Date:
April
2008
Details: New Rule
After having a few groups using curved shanked hooks, patterns like muggas, long shank nailors and fox series 5, and the amount of damage they have done to a few of the carps mouth I now feel its necessary to ban all curved shanked hooks for fish welfare.
Most people seem to prefer small hooks, sizes 8 and 10 being the most popular, using hooks this small seems to increase the chances of hook pulls and not increase the catch or run rate. I personally use 4 and 6's most and seem to loose less fish in a year than some people loose in a week! My advice is to stock up before you come with a few packs of 4 and 6's
Regards, Andrew
Date:
March
2008
Details: Molyneux Update: Just Ready and Waiting to Go!
.... by Bridget Keep
I was really looking forward to seeing Molyneux again. It’s a lovely setting and the Willow trees around the lake are statuesque & beautiful. Being not too distant from the ports it was relatively easy to include it in my 5 day trip to visit and catch up with a few of the venues.
After a complicated year on Molyneux in 2007 (some will recall the weed was a problem for some of the summer)I wanted to check with owner Andrew Molyneux on the winters works and plans for 2008.
I arrived shortly after some pretty severe storms and the winds and heavy rains had wreaked havoc! Several trees were down and Andrew who had just started to breathe easy after thinking he'd completed the pre-season work was taking a deep breath to get stuck in yet again to prepare everything for the first anglers of the season.
One of the changes for next year is a new chef. After the chef left Andrew had to prepare the meals for the latter part of 2007 himself (not his favourite job!)and it's a relief to him that for the coming season he has arranged for a good local chef to prepare the evening meals, thus freeing up his time.
Grass Carp
Weed was an issue across the whole of France last year for many lakes and changes in the regulations of how weed can be treated has posed serious problems for many owners. Many chemical treatments are now outlawed so Andrew has taken the advice of respected fishery consultant, Simon Horton (Horton fishery Management Ltd) and has recently stocked around 75 grass carp from him to tackle the issue.
Looks like 2008 is just ready and waiting to go!
Regards, Bridget.
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Molyneux in Spring |
Grass carp stocked |
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Date:
March
2008
Details: New Stock!!
Some new stock arrived at Molyneux yesterday... we stocked 300kg of Grass Carp.
These fish were added to assist in controlling the weed and also to add a little variety to the fishing.
Included in the stocking was a 30lb+ and a handful of 20lb+ Grassy's.
I know these are not everyones cup of tea, which does puzzle me, but they are certainly very impressive fish on the bank.
Date:
August
2007
Details: Stalked
Matt Ellis made good use of the on site boat to fish off the island at close range. The result was a 33 lb+ common hooked just inchs from where he`s stood in the pic. A new PB and excellent angling!
Date:
August
2007
Details: Best laid plans
I`m often asked if I get to fish much, the quick answer is not as much as you would imagine! Anyway last week I had a space on the lake and decided to I`d like to target the grass carp. In the past the grassy`s have always been caught on small bright fruity pop-ups over particles or stacks of maize over particles, so this is how I decided to fish.
Three days of pre-baiting later and I was as keen as mustard to fish the baited spots. In the early hours of the morning one of the rods went into melt down, after a quick but spirted fight a small common lay in the net. During the fight I had lost my line marker so finding the baited spot in the dark was out of the question, so I rebaited with a Quest Special Crab pop-up and cast it randomly out into the dark. A few hours later the delk on the hit and hope rod was screaming, the result was a surprise grassy. It`s a funny old game this fishing lark!!
Date:
June
2007
Details: First 40 of the year!
Finally the first 40+ carp of the year has been caught at Etang du Molyneux and it`s not one of the known 40`s!
The carp, a male fish known as Guinness, was last banked in early September `06 at 35 lb 4 oz.... so an impressive growth rate over the winter.
Roland Van Beek caught Guinness on the new KGB 5 th Element boilie fished over the on site pellet from swim 13.
Date:
June
2007
Details: Cracking Catch
Wayne Scott got his week long session at Etang du Moluneux off to a flying start. Fishing from the cabin swim and only 24 hours into his session he`d already managed to land a cat of 17 lb and three 30+ carp.
All the fish where caught on boilies fished over a large bed of pellets. The two largest carp falling for the new onsite KGB 5th Element boilies.
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30 lb |
33 lb on KGB |
33 lb on KGB |
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Date:
May
2007
Details: Bumper week!!
The record for the most carp caught in a week at Etang de Molyneux was smashed this week.
John from Holland managed to catch a staggering 42 carp to 30+ lb, the fish falling to homemade boilies fished over particles and pellet, dropped with the aid of a baitboat. Strangely enough he said he`ll be back next year to beat his record!!
This catch was just part of the 126 carp caught in the week.
Below is a pic of one of the smaller carp that helped him beat the old lake record of 36 carp in a week.
Date:
April
2007
Details: Fantastic Brace!
Forgot to mention the most important bit...
On Thursday morning at Molyneux had an exceptional hit...7.15am gave me a 25lb 10oz Common, 8.05am gave me a 34lb 15oz Mirror and 9.00am gave me a 34lb 14oz Mirror.
3 fish in 1hr 45 mins, more impressively, a brace of nearly 35lb fish in under a hour. All to the same rod. 3 casts, 3 beautiful fish. Pics attached.
Steve Kilgannon
Date:
April
2007
Details: Happy anglers!
Bridget / David,
Hi, Dave and I just back from Molyneux, thought i'd let you know how it went. Beautiful lake, Andrew and Chris brilliant, hospitality brilliant. Fishing very good too. Between us we had 33 carp, 1 Cat and 13 Tench.
30 Mirrors, 2 Commons and 1 Grass.
5 Teens : 13.2, 17.2, 17.9, 19 and 19.8
23 Twenties : 29.8, 26.8, 26.2, 24.12, 27.12, 25.10, 25.10, 23.9, 27.6, 29.4, 20, 26.7, 28.4, 29.9, 24.15, 24.8, 28.6, 25.10, 24.6, 29, 25.2, 28 and 24.10
5 Thirties : 31.2, 31.4, 34.4, 34.14 and 34.15
Average weight between us a shade over 25lb. Fished pegs 11 & 12. Majority of fish came from tight to the main island margin at about 150 yards. Had steady action all week, fish coming right through the night, from midnight to about 9 in the morning then was quieter in the day time with just odd fish in the day.
Have attached pics of the better fish. Use them as you wish. Article to follow.
Thanks again for a cracking holiday and a very good venue.
Regards
Steve Kilgannon
Date:
February
2007
Details: Bait testing
The samples from Quest arrived in Feb to try on the lake... not the best time to field test a new bait!
Due to the work party still being on, only nights where available to fish and the temperature was droping down to around 4°C. Hmmm, not the most promising of conditions.
The first to try was Special Crap and the Smokey Fish. I decided to make it hard by trying these out against the boilies I used last year, the Carp had already seen 250 kg of these boilies.
All three of the baits where boated out to the island and fished less than a metre apart. By the morning the only bait to catch was the Quest, with Crab being the better bait. The following night the same thing was repeated with the baits fished to the island and the same result. WOW, impressive bait! The Crab just had to be stocked.
The next to try was the Rahja Spices and the Fruity Trifle. Again the baits where boated out to the hotspot just off the snags and fished a meter apart.
2 nil to the Rahja spice by the morning and the best news was an orginal Carp that evaded capture all of last year took a liking to the Quest bait. An easy choice to make, Rahja spice in stock!
