Boomerang Articles

Jean Francois is a very lucky man. Every morning as he opens his front door he is greeted by the sight of his own carp lake and the beautiful rolling countryside of the Poitou-Charentes region of Western France.  For one week only Ken and I had the same treat every day, whether it was from our bivvies or the veranda of the mobile home perched high above the lake giving superb views as we enjoyed our evening meal.

Fishing in early spring has advantages and disadvantages.   The lake looked amazing with bluebells, cowslips and an vast array of wild flowers amongst the trees that I’m ashamed to say I can’t name, but spring came early to Western France and a few carp where starting to show interest in spawning shortly after we arrived. 

We set up in the swims either side of the mobile home. The house and the mobile home face to the West and you are treated to some stunning sunsets.  The lake at this point is no more than fifty yards wide and trees and overhanging bushes on the far bank provided attractive cover for the carp.  They quickly showed their location as they leapt and rolled in the gaps between the bushes very close to the bank.  Keen to get started I set up the marker rod and flicked a lead across to the bushes a couple of times trying to be as discreet as possible and not disturb the carp I knew were there.  The edges were rocky and the bottom firm and clear and that was good enough for me. The water had a fair amount of colour when we arrived and so I opted for Quest Ultrabrite pop ups to overcome the low visibility and get me started.  They were combined with a small PVA bag of Ghurkka Spice Maximum Action Pellets attached to the hook and cast as tight as I could to the cover on the far bank.  After making sure I had memorised my targets on the skyline for recasting in the dark I tied bright pole elastic markers to my line to record the range and make sure I didn’t overcast and hit the bushes.  I planned to leave the heavier baiting until I had discovered how well the carp were feeding.  I needn’t have worried and landed six carp the first day on a variety of very bright Quest Fruity Trifle, Ghurkka Spice and Chilli Chocolate pop ups.  

I always travel to France with at least two landing nets.  This is primarily to cover breakages but also to cover those emergencies that only seem to happen there.  At one point I had one fish in a retention weigh sling that I had to lower into the water whilst playing a second fish. When the second fish was being scooped in the net I had the third rod in my other hand attached to another angry carp.   Further along the bank Ken landed three more with a best of 27lb 4oz.  He too opted for bright baits but fished half a pop up on the hair along with a bottom bait which he christened his mushroom rig.  One thing that we were not prepared for was the ferocity of the fight of these fish; they really did not know when to give up. Flat rodding us, stripping line off the clutch and avoiding the landing net time after time.

27lb 4oz

29lb +

27lb 8oz

Jean Francois arrived early Sunday morning to check on our progress, and I was very happy to announce that the frantic activity had continued through the night with five runs and four carp on the bank.  They included an 18lber, a 28lb 12oz and two thirties the biggest weighing in at 32lb 12oz. He had been up early too and visited a local trout lake landing four good trout in a couple of hours, which was very lucky for us as they ended up on our dinner plates.   His regular visits were informative, entertaining and frustrating as we struggled with our deficiencies in the language department.   After one particularly confusing conversation we were presented with not one but three French-English dictionaries as we prepared to eat dinner.  I think that this one week at Boomerang has done more for my French than any other week in the last twenty years.

My first Boomerang thirty

32lb 12oz

28lb +

My luck continued throughout the day and I landed a further three carp.  The water was clearing by this time and a change of tactics was called for.  Walking around to the far side of the lake I was able to creep to the edge and could now see the sandy bottom, the features and of course the carp.  I picked three areas and threw in four or five handfuls of 10mm Ghurkka Spice boilies in each.  A couple of hours later I returned and could see that already areas were completely clear of bait and topped them up again.  A more subtle presentation was needed in the clear shallow water and I opted for 10 mm Gkurkka Spice snowman rigs with a long hair and a size 8 Atomic Grabba hook. This bait and rig combination quickly took over from the bright pop ups and the runs continued.

Further up the bank Ken was not as fortunate and the runs had stopped completely on Sunday.  The French family who had fished the weekend in the corner swim bid there farewells on Sunday night and Monday morning saw Ken helping me move my gear along the track to the vacated swim.  This would give Ken more options and me the opportunity to discover more about the lake.  The impact was immediate and Ken hooked a ridiculously fit 22+ common that towed him all over the lake and was ably netted by Jean Francois who always seemed to appear at the right time. Later he landed a marvellous brace of mirrors of 31lb 8oz and 29lb 4oz landed within minutes of each other.   More hard fighting mirrors were to follow.

Seven more came to my rods on Monday following the move to the corner swim.  They included another thirty tipping the scales at 33lb 8oz and my first common of the session a very impressive twenty seven pounder.   The far bank cover here was even heavier flanked by large beds of flag iris advancing into the lake.  In front of these was a large rocky area sloping slowly for about twenty yards into six or seven feet of water.  I placed two hookbaits on the area close the iris beds and another to the right in a rocky area close to a gap in the trees.  Baiting was again from the bank throwing in handfuls of bait that could be easily seen from my vantage point.  Observation was the key, watching these areas constantly and letting the carp tell me when they need more bait.  I baited three or more times a day to keep them preoccupied and feeding in the areas.  

Tuesday and Wednesday were a bit of an anticlimax as some of the carp started to spawn.  It was only a small proportion of the lakes inhabitants but it definitely had its effect and Ken and I were forced to chill out for a day or so.  I had one of those days loosing three rigs, five leads and three backleads whilst Ken caught three sturgeons during this period including a prehistoric looking beauty of over twenty pounds.  It’s a shame not to take advantage of the other fish in Boomerang on your visit.  There are black bass which can be caught on the fly, zander and of course sturgeon.  If you can find the room for the extra tackle it’s certainly worth it.

Kens 20lb Sturgeon

31lb + Mirror

A heavy frost during the night did put an abrupt end to the spawning activity and when the fish did return to the feed they really meant business.  Ken hooked 31lb mirror and then a 21lber, only minutes after recasting.  I landed another common then two more mirrors; another carp surprised me and took the bait and stripped line off the spool as I was trying to attach my indicator bobbin.   Thursday provided Ken and I with another thirty each plus four or five more twenties.

It was ten minutes after midnight and I had just slipped a 29+ mirror back and watched as it flicked its tail and slowly disappeared into the darkness.  As I stood there it occurred to me that the only sound I could hear was the occasional sound of the few songbirds that were still active.  No cars, no trains, no planes, no light pollution.  I stood there for a moment, satisfied and totally relaxed.  Priceless.

Friday continued to produce and we had seven more between us plus Ken’s psychedelic koi of 9lbs.  It was our last day and we had decided to wind in early, do some packing and prepare for our early start the next day.  The best laid plans and all that, Jean Francois was having none of this early night malarkey and invited us for dinner.  Being a French meal this was not going to be a simple thing; an aperitif, Coquilles St. Jacques (Scallops flambéed in Whisky to you and me), a delicious sausage casserole and wild rice, Chevre, Comte and Roquefort cheese and finally Tarte aux Poires Normande.  There was of course a different wine with each course.  Simple says Jean Francois, amazing says I.  What a finish to an amazing week. We may have missed a few in the confusion but we are sure that we landed at least 51 carp including 9 thirties.  Great fishing, expert advice, wonderful hospitality; what more could you want from a holiday?

Ron Key
carpfisher@tiscali.co.uk