take care of all the drudgery.
    Just as you promised, Margot is magic and exactly as described, even down to to the typical French baker with his wicker baskets of goodies delivered to each and every peg.
    …..and not forgetting Shirley, she was delightful and so helpful.
    Once again, many thanks to you all
    Fondest wishes, Graeme
    Holiday date: Sat 8th Sep to Sat 15th Sep 2012
    Name of customer: Graeme Moore
    Number of anglers: 1
    Details of your catches: 12 fish total including: 3 x 40′s at 41-05, 42-04 and 43-05 (pb), 4 x 30′s to 38-00 including at pb common at 35-05, 2 x 20′s to 24-05, 3 x grass carp to 42-05 (pb)
    Your best tactics/bait/rigs: Bottom baits, cell with cork insert and tipped with fake sweetcorn as a visual attractor and to help the hook bait sit on the silt.  All placed in a pva bag, loosely filled with crumbeled boilies and pellet to create air in the bag and not punctured either, this allowed to sink slowly + stay out the silt.
    Were the facilities what you expected? Better – ample freezer storage, good kitchen + bathroom.  Nice rest area for a few hours relaxation and socialising on occasion to give the fish and ourselves a break.
    Were you happy with them?  Very much so, although there could have been better refuse collection area.
    Would you recommend the venue to a friend? I certainly would.
    Would you recommend our services to a friend? Again, i most certainly would, all the drudgery of arranging a french carp fishing holiday is taken care of.
    General comments: Never in my wildest dreams did i expect to break my pb 4 times.  All the fish are in such good condition and a credit to laurent bigot.  Even the visiting baker showed me a mark where he had witnessed big carp being caught and the irony is that thursday he delivered me my daily food and actually helped me to weigh one of the 40+ mirrors caught from the actual mark that he showed me.  He was so delighted as was i.  Thank you all for this memorable carp fishing holiday.

    Our Family Carp Fishing Holiday at Mas Bas


    Kierron’s 40lb’er from Lotus Lake

    French carping at Mas Bas
    The hotel Trianon
    The Journey
    Thank you to all the staff at Angling lines for the help given in arranging hotel stops. It’s a long journey to do in one day especially if you have children. We broke our journey and made it part of the holiday. On the way down we stopped at La Rochelle http://www.hoteltrianon.com  Thanks Bridget the hotel was lovely, close to the beach and harbour. This was a great start to the holiday.
    The next day we travelled down through France to Mas Bas. We arrive refreshed and ready to fish. We stopped in Lotus cottage which was very clean Lotus cottage overlooks on one side Lotus lake and in front of lotus Cottage is the main lake.  We fished the main lake.
    The Fishing
    All I will say on the fishing front is, “ listen to Giles”.  The lakes are beautiful and there is a lot of wildlife on the lakes.
    We have added captures to our own site www.fishcaptures.com and each capture links to a dedicatedMas Bas page
    We had a very enjoyable few weeks with a plethora of very nice fish! Giles and Lesley were very helpful and friendly hosts, nothing was too much trouble for them.
    The fish love the Rahja!
    All fish on Rahja Spice, simple rigs (long hook links, 3oz lead on safety clip etc) and light bating as instructed by Giles. I say light baiting (10-20 baits per fish), we did use 20Kg of boilies but simply because we caught so many fish! Baiting with particles etc definitely brings in smaller fish. Best fish came to a nice stick mix (CC Moore GLM, Soluble fish protein, rock salt, crumbed Rahja Spice) with single hookbait.
    Leave Your Concerns Behind (and your fancy baits): If you fish Lotus cottage, no need to worry about lack of water as I did beforehand – plenty of water and options. There are always fish to be caught from the island, far bank, margins etc. Also forget any concerns about bait – the Rahja Spice sold on site may be shelf life, but don’t worry about it in the slightest – THE FISH ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I am no stranger to French carping and I would fish exactly the same again.
    Here are a few highlights from the fish we had…
    40lb’er from Lotus
    3 x 20’s at once for Dan Tim and Kie
    A nice 29lb 11 oz mirror for Tim
    A nice 27lb 4oz mirror for Tim
    An ‘average’ 23lb 12oz mirror that looks like a ‘hand drawn’ peace of art
    Out & About
    Lesley suggested a great evening out, the food market at St. Maurice. It’s about 15minutes away. The village square has the tables and chairs set out in long rows and around the outside are different food and drink merchants.  The boys had roasted chicken. Others in the party had duck salad, chicken salad, French bread, red wine, water and crepes. While you are sitting socailising there was a French band playing music. This was a great taste of France, thank you Lesley.
    Great fun!
    Lesley also gave us a booklet with local attractions in. From this book we choose a day out at Castlemoron sur Lot.  Giles booked us the hydroplanes on the River Lot. This was great fun.www.nautilius.fr
    Also close to Mas Bas approx. 20minutes way at Agen is Walibi.  http://www.walibi.com/rhone-alpes/fr-en/offer-revisit-0. It is like a Drayton Manor or a smaller version of Alton Towers (theme park) great family day out for the children.
    We also found a water park about 1 ½ hours away at Gordon. We never made it to the water park we will next time we visit Mas Bas. Parc De Loisirs De Gondrin. The slides look amazing.http://www.gondrin.fr/loisirs.html
    The local shops are about 15minutes away in the car.
    Agen is a lovely town with a great market and has a couple of large supermarkets.
    We all have enjoyed the holiday – shame we never caught a 30lb carp but we had one 40lb carp during our stay.
    0n the way back we stopped off for the afternoon/night in Le Mans we stopped at it was very clean and nice hotel right on the side of the 24hour circuit.  http://mulsanne.three-star-hotels.com/hotel/hotel-arbor-auberge-de-mulsanne-le-mans-sud-hotel.html.The boys loved it.
    Thank you Giles & Lesley for a lovely two weeks we all can’t wait to return again.
     Kierron Axten, August ’12
    Fishing Holidays at Mas Bas

