Carp Fishing in France at 36 Carp Lakes
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
Winter Wonderland at Molyneux French Carp Lake
Like most of you in the UK, we have had our share of chilly snowy weather here at Molyneux over the last few days. Thankfully we’ve not had the amounts of snow that seem to have covered large parts of Blighty, but it has certainly made life around the lake a little more difficult.
The water has been switched off at the mains for over a week now, in the hope we will not have the problems in the shower block that we suffered last spring.
The lake is frozen so the feeding program has had to be curtailed for the time being. Prior to the freeze the fish had remained active, especially after they have been fed.
Despite all the problems it brings, who can help but love the way that a blanket of snow transforms the landscape. It was also Rudie’s first sight of snow, and it was hilarious to watch him rolling and playing in the snow……
French carp lakes – Molyneux
Roseau Carpers Hoodies
For this season we’re glad to offer any angler who has been, or is coming to see us at Roseau, the opportunity to buy these great hoodies. They come in the standard carpy colour of Olive Green and are excellent quality and great value for money.
The fishery name is on the chest & you can select your own number (unless it’s already been taken) for the back, plus add your name or nickname. See the images below for some of our customer’s orders – aren’t they great!
Order yours for those chilly, beer drinking social evenings around the lakes – a great reminder of the fun times we shared at Roseau.
Carp Fishing France at Roseau
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
Venue Video for Holly Pools French Carp Lake
Here’s the temporary venue video for Holly Pools. We’ll be shooting a new video in the spring…
Carp Fishing at Holly Pools
Thursday, 17 January 2013
A Very Happy Carp Lake Owner
41.12 – John’s new Pb!
As any of my regular guest here at Bletiere will know, I have never been blessed with a 40lb’er out of the venue. Well I’m afraid the day has now come when I’ll no longer have to listen to the usual ribbing when another 40lb’er comes out!
Having been working around the lake for the last few days I could see the carp feeding in the spots where I fed them, and not just a few odd fish but several in one area. So with a cold snap forecast I thought it was time I had a go myself at catching something.
I set up in the middle swim and thought I would try 3 different baits to see what, if anything worked. Once all was sorted I sat back with the dogs and waited, but I have to be honest with the air temperature only 6 degrees and the water 8 degrees I was not expecting a lot of action.
After about 90 minutes the left hand rod slowly tightened and the alarm started a slow but steady signal. I tightened up into the carp and immediately I knew it was going to be a good fish as it plodded down towards the end of the lake and just hugged the bottom.
After what seemed an age I had the fish in the net and what a beauty – not a mark on her and very solid, so looked like she had been feeding well. As I bent to pick the net out the water that’s when I knew it was going to be big and close to my first 40lb’er.
As I put the weigh sling on the scales I was well pleased to see it settle at 41lb 12oz, smashing my previous Pb here of 39lb 14oz. The only unlucky thing was that there was no one here to take a photo of me holding it. So after a quick check over and a big thank you I slipped her back into her home.
I am now determined to get the self take gear out and practice with the camera for the next time as I would hate to get a bigger fish out and not have another decent photo. Never the less I am a very happy lake owner.
Tight lines, John
Fishing Holidays at Bletiere
Work on the New Swims at Holly Pools
The 2 sticks in the water give an idea where the water level part of the swim will be constructed.
For the last 2 months I have been wielding a chainsaw in the woods around the lake here at Holly Pools. The result is 13 trees removed from around, and in some cases IN, the lake. These trees had either fallen in the lake, were in danger of doing so, or were storm damaged. No nice trees were harmed in the making of this post!
Having cleared a large section of bank that previously held a stalking swim (just room to flick a margin rod into a tree shaded area the carp liked to hole up in away from the action), it seemed like a good idea to improve the “fishability” of the lake.
Discussions with David and Martin at Angling Lines, as well as with friends who have owned and run French carp lakes for many years, resulted in the following plan;
- turn the cleared bank where the stalking swim used to be into a really nice water-level pitch with room on the bank for a bivvy
- make a new stalking swim towards the shallow end of the lake
It will then be possible to cast to the whole lake, with just a few areas under trees perhaps needing a bait-boat. This also has the effect that 2 anglers can fish with no possibility of interfering with each other, and with some care (and perhaps winding in lines during a run) 3 anglers on the lake.
