A New Beginning at Lac St Christophe.
A Message from Danny Fairbrass.
October 2008.

I am delighted to confirm that I have purchased Lac St Christophe near Troyes in the champagne region of France.

The sale has taken several months to complete and I apologise for not making my intentions public sooner, I felt if I could not give any firm information is was better to give none at all. I made every attempt to keep my intentions secret, however the carp fishing grapevine has been awash with rumours since before I even made my offer!

This press release will answer many of the rumours, some of which were nothing short of theatrical!

Christophe’s new name will be Gigantica, to reflect the size of the fish it has already produced and is set to produce in the future. The lake records stands at 71lbs 8oz with at least 4 other fish over the 60lb’s mark with numbers of back up 50’s, 40’s and 30’s.

At 35 acres and 20-25 feet deep the lake is by no means easy and is therefore suited to experienced carp anglers who must fish well to get bites, this has never been and never will be a ‘runs water’. Our long term aim is to build the stock slowly but surely to peak at 500 carp all of which are over 40 pounds! This is at least 5 years away and we have much work to do, but that is an exciting challenge and part of the fun!

The lake will still be open to any nationality to fish one week at a time starting at 1pm on Saturday and ending at 9am the following Saturday. The season will start on Saturday 4th April, the final week will commence on Saturday 28th November. This is considerably later than most other waters because the lake is so deep, it will almost certainly produce its biggest fish in the final weeks at a time when shallower lakes will have stopped producing.

There are many changes to both the venue, the facilities, the fish and the rules, all of which are designed to raise the standard of the venue and suit the more discerning carp angler, here are the main changes;

- All anglers will draw for swims after a walk round with the head bailiff at 1pm on Saturday, you will no longer be able to book a swim.

- A maximum of 12 anglers are allowed to fish each week, a significant reduction from the previous limit of 26. There will be 14 single swims so the last out of the draw bag will still have 3 swims to choose from.

- All swims are being redesigned to be safer and more ‘carpy’. They will extend out into the lake by an extra meter so there will be a better casting area with deep water straight off the bank for landing and returning fish. The back will dug into the gravel slope to offer shelter to your bivvy and the base of the swim will be flat and cushioned with soft wood chip.

- Bait Boats will no longer be allowed to stop boundary disputes. Rigs must be cast although rowing boats are allowed for daytime baiting up only. We feel rowing your rigs out forces fish into the middle and creates to many boundary disputes so this will not be allowed.

- Only Barbless hooks will be allowed to preserve the fishes mouth and help them get free from a snapped line, various patterns will be available on site. Barbed hooks may be doctored to make them barbless. Extra long curved shank hooks like Fox Series 5 and Long Shank Nailers will not be allowed to avoid potential damage.

- We shall be tipping large quantities of a gravel and clay mix into the lake to create numerous ‘plateaus’ on the currently flat bottom. The height these features will rise off the bottom remains guesswork but you can be assured of many new interesting features to fish too at comfortable casting ranges of 20-90 meters.

- Small carp of 20lbs and under caught during the closed season will be transferred to a newly created ‘stock pond’ at the top of the lake so they can be fed up to greater weights before they are reintroduced before the start of the new season in April 09. During the 09 season small carp will continue to be moved to the stock pond to be grown on. The stock of fish is uncertain, previous owners boasted over 1000 but we suspect there are at least 500 carp, we hope to know for certain within the first 2 seasons by meticulously recording each fishes weight and markings.

- All nuisance fish will be removed as they are caught, bream in particular have been a problem in recent years, we estimate there will be very few left by the start of the season following our winter campaign on the lake. Keep nets will be provided for all nuisance fish caught during the season.

- At times last season the lake has appeared almost devoid of fish giving rise to rumours of fish theft or inflated stocking figures. I have had a caretaker manager on the lake for the last 3 weeks and approximately 90 fish have been caught in that time including a 63 and a 62 pounder. I suspect too much boat activity, too many lines and inexperienced angling has led to low catch rates during the height of summer. Next season 3 rods will be the limit reducing the maximum rods from 104 to only 36 rods. This along with greatly reduced boat activity, help from bailiffs and sensible baiting should generate far more runs.

- We aim to add stocks too the lake after they have spend 12 months in a quarantine stock pond near by with a small number of our own stock to guard against disease. We feel that there are more than enough fish in the lake at the moment if it is fished correctly by fewer people. It is simply not worth the risk of adding new fish to such an impressive stock of huge fish.

- Huge fish were crashing all over the lake on our last visit just a few days ago, there are clearly more carp than I had originally estimated which is very encouraging. The lake clearly needs more big fish in the long term but we hope that by feeding up many of the smaller fish in a stock pond and feeding the main lake with a good winter diet we will have many more large carp in the lake at the start of next season than there has ever been. Gigantica is aimed at experienced carp anglers who are targeting big fish and are prepared to blank in this pursuit. We cannot guarantee runs but if you fish well and take our advice we think you have a great chance of catching some stunning fish and maybe a fish of a lifetime!

- At present the facilities at the lake are basic; a shower, toilet and small kitchenette. The long term plan is to build a stunning restaurant and clubhouse for the anglers along with more showers, toilets and a tackle shop. There is a small chance the showers and toilets will be ready for the new season, but if not the current facilities will be brought up to a higher standard.

- Shelf life boilies will not be allowed because of long break down times and generally poor nutritional content. Freezers will be on site for use free of charge to store your bait. Mainline baits freezer range will be on sale to encourage good food being fed to the carp.

- Particles are allowed and in fact encouraged to give the fish a balanced diet, these must be prepared and cooked by us at the lake to ensure safety to the fish, a full range including hemp, pigeon mix, maize and tiger nuts will be available at subsidised prices to keep your expenses down.

- Pellets supplied by us at subsidised rates are also available. Your own pellets will not be allowed to ensure a ‘low fish oil’ balanced diet for the carps good health and growth. We aim to offer all of our baits at prices equal to bulk purchasing from your own country so you are not financially penalised. We hope that by taking away the ‘hassle’ of preparing, transporting and storing fresh bait you will have less to do in advance of your holiday and will get more bites whilst you are at the lake.

- New car parks will be put in place around the lake so cars can be kept near swims but still out of sight to enhance the natural landscape. You will still be able to drive around the lake to your swim to unload your tackle of course.

- Our new full time bailiff, Danny Turley, will be on site 24 hours a day to make your stay as comfortable and productive as possible. A full range of Korda tackle will be available for sale should you be poorly equipped for the fishing at Gigantica or simply need to restock during your trip.

- Our new web site Gigantica-Carp.com will go online in 8-10 weeks and will be updated regularly as fish are caught and work is done to the lake and facilities.

- The price of fishing will increase, but not significantly. Remember we will have far fewer anglers than last year so we need to recoup that lost revenue somehow, and the lake will without doubt be a far better fishery by the start of next season.