How to get the best return from a carp session at Villefond

Based on my own fishing & observing guest anglers anglers here at Villefond the first thing I would say is it’s not an overly hard water and most tactics work. From experienced anglers, to some who would admit freely themselves they are not experts, have all done well!  There are a few tips that seem […]

Owning a French carp fishery… but living in England

After looking for many years for the right place we finally found it at Watersmeet. Our problem was always going to be the fact that we would be owners not living in France, so our choice had to be somewhere we could get to for a long weekend, otherwise it wouldn’t work. We run a […]

The benefits of regular netting of carp lakes

Having had Genets netted recently I thought I would put together a few words from my own point of view on the importance as part of ongoing fishery management to carrying out regular netting. We first had the lake netted in Oct 2006 to remove the bulk of the silverfish when nearly a ton & […]

Advantages of night only carp fishing in France

I go to France with my family several times per year. To keep them sweet I don’t fish during the day, but go out sight seeing, shopping, markets, swimming lakes etc. At first I thought this would be a disadvantage, but actually my results have improved. If the water is easy I just fish evening […]

Why I prefer running rigs for carp

In this post David Harding explains why he recommends running rigs on his lake; You can imagine my thoughts when asked to write an article on the running rig, firstly by trying to remember when I first used it. My mind went back to as far as I can remember to Lincoln 1958 and it consisted […]

Buying a carp lake in France… pt.3

John & Lesley London of Bletiere continue their very popular series on fulfilling every carp anglers dream. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Well hopefully you have now moved into your new home and are sitting there with plans going through your head about opening for business.  Well I am afraid unless you […]

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April fools day mirror of 71lb 12oz is no joke!

71lb 12oz Laroussi Mirror The early weeks of the season always produce big fish at Laroussi & 2010 was no different.  The lucky angler this time was Paul Cummings, 44, from Stoke on Trent, who took this magnificent mirror of 71lb 12oz.  It was caught from Le Chene peg at 10.20pm on Thursday, 1st April.  […]

Carp venue management – aeration equipment

When the long hot days of summer finally do arrive the carp can suffer due to lack of oxygen.  Here we showcase a company who have worked with a number of French fisheries to help combat the problem; Aquaculture Equipment Ltd We are manufacturers and suppliers of fish farming, fish keeping and lake aeration equipment. […]

Dealing with weed in a carp lake

By Andrew, the owner of Molyneux lake; Weed is not particularly desirable in large amounts in a carp lake for 2 reasons – it’s difficult for anglers to deal with when fishing and it can have a negative effect on the eco-system. Phytoplankton and weed are in direct competition with each other in a lake, […]

Keeping you informed – subscription options

By Chris Dagg, Notaires & Alder Lakes; If you already know that RSS doesn’t stand for Really Slippery Silure or Rather Special Sturgeon then please skip to the next article, otherwise this is for you! You may have wondered what the strange wavy orange icon is at the top of the tool bar on the […]

Carp bait debate – are pellets dangerous to carp?

By Shaun Harrison; Pellets are banned! Don’t use pellets in the winter! Pellets kill carp! Pellets seal the water’s surface and deprive the lake of oxygen! Mmm, where do I go from here? All four statements in the above can be classed as true. The biggest problem we have is the word “pellet“. It is […]

Must a carp lake be cleaned before I can buy it?

I am thinking about buying a property with three lakes in the Mont De Blond area of France. The current owner says that it’s French law that the lakes have to be cleaned at a cost of 20,000 euros before he can sell the property. Can you confirm if this is the case and how […]

What bait should I take to a French carp lake

By Andrew at Molyneux lake; I often get asked about bait but I was a bit hesitant to write a piece about it in case people thought they could gain an ‘edge’ by doing the opposite of what I advise, but here’s what I’ve found at Molyneux.  Of course every lake varies, but these are […]

10 tips to make your French carp trip a success

I’ve been travelling to France to fish for carp and catfish for over twenty years.  One thing that I have learned to my cost is that you cannot do too much preparation. When you visit France, you are often trying to achieve in a week what you would not do in a season, or perhaps […]

11 things a carper should not go to France without

1.  A map – Sat Navs like Tom Tom are great but they are not infallible. Sometimes you need to check they are going to the right place! 2.  Passport – obvious really!  But remember to check in good time if it’s still going to be current when you go.  New anti-terrorist rules make the […]

Buying a carp lake in France… pt.2

Part 2 of John London’s article describing his experiences of buying Bletiere – you can read part one here. After all the excitement of finding your dream new home in France, complete with a lake to die for, the hard part now starts… and that’s the paper work in France.  It’s a killer and there’s […]

21 x 30lb+ carp are stocked into Mas Bas

March 1st, 2010 The aim of this years re stocking at Mas Bas was to increase the numbers of 30’s. Gilles went up to the fish farmer at La Brenne in the west of France and picked 21 beautiful mirror carp, all between 30 and 35lb. As you can see from the photos they are […]