Angling Lines Blog

George Merrit – 38.09

Back in 2007 fishing in France had been something that had appealed to me for several years, but i didn’t want to go to a complex that was hammered with advertising! I wanted a nice family, friendly complex with great sport.  And that’s when I got lucky & came across Le Monument.

It looked like a fantastic venue with some stunning scenery and best of all fantastic fish, so we gave it a go… & we’ve been going back every year since.  We’ve had some stunning carp to over 38lb and needless to say we’ve just booked up for 2011!

We’ve always booked the whole lake to ourselves so we’ve been able to move around & get on top of those feeding carp that you wouldn’t be able to do on some of the larger venues.

Mark and Angela are more than helpful when were there, bringing us full English breakfast and hot dinners right to our bivvy.  With a power shower, kitchen area and toilets on site you really have all your home comforts.

I would really recommend Monument lake to anyone that’s thinking about fishing in France! It really isn’t as scary as you think to fish in France & there’s such a friendly atmosphere here that you really feel at home.

Looking forward to next time!

George and Ed

Chas with a 46.04 mirror caught on his recent “busman’s holiday”

For the first time in several years I found I had an opportunity to spend a few days in September fishing my own lake Vaux . I followed on from a week of low numbers of fish caught, apparently weather related because I noted that several other lakes were similarly affected. Temperatures rocketed during my stay and I decided to fish nights only with a limited number of rods, using my new ‘large carp’ tactics: the usual heavy lead set-up, the end tackle being a heavy boom section whipped to the hook section with 40-50mm braided hook lengths incorporating long shank Mugga hooks size 6 and 7 or just Mugga hooks, again size 6 and 7, tied KD style.

41.08

I targetted two spots in the lake and baited one with 25-35mm carp and trout pellets plus a scattering of 25-35mm boilies. For the other area I took a different approach. Roach and dace which I had caught in a feeding situation were humanely despatched and using a food processor were then incorporated into my method mix base of wheat and maize, instead of the usual tuna. In this way a very high oil content is released into the method mix. Because the roach and dace had been feeding when caught and then incorporated without delay into the mix, I was in addition trying to establish if there is an enzyme or some other trigger within the roach and dace which would spark a feeding response in the carp.

It took three days from putting the method mix into the lake before the carp started feeding, but then over a period of eight days I banked 35 carp including 4 x 40lb+, 21 x 30lb+, 9 x 20lb+ and 1 at 16lb – plus one 42lb catfish. Of the 21 thirties, 15 were over 35lb. 71% of the carp landed were over 30lb and with a total carp weight of 1145lb 4oz, I had an average weight of 32lb12oz. On one particular night I had two lots of doubles: 46lb4oz and 41lb8oz mirrors, followed by a 28lb common and a 37lb14oz mirror.

All the larger fish were taken over the method mix, the small ones over the carp and trout pellets. For me, this first trial was a big success.

Chas

A series of Angling Lines videos that’ll help you put more carp on the bank!

Here we join Dan Phesay at Sapphire as he explains the tactics he uses to concentrate the carp in his swim, plus his stick mix rig & how he uses back-leads.

As from winter 2011 Korda will now be taking bookings for Gigantica themselves.  Anyone who’s made a reservation for Gigantica for 2012 & beyond has already been written to and their details, along with any deposits paid, have been forwarded to Korda who will of course honour the bookings.

Here’s a message from Danny Fairbrass;

I would like to formerly advise all anglers that Gigantica bookings from November 2011 will now be processed direct through Gigantica UK on 01268 820440. UK staff that has fished Gigantica will be on hand from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday to process bookings and offer advice on fishing Gigantica. You can e mail booking requests 24 hours a day to bookings@gigantica-carp.com and we will respond during the next working day.

We have chosen to go direct for 2 reasons; firstly we have staff available at Korda HQ to man the phones, all these staff have fished the lake which offers customers a unique opportunity for advice as well a professional service. Secondly we hope to expand our portfolio of waters in Europe in the next 12 months and so will eventually be able to justify dedicated staff to handle bookings.

We have been more than satisfied with Angling Lines and thank them for the excellent service they have provided over the last 3 years. We have personally sent several ‘mystery shoppers’ to them over the years and they have always returned with glowing reports of AL. If our expansion plans do not come to fruition and we struggle to cope with bookings direct we shall not hesitate to come back to AL.

All details of provisional bookings will be passed from AL to us and we will give these people first priority over new enquiries. Keeping existing customers happy is both AL and our primary concern.

Once again thanks to Bridget, David and all the girls at AL, we wish you all the very best for the future.

Tight Lines, Danny Fairbrass

Fudgey’s @ 73.09 – Gigantica’s 3rd known 70lb+ carp

Look at the width of that carp!

Having seen Fudgeys last year at spawning time, I had predicted that should someone be lucky enough to capture this huge framed fish during the winter, I was certain it would be Gigantica’s 3^rd 70lb+ fish. Having made it through the colder conditions without slipping up, and with fish in general in the area showing signs of having fed well through the winter, I wasn’t at all astonished when I was handed the pics of the awesome fish at an all time high, and as predicted, Giganticas 3^rd official 70lb+ fish at the massive 73.09lb !!