    Monday 17 September 2012

    61lb Common from Old Oaks


    As a  party of four we have just returned from Old Oaks. On arrival we were met by Mehdi, who we found to be very polite and helpful.  He gave us info. on the lake and a tour of the facilities, which are more than adequate – shower, washing facilities, electric power points and a bbq area in which to cook – who needs more for a bivvy only lake? Mehdi then just left us to it for the week.
    By the Sunday we had all had fish up to 45lb.  Some of the fish came from the far bank which is only a small chuck but requires careful casting as close as you dare to the over hanging bushes.
    We had left peg 5 empty & I reckon this resulted in me personally having a fishing session I may never experience again.
    As I was fishing peg 4, I did a bit of plumming in peg 5. I quickly found an area I was happy with and within easy reach from my peg – maybe 25ft out from the bank at peg 5 and maybe 30ft from the left hand bank.
    After marking up I decided to put just one rod in this spot and introduced a bit of bait.  Within 40 minutes  or so I was pulling a fish in which went 39lb 5oz. This continued to happen, as I kept the bait trickling in with a boilie only approach and by Wednesday morning the two pegs had produced 17 fish!
    It was on that Wednesday morning that I hit into a fish and after playing it for some time it was obvious to me that it was a very big fish indeed.  Getting it to the net only confirmed this – it was one of the larger fish in the lake, a beautiful looking common
    On the scales it went 61lb 4oz!
    A new PB for me and one that will probably stay in place for a long time to come… but then again there is next yr in France!
    Wednesday afternoon I swapped swims with another member of our party and he continued to fish the the same areas and had another 11 fish, the biggest being 46lb 2oz.
    I would say most of these fish came from the area in mid-water so if you do fish this lake don’t ignore the open water as on this occasion for us not all the fish seemed to come from the far margins.
    Over the week we all had new PB’s and our final tally of fish was;
    *  61lb 4oz
    *  16 x 40′s
    *  19 x 30′s
    *  4 x 20′s
    *  1 x grass carp @ 31lb 5 oz
    *  and one of the the catfish which Mehdi estimates was around 65lb.
    Needless to say we are four very pleased anglers!
    Mike Devereaux, September 2012
    Carp France at Old Oaks

    Thursday 6 September 2012

    Additions at Vaux


    Vaux is a firm favourite with our customers & Josie has been in touch to tell us about some improvements;
    Travel Cot
    We have a travel cot available for babies and infants, plus a toddler’s high chair, which have already been put to good use.  Please let us know in advance if they are required so we can ensure that they are in the gite prior to arrival



