Angling Lines Blog

A subject that is very important to lake owners and the majority of anglers is that of fish safety.  I’m no different here at Bletiere so I’ve put together this blog article to show what you’ll need to ensure the fish are well protected.

The vast majority of our visitors arrive with more than adequate mats, or if they believe theirs may be too small, they hire them from me.  It’s has never been a problem before, but I’m afraid this year I have had a couple of instances where customers have brought  mats that were totally inadequate.  I try not to have many rules, as all our guests will vouch for, and I am not one to be checking all the time, but the one area I am very strict on is the welfare of our fish.

I have shown below the mats that I believe are acceptable and one that is unacceptable and will no longer be allowed. I am happy to hire out mats at a small cost to save space and the smell in cars.

Carp safety - the carp cot

Another good carp cot

The two examples above are the carp cot type which I prefer as it gives the fish a lot more protection and a lot less chance of the fish sliding out and onto the floor. They are not expensive and can be purchased for under £50 which I believe is a small price to pay to safeguard any fish.

The beanie mat

Above is the beanie type mat that are also good as they offer a lot of protection for the fish on the floor and when the fish flap about.  The only disadvantage is that they have no sides so there is always a risk of fish sliding off.  I have seen the above type of mats with low sides which would stop any risk of a fish slipping.

An unacceptable mat

Above is the type of mat that I regret will no longer be acceptable to be used here as they offer very little protection for the fish as they are much too small and thin. There is no way to be able to leave a fish unattended as you reach for your scales or camera as it has no cover as do the mats above.

I do not wish to appear as though I am trying to cost anglers more money for an unimportant item of tackle, but this surely is an important part of any angler’s equipment.

Tight lines,

John London, owner, Bletiere.

Another great article from Andrew at Molyneux;

So you’ve just caught your personal best, you know how to use the camera but now it’s time to pick the fish up.

1. Control the carp on the mat, if the fish is playing up then keep it in the sling and lift it off the mat so it has nothing to kick against, let the carp calm down before you try to take a picture. Don’t hold the carp out as far as you can in order to make the carp look big, a big carp looks big because it is big! Holding the carp out as far as you can gives you no control if it decides to play up. The best way to hold the fish is to keep your elbow bent, if the carp starts to tense up which usually happens before it start to act up simply allow the carp to roll back on to your fore-arms whilst you bend over the carp and place it back on the mat. Holding the carp out can also give the camera a hard time, it doesn’t know what to focus in on, the carp or the angler. This can lead to the carp or the angler being slightly out of focus and the picture not as sharp as it should be.

2. Hold the carp correctly, don‘t wrap your arms around it. Your strongest arm and hand, usually your right if right handed, should hold the head end which is the heaviest. The hand should be under the carp with the pectoral fin grasped between the index and middle finger, pay attention to the gills you don‘t want your fingers going into the gills as you could do the carp some real damage. The left hand should be holding the carp down near the anal fin. If the fish is very heavy and you find you’re wobbling then use your knees to support your elbows and in turn the carp.

3. Keep the carp low to the mat at all times. You should never drop a carp as you can do a lot of damage, sometimes the carp can appear fine but is damaged internally. If you do drop a carp then a thickly padded mat and from a low height is going to cause least damage. When taking the carp back to the water don’t carry it back but transport it back in the sling.

4. Keep the carp damp during the photo shoot. Before the carp is placed on the mat the mat should be damped down, this helps to prevent the carp losing mucus and particularly in summer if you’ve left the mat in the sun water will cool the mat down. Keep the carp damp whilst taking the pictures, it helps keep the gills damp, calms the fish and has it looking it best for the pictures. Don’t pour water directly into the gills, the gills are delicate and can be damaged by doing this particularly as water doesn’t normally flow in that direction over the gills.

5. Use clinic or something similar. It the least you can do after catching a carp is to make sure it goes back as healthily as possible. A bit of clinic on all wounds including the hook mark in the mouth can help prevent infections. Just apply the clinic after you have taken the pictures as a big yellow mark on the fish from clinic doesn’t look the best.

Andrew @ Molyneux

Call it what you like… a plea… a reminder… or simply just a request, please, please please any fishermen, & of course fisher ladies (although of course it’s well known that us girls are generally well prepared & don’t need reminding), coming to France for a spot of carp fishing do remember to bring with you a good set of scales capable of weighing up to at least 60lb.  What could be worse than catching a carp that you just know by the feel of it is going to be a new PB for you & when you come to weigh it the scales bottom out at 30 or 40lb….horrendous!!!

We had an occasion here at Genets quite recently where the guys had scales going up to 40lb so we had lent them ours to use (going to 60lb).  One guy had a run in the middle of the night, he could feel it was a good size fish, duly landed it, weighed it,  39lb 8oz, pics took & returned it to the water.  Then after all the rush & excitement had calmed down & everyone was fully awake he realised they had used his own 40lb scales instead of our 60lb ones!  He was, as you can imagine, quite gutted.

The next day we put the photo on the computer to take a good look & see if we could recognise it by comparing it to photos on our captures board in the lodge.  It was instantly identified by its distinctive markings as the 51lb carp that first came out in May 2009. It had bottomed out his 40lb scales & sadly we now have no way of knowing what it actually weighs until it comes out again.

On another more recent occasion we had a group of guys arrive all with scales only weighing up 30lb.  Although we do have a set here for emergencies, one set between a party of 4 or 5 anglers really is not enough.  I’m sure most other lake owners would echo my sentiments when I say do please invest in a good set of scales weighing up to at least 60lb.

Happy carping all & don’t forget your sun cream.

Heather @Les Genets.

One of our owners, Dagan at Oakwood asked me the following question;

We want to have a net dip on site.  Obviously there are many different ways of making up net dips but are you able to let me know of what any of your other venues are using in France?

I sent the question out to all our lake owners & here’s a selection of the responses… I must admit I’ve been surprised at the range of views;

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We find the safest way is to provide the net heads and the anglers bring their own handles this eliminates the use of net dips. But if you do need a good disinfectant Malachite Gold is the one to use.

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Best way is permanganate de potassium.  Easy, cheap and the most effective.

You put a small amount of powder in a 200l tank and dip what you want for few minutes.

I use it to dip ill fish and have saved several.  It kills mushrooms, bacteria’s, parasites etc.

A very small quantity of powder is needed for hundred litres of water. A kilo will last years.

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There is no need for dips !!!

Just make sure all nets are bone dry for 48 hours and there is no need for dips in our experience.

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