Angling Lines Blog

by Gareth Watkins

I thought I’d just post some of the recent news from Michel Bigot’s Etang de Margot.

I was there this week and was able to see at first hand the improvements to the site and the stock that have taken place over the winter.

Firstly the guys got a digger in to renovate the swims… railway sleepers were used to consolidate the banks and prevent erosion from the wave action eating away at the margins.

These were then backfilled with stones and gravel to provide a firm and dry place to set up to fish. I was really impressed that despite the torrential rain they have had over the last few weeks, the pegs were perfectly dry and clean… no need for boots and your bivvy will stay mud free.

On the subject of the rain, many of you will have been aware that the venue has had water loss problems in the past.

 Well I can say that those days are over and Margot is now brimful. In fact it has never been so high. The water is up to the top of the banks and even behind the reedmace in places.

Fortunately the good design of the swims has left these dry and out of the water. Fishing will therefore not be hindered one iota.

Finally the water has seen a number of new carp stocked.

Recent stockings have seen 46 fish added from 16-27lb for an average of 23lb. These young and fast growing carp should all put on three or four pounds by the summer. During my visit the final batch of fish went in consisting of ten carp from 28lb to 32lb. All in all this represents fifty four extra carp and a brace of mid twenty sturgeon.

Click Here to see more photos

With the removal of small carp and poisson-chats late last year the improvements to venue should be quite pronounced for the anglers visiting the lake this season.

Why we should all use Klin-ik 

Klin-ik is a Laboratory Formulated Fish Care Product. Dave Chilton of Kryston tells us why and how the totally safe and laboratory formulated fish care product Klin-ik was introduced.

This is an issue that many carp anglers still ignore, especially when they come to France.  I see anglers turn up with tiny unhooking mats, undersized landing nets and no carp care medication.

Dave explains in great detail the history of carp care solutions and how to use his own product… here are some extracts from the article;

What does it do?

When we remove a hook we leave behind a puncture hole. In certain cases that open cavity could lead to secondary infection setting in. The treatment is purposely designed to be an extremely searching liquid that immediately seeps and travels in a capillary action down to the base of the wound instantly cleansing and sterilizing the immediate area. The medication is rapidly absorbed into the blood cells and this is where the other ingredients kick in, speeding up the healing process and helping the regeneration of tissue. Thus giving the fish a flying start on the road to recovery. continue reading…

Mike wrote:

Looking for a new venue for a 2009 trip.  Needs to have a good head of fish above 50lb (PB) and a good head of 40′s, 30′s etc and not many below that sort of weight.  Any suggestions?

Cheers Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your query. 2009 is a fair way off so you’ll pretty much be able to take your pick of the venues we have on offer.

Firstly I’d say check out the brochure and internet site carefully to draw up a short list of the type of venue you are looking for.

You mention fish size, but you don’t stipulate any other criteria. How far do you want to travel? What size venue do you require? How many anglers will be in your party? Do you want an exclusive lake? Do you want a food package?

As you can see there are lots of questions to be answered before I can give you a detailed reply.

continue reading…

by Bridget Keep 

With the season cracking off now I’m off to visit several of the French venues next week! So if anyone has any specific questions they would like to pose to us or the owners just let me know.  

Specifically I’ll be looking at Roseau, Long Lake, Molyneux, Morganes, Commons, Margot & hopefully Hideaway too! 

I’ll certainly be looking at many details including water levels , stocking, weed, facilities and swim features. 

I’ll be happy to take any questions with me and get the answers back to you on a more personal basis upon my return.

Rory wrote: 

Heading over to Margot in 3 weeks. Are there any anglers on it at the moment and if so any reports of the catches so far?

Hi Rory,

I think you’ll enjoy Margot as it has a fabulous head of fish including the jewel in the crown, the big common that we all hope will go over 60lb this year.

As Margot is a shallow venue, it is one of the lakes that warms the quickest and is therefore an excellent early season choice. Past seasons have seen some of the best catches in and around the March/April period.

If you check out the article by Andy Lear on the website you’ll see that in March 2006 the three lads landed 64 fish including the big common, they followed this up with a trip a year later in March 2007 and banked 71 fish to over 50lb. So you can see that the early part of the season is a good period on the lake.

continue reading…