A CRACKING KOI FROM MARGOT

We couldn’t resist putting this one up here; one of the big Margot koi made an appearance on the bank last week. The honour fell to Seb Hodge and weighed in at 37lb 8oz.

The group of four had a catch of 19 in total, including 1 at 52lb 6oz, 7 x 40′s to 47lb, 7 x 30′s to 38lb and 4 x 20′s to 29lb.

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For more information on Margot  follow the link - Carp Fishing in France

Crafty Carper September Issue

Great to see Margot mentioned in Crafty Carper's September issue, Terry Leonard (aka Dj Hatcha) was out at the lake this August...

Crafty Carper, September Issue

For more information on Margot follow the link - Carp Fishing in France

Beauty of a new PB for Margot Angler

Gary Campbell gained a new PB this month at Margot with this 52.04 common… 

52.04

To read their catch report and feedback follow the link – Carp Fishing in France

Margot Carp Lake – Questions and Answers

Paul Cooper, one of our expert Field Testers, recently answered a query about Margot, a good read if you’re going out to the venue this year!

Hi Paul, 

I’m at Margot this Saturday and was wondering as a regular if you have any favoured swims/areas/tactics etc? Thank you for your time. 

This is a good choice of venue and I am sure that you will love it there.  My personal choice of swims would be swim 3 or 4. Fish straight out in front of you about 80 to 85 yards and you will find a nice area to build up a feeding table. The bottom is a little silty but the fish feed well here.

Swim Map

Keep the bait going in the same place and do not spread your bait around. Stick to one baited area all week and feed the swim regularly once you start getting runs. It may take a few days for the swim to develop, but stick at it and you should get the results. I would fish 2 rods on the baited area and the others just off it. I would avoid putting out pellet as this attracts in the grassies, that is unless you want to catch them. The grass carp are massive and can take some handling once in the net and on the bank.

Best of luck and I look forward to see you holding a few biggies on the feedback reports.
Paul

To check out more articles from Margot, including the capture of the 71lb lake record, click here.
Margot Carp Fishing in France

Questions and Answers - Margot Carp Lake

Paul Cooper, one of our expert Field Testers, recently answered a few queries about Margot, a must read if you're going out to the venue this year!

Hello Paul,

I have just finished reading your article on fishing tactics at Margot 2012.  I’m due to fish Margot soon, I’m in a party that has the lake exclusively, we have pre-drawn for swims, I pull out of the hat Peg 1.

Using the information and tips in your article, I will contact Angling Lines to find out how many anglers will be on the lake the week previous. I was hoping that you could possibly give me any tips on fishing Peg 1?

Swim Map

On my previous visits to Margot I have not fished peg 1, however I can tell you as much as I can recall about the swim.

Peg 1 is situated on the bank to the left of the facilities which is a corner point swim giving access to an area to your left that is not accessible by anyone else on the lake. You also have the option of fishing directly in front of you to the middle of the lake.

Peg 2 is only yards to your right, however due to the point location, peg 2 has a vast amount of water to fish to the right and also has the option of fishing open water directly in front of the swim. The ground is made up of hard rubble so you will need a rubber mallet to hammer in your tent pegs. There is little shade on the swim so take be prepared for some sun.

From what I can recall the lake depths are around 4 to 5 feet with a thin layer of soft silt on the bottom of the lake, with some graveled areas.To your left is a long peninsular and the gap between the end of the peninsular and the far bank is a good feeding area, but is very shallow. A lot of carp feed and hang around in the shallow bay to the left and you do pick up fish as they return to the main lake.

Fish in the Shallows at Margot

I would select my main feeding area in open water and have 1 rod to the left. There are lots of grassies in the lake to over 40lb which I always try to avoid but still pick them up. To avoid the grass carp I would not use any pellet. Boilies, hemp or party blend should do the trick. Start off light, increasing the amount of bait as you develop your swim. Do not spread your bait to different areas, sticking to your 2 baited areas and you should pick up carp on a regular basis.

Best of luck. I am sorry that I cannot be of more use but as I said, I have not fished this area of the lake.
Paul Cooper

To check out more articles from Margot, including the capture of the 71lb lake record, click here.
Margot Carp Fishing in France

Record Zander for Margot

For the increasing number of Margot anglers who are interesting in it's potentially large zander specimens; Robert Griffiths has recently landed the biggest so far weighing 13lb 4oz. Who knows how big the Zander go in this lake? We'll keep you posted.

