Angling Lines blog

In my previous article I chose April as the best month for fishing at Oakview in 2009. The summer months were easily the best for the number of runs per angler and obviously for the weather, which was glorious in 2009.

39.08 April Cracker!

So why April in particular?

EXCITEMENT is the word that best sums it up I guess. For a few short weeks every year, a number of factors all come together at the same time. I call it ‘the angler’s magic window’ and it can start to open at any time from mid-March…

•           The winter rainfall has given the lake several complete changes of water and the water quality is at its best

•           The spring breezes help to ensure that oxygen levels remain high

•           The sun is strong enough to warm the banks and the water temperature starts to rise

•           The hunting season (la chasse) is over and the roe deer lead a host of other animals out of hiding

and put on a display for the visitors

•           AND THE CARP GO ON THE FEED.

For the carp, it’s simply a race against nature. They need to eats loads and quickly in order to build up their strength before spawning. For the anglers the magic window opens up on lake records, PB’s and action packed fishing. continue reading…

Here’s the short video clip of the recent additional stocking at Oakview .

To recap; Oakview recently stocked another 15 mid-twenties as a replacement for the small fish netted out last year.   The overall result of the netting and stocking is that average catch weights should now be well into the mid twenties with hardly any fish less than 20lbs.

The new fish should keep things fresh as none of them will have been caught before. They came from the same place as usual, Michel Bigot, so they are all young fast growers.

David writes;

Just received this news update fro Martin at Oakview ;

The start of the day - pretty cold at minus 8!

Stocking – We have recently stocked another 15 mid-twenties as a replacement for the small fish we netted out last year. You will be able to see the stocking video on our page shortly.

The overall result of the netting and stocking is that average catch weights should now be well into the mid twenties with hardly any fish less than 20lbs. Lake stocks remain at around 100.

The new fish should keep things fresh as none of them will have been caught before. They came from the same place as usual, Msr Bigot, so they are all young fast growers.

The overwhelming feedback from our anglers in 2009 was that it would be nice to have a couple of cats in the lake. We are trying to get hold of a couple of 30lb+ cats but no luck yet – we will keep you posted as soon as we have some news on this. continue reading…

David writes;

Here at the Angling Lines office we get lots of potential lake owners come to us for advice as they consider the pro’s & con’s of fulfilling every carp anglers dream – buying their own carp lake.  We’re always happy to advise based on our 10 years experience in marketing carp venues… but we lack that real first hand experience of actually going through the process.  So I’ve asked our lake owners if they’ll share their experiences of what it’s really like to both buy & then run a French carp venue.  No doubt they’ll all have common themes but I’m sure they’ll also all have had different experiences as they’ve navigated their way to their own piece of paradise.  I’ll add them over the next few weeks.  Here’s the first from Martin & Shirley Barker at Oakview.

Oakview

Whether you are looking to buy, or whether you run a carp venue already, here’s some useful tips we’ve gleaned from our experience;

Get Officially Registered!

Lakes in France must be registered with the Department of Agriculture and fall into fishing categories (categorie piscicole). continue reading…

Andy asks;

How would we travel to some of your fishing hoildays if we dont drive?

Hi Andy,

If you are on your own or a small group the first place to look at is the Roseau lakes on the all inclusive trips (max 8 persons). Great fishing at a great price, Roy picks you up from Dover and takes you to the lake, this includes a full English breakfast and evening meal, fishing for the week and return trip. The cost is £495 per person and at least one or more week in each month is allocated for this type of trip. Bait is available at the lake as well as the restaurant is open all day. Roseau is only 2 hours from the Calais ferry port so it won’t be long before you are settled in fishing.

You can also fly to the following venues Beaute, Oakview, Alder & Notaires – all these owners will collect you from the closest airport and take you to the lake. They have tackle for hire when you get there you only need to take your end tackle and clothes etc. The other alternative is to hire Roy at Clearview with his driver, van and trailer (if required) to take your group to any of our lake fishing venues.

Do not hesitate to call for further info.

Regards Linda