If we feel the fish are missing the shelter of a no-pressure area, we can add a buoyed off area in front of the stalking swim (which will then become a really frustrating “large carp viewing platform”!).
For those of you who think Carp Fishery owners spend the winter in bed or the Caribbean – here is where 2 months work has got us so far. More pictures to follow of the swims being completed.
Nik and Holly
Carp Fishing at Holly Pools
Your Best Guide to Carp Fishing in France
Oakview in its summer glory!
This summary of the highlights from last year is your quickest way to find out about carp fishing at Oakview. Find out when the hits come, what size carp you are likely to catch and the latest stats on your chances of catching them.
You can also use this article to go straight to the videos you want to watch without having to search these pages. See the best tips, the bagging-up tactics, the runs and the records. It’s your latest and best guide to carp fishing here in 2013.
January saw a small but strategic stocking:
In February we released the first of the year’s videos on tactics. 3 Oakview regulars show how they bag up from 3 different sides of the lake. You’ll find two more tactics videos for the 4th bank later in this article but this is the one to watch for general tactics at Oakview:
The first week in March saw the first anglers of the season. They got straight on the fish and we got a video of a brilliant carp fishing tip. In fact, as 2012 was the wettest year on record, this turned out to be the simplest and best carp fishing tip of the year:
April brought with it a great catch, which included a 40 and 5 x 30s. The guys’ approach was to keep the lodge swims quiet and fish back towards these areas from further up the lake. The tactics paid off when the first 40 pounder of the year came from 3 yards in front of the right-hand lodge swim. You can see the catch here:
May’s highlight came mid-month, when the 6 x 30s out that week took the average catch weight up to 29lbs.
In June, an angler smashes his PB with a 38lb common and then predicts a big hit in the bowl the following week. The next week, the bowl produces 20 carp to over 40lbs. You can see the anglers and and their story here:
In July an unusual approach and set-up saw 20 carp to 38lb taken in short day sessions at the back of the island. A brilliant demonstration of the set-up and great run sequences has made this video a must-see and our most popular carp video in 2012.
The video is called ‘How to catch carp in France – slack lines and running rigs’ and it’s the first of a series we will be releasing. If you are not amongst the thousands who have already watched it, you can go straight to it here:
In August great catches add to the long list of records already smashed during the year. Another angler takes 20 fish to over 40lb and later in the month, the biggest fish of the year comes out at 42lb 7oz.
During September an Oakview regular has another storming session at his favourite lodge swim, bagging 19 carp, including 8 x 30s and the biggest common of the year at 39lb 10oz. Average catch size for this week was 29lb 12oz.
In October we released Part 2 of our popular series on How to catch carp in France. This time it’s tight lines and shocker rigs. The same swim and the same weather conditions as Part 1, but a different angler with a different approach.
Between them the two anglers chalked up 40 carp, topped by a 42lb mirror and a 38lb common. This 2nd video shows a fascinating blow-by-blow comparison of two very different set-ups and compares the results. You can go straight to Part 2 here:
In December this fantastic year at Oakview was rounded off by the launch of our updated venue video. Take a look round the lake, see inside the accommodation, watch the fishing and hear what the anglers have to say:
End of year catch stats
Thanks to anglers sharing their knowledge on video, it’s now easier than ever to discover lots of detail about the fish and the tactics at Oakview.
But it’s no good just looking at a few of the highlights to find out what sort of fish you can expect to catch. To answer that fairly we’ve taken the catch reports from every angler for the whole year and averaged them out. Here are the results:
On average, a 30lb (or 40lb) carp was landed every 5 runs and one run in 10 resulted in a carp between 16lb and 20lbs. So 9 runs in every 10 is a carp bigger than 20lb.
So there you have it… pre-season, this is your best guide to carp fishing at Oakview in 2013.
Carp fishing in France with accommodation at Oakview
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