Young Angler James has Huge Haul at Notaires

Notaires provides the perfect balance for a family angling holiday, here's why James Geeson thinks so...

General Comments: We stayed as a family of 5 with Chris and Steph for a week in mid july and had a wonderful time. Our 3 boys enjoyed the swimming pool and the animals as well as the wi-fi!

The fishing was excellent, led by our son james (13) who is the mad keen angler who found and booked this holiday for us. James fished every day on the main lake by the house at the nearest swim. He caught a lot of fish! 64 in total ranging from 12lbs up to 34lbs with the average size just over 20lbs so a great weeks fishing.

James

The fish fought hard and were in good condition, nearly all mirror carp but we did get one grass carp and a common as well. The smaller kids did some float fishing and landed plenty of small silver fish. James got his PB for mirror, common and grass. We barbequed most evening and the weather was fantastic. Chris and Steph were very helpful and friendly answering our questions and helping us find a tennis court to use in the nearby town.

A great week had by all and I would definitely recommend this venue to hardcore anglers as well as for families wanting a mixed holiday. Thanks again to Chris and Steph.

Details of your catches: 65 carp to 34lbs - 1337lbs of carp, fishing days only.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs: Simple rigs with single or double boilie and some on pop-ups seemed to work well casting across the lake to the margins.

The Weather is Always Perfect for Something

Anglers being anglers we often find ourselves complaining about the weather. Be it too bright, too hot, too cold, too windy, too wet and so on. But, to be fair the weather conditions might not be conducive to heavy feeding at the moment but they are absolutely perfect for taking full advantage of in two ways.

Perfect conditions to go and see with your own eyes what lives there...

First of all I am sure most of us have had our eye on a particular water and wondered if there were any decent fish in them. Well, in the sort of conditions we have at this moment in time things couldn’t be better for going and finding out. Carp in particular but it is also relevant to a lot of other species will spend huge amounts of time in the upper layers of the water in full view to those who put themselves out a little to actually go and have a look for them. Carp can’t help it, they love the sun on their backs and love to sunbathe and cruise around on the surface revealing themselves to the world at a time when most anglers are at home in the garden or perhaps down the pub enjoying a refreshing pint.

The fact of the matter though is just one walk in these hot and bright conditions can reveal so much about what lives in those sparsely stocked waters.

Similarly these low water river conditions couldn’t be any better for wandering along whilst you can see further and deeper into more water than you normally would be able to thus plot your swims for when the river rises and indeed for the winter when a lot of the fish will be sheltering from the full force of the current in areas that are actually on dry land at the minute for a lot of the areas of dry  bank at the moment will be areas you will be placing baits in flood water conditions.

Perfect to plot exactly where those main weed beds are.

Now is the perfect time to note where those weed beds start and end and the fish holding areas may be and more importantly where you will be able to present a rig without constantly getting snagged. Pick the brightest day and walk at mid day with the sun well above thus penetrating more water and revealing more of the underwater world. Simply arm yourself with a hat with a wide brim, a decent pair of polarised sunglasses, a bottle of something to drink and a note book. A camera can also come in handy for visualising what is under the water later in the year.

Happy plotting!

Best fishes
Shaun Harrison.

Courtesy of the Quest Baits Blog

Vaumigny Stars in Sturgeon Documentary

Vaumigny was recently chosen for a documentary on big sturgeon fishing...

The lake was one of the forerunners in France for introducing several species of big sturgeon into their closed waters so it's anglers can enjoy the exhilarating sport.  The article is due out in November and we'll keep you posted, but for now here's a couple of pictures from the filming process and Vaumigny's residents.

Filming In Progress

The sturgeon in this lake are not for the faint-hearted...

For more information follow the link - Fishing France

Happy Anglers at Holly Pools

Holly Pools has given us some happy anglers once again, here's last weeks feedback...

John's first ever cat with the whole gang - 34lb

General comments: Nik was the most friendly and helpful person you could wish for. We were also supplied with fresh eggs from the coop, and cucumbers from the polytunnel. All in all a most enjoyable stay, (this is the non-angler speaking now) I found I could chill out in the sun or shade, and also have refreshing dips in the pool. Hopefully we will be back!

Details of your catches: 20 fish, 13 over 20lb and 2 over 30lb. Alex had a pb mirror carp with "Kirsten" at 36lb 8oz and John had a pb wells cat at 34lb.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs: Carp cuisine boilies over halibut pellet and boilies - both from Holly Pools. Blow-back rig. Fished the far bank and took the biggest 2 fish in the margin, a rod length out from the stump swim!

Alex with 'Kirsten' at 36.08

For more information on Holly Pools follow the link - Carp Fishing

Online Payment System Launched...

We have recently introduced an online payment facility...

There's lots of useful features; for example as a lead booker you can allocate amounts to individuals in your group so they can pay their share online too. The idea is to make our payment process as user friendly as possible. This video shows you how it all works.

Carp fishing in France

Ten Quick Carp Angling Tips

Here’s a few quick tips courtesy of the Quest Baits Blog…

1) Location – Depending what you are after. If you simply want to catch as many as possible then set up on good shows of fish, but the larger ones can lead more solitary lives and can often be found in quieter areas.

2) Feature-finding – Adding a fluorocarbon shock leader to the end of a braided main line will cut frustrating marker float tangles right out. Plus it is less visible in the water if you leave the marker in place for a while.

3) Rigs – Don’t get tempted to swap and change all of the time. Find one that works for you and stick with it. This will leave much more time to worry about the more important things in carp fishing such as finding the right area to put it.

'The most fun I’ve had carp fishing for a very long time.'

A new article from Ron Key, one of our expert field testers...

As an Angling Lines field tester it’s always exciting visiting a new water but when it’s called Jonchery there’s added excitement and anticipation. I remember Jonchery; its history and its reputation for quality carp from way back in the nineties and now there’s a new lake; Jonchery 7!

Nestled at the foot of the Le Digue du Brevonnes, the massive dam that forms the Lac du Temple is a tree lined five acre pool.  Separated from the original Jonchery by a series of stock ponds it is quiet, secluded and very, very, carpy.

A tree lined 5 acre pool

Nestled at the foot of the Le Digue du Brevonnes

Jonchery 7 is quite unique, bookings are for the whole lake and it has only one swim, a large double swim that dominates the lake and easily swallowed up our two bivvies and a cooking shelter. It’s an ideal venue for a couple of anglers wanting some exclusivity or a family wanting privacy.  There are enough carp to keep the most impatient fisherman busy and plenty of large powerful fish to keep the most ambitious angler satisfied too. The swim is about a third of the way along the lake which seems strange. It does however leave water unfished and free of lines and for those who want some variety and like to stalk their fish. This is a real bonus.

Our camp for the week

Ready and waiting!

It is quite a walk from the facilities which are shared with the main lake so taking a bike is a good option.  We also found the bike a useful baiting accessory nipping around to the far margin with a bag of boilies and pellets.  The facilities are comprehensive to say the least including a wet room, UK style toilet, dining room, kitchen with oven, microwave, fridge freezer and large freezer, even a dishwasher. The village shop and bar is only a couple of minutes drive down the road and the major super markets are about 10K away. There is also a boat at the lake so don’t forget your life jackets... You can read the rest of the article here

Fishing France at Jonchery 7