Anyone who has visited either Laroussi or Old Oaks will know that the owner Mehdi Daho is not just famous for his monster carp.. but also his pumpkins! To prove the point he’s just won the French pumpkin weigh off with this 1,130lb monster!
This is the second year on the trot he’s won the prize. Take a look at this article to see what he did with last years winning pumpkin & you’ll see that Mehdi does have his eccentric side :-)
One of Steve Eamonson’s 40′s from his September Old Oaks session
As the 2010 season comes to a close it’s easier to look back & spot the lakes that have fished exceptionally well and moved up a class, so to speak. One such lake is Old Oaks. The catches here have been exceptional this year. You can read the customer feedback here … but here’s an example from just a few weeks ago;
Steven Eamonson & his 3 mates fished Old Oaks w/c 11.09.10. Between the 4 of them they ended up with 54 fish… 3 x 40,s up to 41lb, 30 x 30′s up to 39lb & 10 x 20′s up to 29lb. They found the best tactics were baitboat filled with boilies, 1 rod from the far margin. Best bait for Steven was Solar Top Banana pop ups
Steve said;
” Mhedi (the owner) is a top bloke who left you alone to enjoy your weeks fishing. It was a brilliant trip & we really enjoyed it!”
And this is not exceptional…a few weeks earlier the Baber party had 60 carp in total… 4 x 40s (40.08 Mirror, 41.02 common, 42.09 common, 43.08 common), 21 x 30s, 33 x 20s & 2 Grass Carp under 20lb. Average size at least 25lb.
So if you’re considering a venue for 2011… take a look at Old Oaks.
Taken from Carp-Talk Xtra
So why on earth do we have a picture of the new (1,457lb) World Record pumpkin in this week’s Carp-Talk Xtra?
Well firstly it was grown by Mehdi Daho who is the owner of the popular Angling Lines venues Old Oaks & Laroussi and secondly he decided to put the outer flesh of the fruit to good use and what could possibly be better than turning it into a water going vessel capable of holding up to six people!
He then put the pumpkin/boat to better use, using it to land a couple of hard fighting carp from his own lake, the biggest of which was this 40lb specimen below. The fish fell for a Quest Baits Fruity Trifle boilie.
Stewart asks;
Looking for a runs water with big carp for 6 anglers. Looking to book for next year.
It really depends on what you class as big carp? Runs waters tend not to have a concentration of 40’s and 50’s.
We have around 35 venues but I’d still genuinely only class around 5 of them as runs waters. The others offer great fishing but a runs water to me is where you don’t have to try hard, great for novices. and consistent over mostoft weeks of the year. The vast majority of our venues fish well, and naturally if the angler has a some degree of skill it helps, but there are several that are out and out hard waters where a few runs in the week would be an excellent result. There are so many factors that affect fishing in France just the same as fishing over here, from the weather, water temperature, moon phases to just how much bait the angler in the swim before you has ‘dumped’ when leaving!
Here are several I can immediately think of but there are others…
· Commons lake – Carp to over 50lbs and a good average stamp.
· Hooked in France – Carp up to 50lb and a good average stamp.
· Margot – Big fish water and carp to over 70lbs – fishes well but not an out and out runs water.
· Vincons – great runs water but carp only up to 40 with the majority being mid to high twenties
· Old Oaks – great 30’s water normally for 5 anglers only though
The way to judge it is to look at the feedback each week for the lake. Bear in mind anglers go of all standards but remember, whatever water you go to, it’s not what is claimed is in there… it’s what comes out that counts!
Through our feedback system you can clearly see what people think good or bad. Some lakes stock big carp but if a fish dies even the owner may not know. The ‘oh it’s just not been caught yet! ’ Is usually a fish of a ‘ red herring’ variety. I can honestly say we review our venues based on what comes out and proof of what went in.
I would be happy to run through a few criteria for you and see what venues fit closely to your requirement – so please feel free to call me if you wish. It can save a lot of time! Hope this has helped!
Bridget
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