Ask Dan!
Click here to send an email which will be passed directly to Danny Fairbrass. Feel free to ask any questions you like regarding Gigantica.
Click here to read some of Danny's answers to questions submitted.
In September 2008 the venue which used to be known as St. Christophe was bought by Danny Fairbrass of Korda. He has changed the name to Gigantica and we are delighted that he has chosen Angling Lines to be his exclusive UK booking agent. Danny has many exciting plans for the lake and we will keep you bang up to date as they happen.
Click here to visit Gigantica’s own Website.
Here’s what Danny has to say about Gigantica;
“It is every anglers dream to own their own lake & I fulfilled that dream by buying Domaine St. Christophe on 3rd September, 2008.
I have changed the name to Gigantica to represent the huge carp that swim there and the long term plan is to create a lake with only big fish in it. Long term professional fishery management will achieve this, something the lake has not benefited from before.
Gigantica is, and will always be, a serious carp water for the dedicated carp angler wishing to fish a ‘proper’ lake with plenty of room and to achieve this we have dropped the maximum number of anglers down from 26 to only 12!
Previous stock suggested between 300 and 600 fish. Detailed catch reports began in August last year and our best week since then produced 90 fish, including the lake record, ‘The Giant’, at 72½ pounds.
Huge changes have been made to the lake this winter... all the swims have been rebuilt, there is a new toilet block plus a luxury heated ‘wet room’ for showering and shaving.
I have many more plans for the lake & I’ll keep you bang up to date with them through this website.
I hope that we see you at Gigantica very soon
I hope that we see you at Gigantica very soon!
Tight lines, Danny”
Click here to read a Press Release from Danny detailing the changes he has in mind at Gigantica.
Click here to watch a video clip in which Danny explains the plans he has in mind for Gigantica.
 |
Gigantica has appeared in the National Press many times. Click here to read some of the articles.
|
Gigantica lies in the Champagne region of Eastern France, around 4 hours from Calais, with the majority of the journey being by motorway. The lake is around 35 acres in size and is a cobalt blue gravel pit. It’s a true specimen hunters water – there are some truly exceptional carp swimming in its clear, aqua blue water.
 Click here to watch a video on this venue.
Here’s some examples of feedback from 2009;
" 3 x forty's, 5x thirty's and numerous 20's and teens. I managed to catch 18 carp in 6 nights with two being personal best's... a 44lb common and 46lb 8oz mirror. Loved every minute, the fish are in excellent condition & I loved the boating side of things"
Peter Kingsbury, August 2009
" The trip was good & better than I expected. I will be returning to Gigantica at some point again in the near future. "
Robert Emery, August 2009
Click here to read more feedback.
 Click here to see an aerial view of this venue.
Show me some more general photo's of the lake.
Gigantica is 35 acres (14 hectacres) of water... the water is cobalt blue because of the heavily alkaline gravel it has been dug from.
Depths range between 18 and 25 feet, there are no ‘deep holes’ contrary to rumours from anglers. The bottom is fairly flat with very few lumps and bumps, it is therefore better to establish a baited area at a comfortable range and then stick to it.
The margins drop off very quickly so fishing over to adjacent margins in the corner swims can be very productive.
The bottom is soft clay and you get a ‘donk’ with the lead everywhere you cast. The clay is very light in colour so bring light coloured rig items, the Korda ‘Gravel’ colour of tubing, safe zone leaders and hooklinks is perfect.
There is no weed, no crayfish and no poisson chat so there is no need to use hard baits or mesh up. There are big bream and roach so baiting with high quantities hemp or trout pellets will attract these, and maggots are a waste of time. This is why our particle mix has mainly larger bits in it. The bream are caught from time to time but the roach are not, as the bream have been caught they go straight into the newly built stock point so they never get caught again.
The swims on Gigantica are particularly impressive. Click here to find out more about them.
The old shower and toilet have been made into a ‘wet room’ which has been totally rebuilt and tiled to a very high standard... ‘too good for carp anglers’ was the tiler’s comment! The wet room has a large shower with free shampoo and shower gel along with a separate ‘posh’ sink. You can lock yourself in for total privacy and it is heated.
A new toilet block has been created with two separate toilets, again tiled to a high standard. The toilets are huge with a proper coat rack so you don’t have to squeeze yourself into a tiny ‘shed’... very comfy!
Click here to see the facilities.
Gigantica’s stock is still uncertain... the old owner boasted 950 fish, we can neither confirm nor dismiss this. As the season unfolds more and more carp are being caught which we personally have never seen before, this is because the old owner never kept any stocking records or catch reports.
