Angling Lines Blog

Hiya mate,

I’m a reasonably experienced Carp angler based in essex and was just wondering what time of year you thought was best to book a trip to france?

We are considering booking Gigantica after watchin ur carp cup shows on TT, but havent made our minds up as it did seem a bit ‘swimmy’? If u know what i mean.

The syndicate water i fish isnt the easiest and the thought of goin on holiday and struggling just as much is playin with my mind a bit, would be nice to get a couple of fish over the week. We went abroad to willow lake (the old jrc place) and had a fish each, but it wouldve been nice to have a couple each, even if they were a bit smaller, we really were scratchin for a bite most of the time.

We booked it for the last week in september, which has been kind to me over here, but the guy who owned it said that they had been fished for all year and are harder to catch later in the year as a result, what do you think?

Also the weather wasnt very kind, high pressure, clear cold nights and hot sunny days. I was hoping for low pressure, cloud and big south westerlies, I take it these are prime hauling conditions in France too? And if so, was i unlucky with the weather? Or are there seasonal changes in France that would mean i should have booked another time of year to give me a better chance with the weather?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, a reply really would be appreciated and i will come say hello at the next show im at.

regards, Eric

Danny Turtle, Gigantica bailiff, answers;

Eric,

Danny

Readers question;

When did carp fishing start in France?

Shaun Harrison

Answered by Shaun Harrison of Quest Baits;

Paul Regent was the first English angler I’m aware of to fish Cassien and certainly the first one to report a fish from there – a 35lb’er which appeared on the front cover of the C.A.A. magazine in ’84.  The first holidays offered I ever saw were the Regent Coach trips (the same Paul Regent who owned a coach company) to Cassien in ’85.  Kevin Maddocks had a trip there with Paul in the early days.

Rod Hutchinson didn’t get to Cassien until 1985 – the same year I went.

Chantecoq didn’t happen until the early 90′s when Joe Taylor (J & K Tackle) blew the lid on the place by making it public.  A few had been on there before then  (Simon Horton and co) in ’89.

It was definitely Cassien and then Salagou which first started the invasion to France by the English Carpers.  Chanty was probably the next of the well know ones followed by the Orient in around ’92.  After this there was a bit of a dabble in Spain.

Shaun

Hello Paul,

I am currently in the process of choosing a lake for me and 5 friends to fish in France for a week at the start of June (Have done Dreamlakes numerous times and wish to try somewhere different).

I have spoken to Bridget at Angling Lines and she highly recommends we try Sapphire and said you would be able to give me your opinion of the lake and maybe answer a couple of questions I have.

One of my concerns is that the swims do not have any form of jetty or landing platform and actually appear to shelf off very gradually, meaning you would need waders or be prepared to get wet legs every night!

If you could give me your comments on this matter and any other information you feel would be useful, I would very much appreciate it.

Kind regards, Phill

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A 38lb common from Paul's 2010 Sapphire session

Hi Phil,

Sapphire is a good choice of venue. I am going to visit the lake again in May this year. Last year I visited Sapphire in April and caught 50 carp to 38lb with an average weight around 26lb. This was the first year that the lake was open and the carp had only been in the lake months rather than years. All the fish should have put weight on since last year, and there have also been additional fish added to the original stock which includes some fish over the 40lb mark.

As with all carp lakes the fishing can be a bit temperamental and some anglers did struggle. There was an area that was heavily covered in lily pads that became a safe haven for some of its residents. This area has now been cleared of pads or severely reduced and the fish should have moved back out into the lake.

The margins on Sapphire are perfect for picking up feeding fish. You have about 3 to 4 foot for around 40 yards out into the lake, beyond that it drops down to around 6 foot. I personally picked all my fish on this marginal shelf.

With regards to the wading issue; to safely land the fish you do need to wade into the lake so you will need thigh waders. When you enter the water it is probably only a foot deep then gradually drops to 3 foot about a rod length out.

If you do want more information have a look at my article as I explained fully how I tackled the lake.

http://www.anglinglines.co.uk/docs/ourvenues/lakes/sapphire/article_paulcooper.html
Any other questions do not hesitate to contact me or leave me your phone number and I will give you a bell.

Regards, Paul Cooper

A superb 36.14 common for Jay King, Roseau, April 2010

I am booked on Roseau mid-May.  I’m actually going on my own so don’t have the advantage of being able to pool information with a bunch of mates.  I’m therefore trying to do my homework up front!

I was wondering if you had any tips on the venue?  I believe it’s quite prolific – although the catch reports I’ve seen suggest that people have struggled, so I’m guessing it’s not that easy and a dozen carp in a week would be a good result?

Are there any swims that I should be looking to pick if I get a good draw? And any baits / rigs / baiting approaches to pick?

I don’t have a bait boat, but I’m a good distance caster and pretty competent with the spod rod.

Sorry, I’ve rattled on – as I say, any tips you can give me are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Dan

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Hi Dan,

Roseau isn’t a difficult water by any stretch.  You will be, throughout a week, on the fish at some point definitely.  If you fish with  simple rigs with plenty of bait you will catch fish. The fish seem to move around the lake constantly and when they move into your swim, there needs to be enough food to keep them there until they move off again.

Roseau large lake

All the swims at Roseau produce fish, but if I was to single out an area then I would say pegs 7, 8 & 9.  This is the deeper area of the lake and they do tend to stay in this particular area longer than others.

Rigs – The most important thing to remember with rigs is to keep it simple.  A sharp hook is of paramount importance, the lake bed is clay and it does tend to blunt your hooks so re-checking the sharpness is very important.

Bait – Quest Baits Special Crab in 20mm out-fished everything last year, even more so in the swims highlighted above.  If you’re a complete boilie angler I would apply the bait with a throwing stick in a wide area and fish short hooklinks.  This did very well last year, but the particle did just as good if not better.  The particles we supply are Hemp, Maize, Tigers, Party Blend and pellets.  I would say the Bait Package is the perfect amount for the time of year you’re coming.

Baiting up – Last year we hired out bait boats but have decided to drop these this year due to mechanical problems as we didn’t want to upset or spoil an anglers fishing holiday.  They were a good asset to have, but if you’re a competent Spodder then you won’t have anything to worry about.  My suggestion would be to try to find out the feeding times in the swim and avoid spodding at this time.  If you spod while you have fish in the area you will find that your swim will go quiet for around 3 hours.

If you have any more questions just ask.

Kind regards, Roy Fulton