Angling Lines Blog

It has been a real pleasure to watch Villefonds fish grow into some real monsters and it has been discussed for a long time about which fish are going to be the next biggest caught so I decided to compile a list detailing the top 5 to date, as at January 2012;

1.  BIG JOHN

Big John is currently considered the lakes largest resident carp even though it was knocked off the top spot back in early 2011 when the number two big fish came out heavier. Big John is a extremely long common and has massive potential to grow huge and was the reining heavy weight champ right up to 2011, however Big John is a far longer fish and has never really been a fat fish or had big shoulders. One interesting fact about Big John is that it has never been caught during the night.

Heaviest weight to date; 51.2lb

Weight last caught; 50.2lb spawned out

Date of last capture; May 2011

Swim most caught from; 3

Prediction for the future; I think he could be well in front of the others right now as it was caught nearly a year ago spawned out at 50.2lb. Some of the other carp spawned out as much as 10lb! This means Big John could be sitting on the plus side of 60lb right now so the next capture of him will be very interesting.

2.  ARTHUR

Arthur is the owner of two titles, the first is the lake record for heaviest carp and the second is record for heaviest original carp as it is the biggest fish so far not stocked by us. Arthur is not nearly as long as Big John, it is a rather stockier common carp and it is also much darker in colour.

Heaviest weight to date; 53.6lb

Weight last caught; 53.6lb

Date of last capture; May 2011

Swim most caught from; 5 & 7

Prediction for the future; I believe Arthur won’t reach the heights of Big John because it is much shorter in length but because of Arthur’s character and it is a much more wild older looking common it will remain on most peoples to catch list. continue reading…

50.04

The Bigots have just added another 4 large carp to Morganes including a magnificent 50lb mirror!

Here’s the weights;

*  1 x 50lb 4oz

*  1 x 41lb 7oz

*  1 x 40lb 9oz

*  1 x 38lb 9oz

62lb!

The Bigots have just added another 26 large carp to Margot including a magnificent 62lb mirror!

In total 26 carp with an average weight of 37lb 6oz were stocked; 1 x 62lb, 3 x 40lb+, 12 x 35lb+, 8 x 30lb+, 2 x 20lb+

A real Xmas present for the 2012 Margot anglers!

Big John

The 2011 season at Villefond has seen some really amazing fish and some really interesting characters on our banks. The lake was pretty solidly booked all year and despite the big problem in some areas of France from the lack of rain, our lake still exceeded all expectations.

The lake experienced the full spectrum of changes – at times it was as low as it’s ever been and saw blooms of algae, blood worm, daphnia, tadpoles, European crayfish, swan muscles, and fish fry. All of which affected the fishing… so every week was totally different from the next and each week required a unique approach from the anglers.

The banks around the lake saw the usual wildlife including hares, foxes, the occasional deer, and the always persistent coypu. Along with the wildlife all the plants fruited including berries and hazelnuts. We even had a phantom large cat prowl the banks for a couple of weeks.

The carp have done amazing well in 2011. The abundance of natural food and anglers bait has seen them put on lots of weight, making the average size of carp caught this year a fantastic 38lb!

But not only is the average weight of the carp massive but the chance of a 40lb+ carp is huge because in 2011 over 30 different 40′s were identified!

The stock also includes 3 x 50lb+ carp and there’s the real possibility of a lot more of the upper forties turning 50lb.

Big John, our resident monster common, could go 60lb+ very soon, if not already. Watch the updates for more news on him when he next gets caught.

At the beginning of the year we added 23 new fish of which 20 were carp averaging low twenties. Unfortunately we lost 4 due to the stress of the move but towards the end of the year we added a further 8 of similar size from our stock pond to compensate.

So with all the original stock now over 30lb there are currently only around 24 fish below 30lb. This means you have more chance of catching a 40lb+ carp than a 20lb+ carp!

With a carp stocking of around 200 in a lake of just under 8 acres and with so many monsters you couldn’t be blamed for thinking it was runs water. Lac Du Villefond is infact the complete opposite.

Arthur @ 53.06

With a really very high amount of naturals and no competition from smaller carp, bream, or tench the carp can afford to take time off eating the boillies if they are at all suspicious. This means with all the pressure and with an easy alternative the fish have proved a match for even the most cunning of anglers and have given lots of experienced guys fits.

However, there are several things you can do to increase your chances of hooking one of the most cunning of French carp including using a good bait. Bait proved a deciding factor with good quality boillies really out shinning the lesser ones.

With so many variations and rumours surrounding baits we decided we needed to offer bait that we know is good for the fish and importantly catches them. So after a long process of finding such bait and then a long trial period and several great catch reports later we now offer our own range of bait. After a rude awakening about what goes into the boillies going into our lake we began to realise the importance of boillie selection and soon saw what a difference it made. Now our new range has proven a great fish catcher and we know it’s great for the carp they will be being fed over the winter period on them so next year the carp will hopefully be even bigger again!

Arnold @ 50.10

With the fishing going from strength to strength we have decided to work more on the facilities over winter. We’ve already moved the caravan and replaced it with a mobile home. Hopefully next year we’ll be getting new solar power panels for charging and power.

We’ll also be getting a new boat and giving the lake a face lift cutting trees and bushes back to make access easier.

In conclusion, we’re over the moon with how the lake has been improving and we’re very grateful to all the fishermen who have looked after our fish so well when they have caught them, so that every time they have been caught they are still all in pristine condition.

So for 2012 we can now offer great bait, a food package and improved facilities to go along with an average size of carp that few lakes can match. With unknown/uncaught fish still coming out quite regularly and with original fish not stocked by us now over 50lb there is still always excitement even for us to see what fish has come out.

Keep watching the catch reports for catches over winter and here at Villefond we are very excited for the 2012 season and what it promises to bring. We hope everyone has a great Christmas and a great 2012!

50.10

Kevin Hosie has just enjoyed (w/c 26th November 2011) a fantastic winter carp session at Old Oaks.  He had 24 carp… biggest a 50lb 10oz common plus;

*  9 x 40′s

*  10 x 30′s

*  4 x 20′s

Now that’s not bad for December!