We have a pile of old photos showing some of the big ‘uns at much smaller weights but most importantly our caretaker manager Co collected lots of shots from the 280 fish that got caught while he was in charge between the end of August and the middle of October 08. This gave us approximately 110 different fish pics, the most encouraging thing was there were only 4 repeat captures from the 110 different fish and we have 170 pics not yet sent in! All this in only 3 months!
The first season has been very successful with lots of big unknown fish making an appearance, all in mint condition. The bailiff is keeping a separate file for every fish so in the future we shall know exactly how many there are and how they are all doing. The fish in the gallery are what we have so far. Click here to visit Gigantica’s own Website where you can see many more pictures of the carp caught.
Click here to see photos of some of the carp.
 Click here to read feedback from Gigantica
Click here to read catch reports from Gigantica’s own website
Two meals a day are served from the clubhouse eating area and the fishery manager, Danny Turley, is a brilliant cook. The breakfast is more than you can eat and to a very high standard... the same goes for the evening meal.
Click here to see the menu at Gigantica.
All evening meals come with fresh bread, particularly nice for handmade sausage sandwiches on BBQ night and for mopping up sauces! BBQ’s can be repeated if they are preferred!
Food package price is 110 euros (approx £110)
If you book the food package you will be asked to pay a 10% deposit to Angling Lines and the balance to the lake in Euros when you arrive. Please note that due to fluctuations in the exchange rate the balance you pay when you arrive may not equate exactly to the remaining 90% in £’s sterling – it may be slightly more or less due to a change in the exchange rate.
In the clubhouse there is a fridge full of cold beers and soft drinks which operates on an ‘honour’ system where you mark down what you have as you go and settle up at the end of the week, in euros.
The food is of course optional and you can have the breakfast and not the evening meal and visa versa. However, experience shows that once you see what your mates are enjoying you’ll ditch the pot noodles and become part of the feast! It’s good to get away from your swim at least once a day to recharge the batteries and find out what’s going on round the lake.
If you want to prepare your own food there is running water on site that is fine for drinking and cooking with, although we do recommend you buy bottled water for drinking. The nearest town is Brienne Le Chateau, 10 mins down the road. Here there are 2 good supermarkets open from 9 - 12noon and then 2pm - 7pm.
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, but 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 the lake at subsidised rates are also available. Your own pellets will not be allowed to ensure a ‘low fish oil’ balanced diet for the carp’s good health and growth.
Gigantica aim to offer all their baits at prices equal to bulk purchasing from your own country so you are not financially penalised. Their hope is 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.
Click here for tips from Danny Fairbrass on fishing Gigantica.
Bait prices
- 10 litre bucket of mixed particles including hemp, maize, party mix and tiger nuts is 15 euro.
- 5kg of 15mm pellets is 10 euro, a 25kg sack is 45 euro. These are the pellets we have been feeding the fish for the last 3 years so they love em!.
- 1kg of mainline boilies is 12 euro and pop-ups are available as well as smaller bags of smaller pellets for pva bags.
- A full range of korda leads, hooks, lead systems, hooklinks, lines and baiting tools is available at UK retail prices
Visit this lake 2 (or more) times this calendar year & get a 10% discount on the return visits!
We have lots of customers who make more than one trip with us and we want to reward that loyalty. Certain venues have agreed to participate in a discount scheme for return trips. This lake is one of those taking part… so book a return trip and get your 10% discount!
Angling Lines are grateful to the participating venues and to you, our customers, who give us such great support.
Conditions:
- Applies to fishing only & excludes accommodation (if normally booked separately), food, bait etc.
- Applies to ferry crossing for vehicle only (excludes trailers, cabins etc)
- Members of a group booking who have not visited twice will not be eligible for the discount
- This offer is only valid for return trips taken in the same calendar year
- This offer does not apply if the first trip was made at a discounted winter rate (however, winter trips following a summer one do qualify)
The winter season will start on 1st December 2009 and continue until week commencing 20th March 2010. Week commencing 27th March will revert back to the normal prices.
A big advantage for winter anglers is that the maximum number of anglers will be reduced to 10, each of them being able to use 4 rods.
4 days fishing from £108 per angler
7 days fishing from £138 per angler
Based on 6 anglers. Minibus crossing.
For a quote on other variations of this offer please call Bridget or Linda on 01246 857600 / 08448 117562.
 Click here to visit the Angling Lines forum where you can post questions & read other posts on this venue.
|