    Curtains for the Living Room

    I’ve spent some time this Summer making curtains for several of the windows in the gite, giving it a cosier feel for all, but especially for Winter visitors.
    There are one or two more projects in the pipeline which I will add to Lake News items as they are completed.
    Josie
    Fishing holiday at Vaux

    Wednesday 5 September 2012

    Molyneux Report to 11th August 2012


    Helen and I were sat on our favourite logs overlooking the lake with a cup of coffee each when the phone rang to let us know anglers for the week had started to arrive. We were expecting 4 anglers at Molyneux this forthcoming week and we were soon chatting to Reuben, and James a couple of spot on lads who were fishing the lake until Wednesday when they had to leave due to work commitments, and Derek and Jayne a lovely couple from Essex.
    After a chat and a coffee each we set off for a wander around the lake. The anglers were as always impressed with the lakes natural beauty and after seeing one or two of its residents showing themselves were keen to get started. Reuben and James set themselves up in the double swim, whilst Derek and Jayne started to make home in the social swims.
    With the weather slightly overcast, combined with a warm South Westerly, things certainly looked good for a bite or two. With camps set up for the week, the anglers set about prebaiting and getting their rods out. Jayne was first to get off the mark when at around 7pm she lifted into a good fish. A cracking fight ensued though eventually Derek deftly netted a large common. On the scales it weighed in at 38lb 12oz. A cracking start!
    Whilst the photographs were being taken James alarm sounded the start of the action in the double swim. The resulting fish was a 22lb Grasscarp. Once again bait was fired out and the respective rods put back onto the spots. Early the following morning there was a flurry of activity starting with Reuben catching a small catfish at 4am.
    Two hours later Jayne was in again, this time landing a 34lb mirror. An hour later and it was James turn again, this time a 10lb mint common being the culprit. Just before the lads wandered up for breakfast James had his second of the day with a 29lb mirror being held up for the camera. With breakfast over, the lads had barely cast out when Reuben was in again, this a better mirror scraping just over the thirty pound barrier at 30lb 2oz.
    At 4.45pm Reuben was again called into action. A spirited fight leading to a 19lb common being added to his tally. 5pm saw Derek landing his first of the week, and a mirror of 29lb 8oz was a very nice way to open his account. Half an hour later and Reuben was again tussling with an angry beast. This fish proving to be a 23lb Grasscarp.
    The warm weather had got them feeding it seemed. At 7.15pm Jayne landed another, this time a 29lb mirror. Reuben had another two fish in quick succession at 10pm and 10.30pm, 29lb, and 26lb mirrors finishing off a busy day very nicely indeed. At a little after midnight he landed his second catfish of the week in the shape of a 19lb fish.
    Once again the early morning proved to be a busy period, Derek was first out of his bedchair to do battle with a 27lb mirror at around 5am, at around the same time James landed another baby common, this one weighing 8lb’s. He followed this up a couple of hours later with his biggest of the week so far a 33lb mirror. Breakfast was quickly eaten with the lads eager to get back to their swim and carry on where they had left off.
    Exactly as the day before Rueben had just cast out when his alarm sounded and line was quickly being peeled off his reel. A good fight and a few worried minutes later his mate lifted the net around another chunky mirror. This one tipped the scales at 32lb exactly. At just before lunchtime Reuben caught yet another of our baby commons at 8lb’s.
    Derek added to his tally at around 1pm with a 24lb 8oz mirror. Rueben landed another 15 minutes later this time a 17lb common. At 3.30pm Jayne had her first run since the evening before; it proved to be worth the wait, with another cracking 35lb 4oz mirror gracing the net. Swims were rebaited, and the lads had their evening meal. It had hardly been consumed when Reuben was in yet again, the open water to his right certainly seemed to be holding plenty of fish This fish another mirror, weighed 25lb’s. Derek then had a busy hour around mid-evening with two fish between 7pm and 8pm, mirrors of 28lb and 26lb 4oz respectively.
    The latter part of Monday evening saw Reuben land two more fish, both 22lb, one being a common the other a mirror. At midnight it was James turn to land a catfish, though no monster it was his first, so welcome all the same. For the third morning in a row the early morning proved to be busy, certainly for the lads in the double swim. At 4am Reuben landed a 23lb mirror. This was followed at 6.30am by James landing a stunning 35lb mirror. Reuben then landed a 14lb common just before breakfast. The action during the day slowed down a little as the clouds parted and the sun came out. It wasn’t until 7.30pm that the next fish was caught, Derek doing the honours with a gorgeous 34lb common.
    The following morning it was James turn to catch the early fish from the double with two Grasscarp of 26lb and 27lb between 2am and 3.30am. After breakfast the lad’s broke camp and packed away their tackle, it was sadly time for them to head for home. They had both thoroughly enjoyed their stay, and had both caught pb’s during a manic few days fishing. At around 2.30pm Derek landed his largest fish of the week with a very nice looking mirror of 35lb 8oz.
    The weather was now really hotting up, and the fishing slowed as a consequence, Derek added to his tally at 1am Thursday morning with a 26lb Catfish. Despite their best efforts this was to be the last fish of the week caught. The extremely hot weather and rising pressure putting paid to the run of fish.
    Saturday morning rolled round far too quickly for Derek and Jayne, and after a hearty breakfast they set off back into the real world, though both Helen and I are very pleased to see they have already booked to come back for a few days at the end of September to celebrate Derek’s Birthday. We look forward to welcoming them back. Once again it was a fantastic week, with excellent company, and some cracking fish caught. How I love to hear the sound of alarms ringing out around the lake.
    French Carp Lakes – Molyneux