13.04

For more information, articles, photo's and feedback from Margot follow the link - Carp Fishing Holidays

Questions and Answers – Margot Carp Lake

Paul Cooper, one of our expert Field Testers, recently answered a few queries about Margot, a must read if you’re going out to the venue this year!

Hi Paul,  I was looking for a little advice with Margot in France as I know you’ve fished there before. I’m there this summer and hoping the weather will be warm but I’m unsure as to what bait and tactics work best there. If you could help that would be great. 

65lb 8oz – Margot – Rob Allen

I have visited Margot on two occasions in the past, August a few years ago when the temperatures averaged around 39C and last year in May when it averaged around 24C. On both occasions I fished similar tactics. The first thing to realise is that in July the weather in this area can be hot, very hot. Despite the heat the carp still feed heavily and need lots of food to keep them occupied in your swim.

Most anglers that visit Margot use bait boats and have some considerable success. I personally would not bother. Spombing, spodding and throwing stick would be my answer to presenting your free offerings in the form of good quality boilies. I would use the marker rod to find a weed free area, and then lead the same area to ascertain that the area is suitable for a baiting campaign. Make sure that the distance that you select for the baited area is reachable even in a strong head wind as the winds here can be exceptional. On both my visits I fished around 75 yards, a comfortable casting distance. My choice of boilie would be Quality Baits HG42 or CM60, both supplied by the Bigots at Margot.

Margot

Once you have selected your area, around the size of a table tennis table, introduce around 1/2 kilo of boilies. Fish two rods on the area and then the other two well off the area. I found that the outer rods produced the most fish. Following each capture introduce around another 100 boilies and keep this up throughout the week.

In July the poisson-chat can be very active and it may be that you are unable to fish boilies. If this happens there are a number of ways of combating this nuisance species of fish. I have made a short video explaining this which is part of the technical video’s on the Angling Lines web site, How to protect your baits when crayfish or poisson chat are active.

Carp in the Shallows

One of the best baits when the chats move in is the tiger nut. The Bigots will supply tiger nuts at Margot when there is a problem with them, and tigers combined with well prepared hemp keep the carp coming, avoiding the chat. The Bigot’s net the chat each year so you may get away un-scathed, but just in case go prepared.

Margot is an excellent venue and does contain some massive specimens, carp, grassies and catfish, so make sure that you have the gear to cope with them. I hope you enjoy your visit to Margot. I do envy you as it is a great big fish water.

Tight Lines
Paul Cooper

To check out more articles from Margot, including the capture of the 71lb lake record, click here.
Margot Carp Fishing in France

Catfish Info for Margot

Catfish Info for Margot

February 17, 2013DavidNo comments

78lb Margot cat caught in Oct 2012

Hi,

I’m fishing Margot in April and want to have a go for the cats… does anyone know how many and how big they are. 

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Owner Michel Bigot estimates that there are between 30 and 40 cats in Margot.

He can’t give an exact number because lots of cats escape the annual netting by lying low in holes. However, in June 2012 the Margot catch reports were analysed over a 13 week period. The catch weights ranged between 26lb and 135lb and the average size cat banked during that period was 55lb.

Good luck and hope you have a great time at Margot.

Carp Fishing in France at Margot

Prolific Winter Carping Session at Margot

Prolific Winter Carping Session at Margot

December 23, 2012DavidNo comments

Here’s a short interview with Bill Holcombe during his prolific  Nov ’12 Margot session.  Bill caught 25 carp in total including 2 x 50′s at 52-02 (pb common) and 51-10, 4 x 40′s to 49-12, 15 x 30′s to 39-01, 2 x 20′s to 27-07 and 1 under 20.

Who says they don’t feed in winter!

Carp Fishing in France at Margot

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

Carp Fishing Video – More Big Carp Added At Margot

Here’s the video to accompany the post from a couple of days ago.  To recap Margot took delivery of 12 more mid 20′s and 12 more 30′s to complete its top-up for the 2012 season.

The largest of this batch weighs 36lb and brings the total stocked this winter to 50, including 30 x 30′s, 3 x 40′s and a 60 pounder.

Carp Fishing in France at Margot

Margot adds another 24 large carp

Margot has just taken delivery of 12 more mid 20′s and 12 more 30′s to complete its top-up for the 2012 season.

The largest of this batch weighs 36lb and brings the total stocked this winter to 50, including 30 x 30′s, 3 x 40′s and a 60 pounder.

Carp Fishing in France at Margot