    A week on Mas Bas Lotus Lake


    There was just myself fishing and to be honest I caught too many fish to mention… but the highlights were:
    • PB Mirror 37lb in fact 1st fish caught! Double Mainline Cell 18mm with mixed pellet PVA bag.
    • PB Common 21lb 8oz Double Mainline Cell 18mm
    • Lots of 10lb + and mid twenty Mirrors and the odd common, also just a few Grass Carp up to 17lb +
    First of all I must say I have only been Carp fishing for a year so I’m a complete Carping novice, but I have coarse and sea fished all of my life.
    Main Tactics were big baits, big sharp hooks (micro barb is recommended by Giles) and big leads 3-4 oz as the fish have hard mouths, most bait worked, if you use small baits expect smaller fish.  Lead safety clips are a must, expect to lose leads!
    I used 18lb Fox mainline to leadcore leader and coated hook lengths to size 4 Fox Arma Point hooks. Although Quest Raja Spice boilies were available, I found that most bait caught fish, I will next time however use just one type of boilie either Rahja Spice 20mm, Scopex 20mm or Mainline Cell 18mm, and about 10kg is adequate for the week, scattering bait in a wide area brought in the fish there is no real need for bait boats on Lotus, dumping piles and piles of bait in one or two spots is frankly not needed, the fish do patrol from the shallows to the deeper water to feed, fish were caught from the shallows but it is very snaggy.
    There was lots of fish caught, too many to list, I fished mainly in the afternoon and evening, I baited the left hand bank in the morning with mixed boilies went out to visit the local markets and towns and sight seeing during the day as the Carp tended to congregate in the shallows at the far end of the lake basking in the sunshine.  Nearly all my fish came from the left hand bank it was the easiest place to fish and bait, but beware there are a couple of sunken stumps and the fish know they are there! Only had to use the dingy once to rescue a fish which, I was told, looked hilarious as I’m not a small chap and its a very small dingy!
    The accommodation was fantastic in Willow, dish washer, washing machine, fully equipped kitchen, very comfortable beds, the outside Gazebo made an excellent base to sit and wait for fish while eating and drinking, the Gazebo has a PowerPoint and two lights, one over the fishing platform, excellent idea Giles!  The hosts Leslie and Giles were brilliant, very helpful and nothing was any trouble to them to satisfy our stay, even Giles finding some maggots for us.  Top tip if you want to fish maggot or worm for the coarse fish take your own as the price of maggots is extortionate in France and not easy to find.
    This was not just a fishing holiday, this was a relaxing holiday for us as a couple, and my wife was really pleased with Mas Bas (phew!) and has absolutely fallen in love with the place and surrounding area. We drove down from Roscoff and stayed in Limoges over night and then on to Cahors and finally Mas Bas on late Saturday afternoon. It is a long drive but don’t let that put you off, we avoided the dreaded Motorways and saved about £70 on tolls, to be honest the roads were fairly empty compared to GB and very easy duel carriageways.
    Ade and Jan
    Fishing Holidays at Mas Bas

    Carp Rigs – The Sliding D Rig


    Paul Cooper shows you how to construct the Sliding D-Rig…