Browse general carp fishing interest posts with French venue round-ups, trip planning advice, holiday tips and big fish inspiration.
Which Cross Channel Ferry would suit me best? – a question we get asked often. Bridget Keep gives the Pros & Cons; There are so many options now for crossing to France so here is a comprehensive guide to the Pros and Cons of the various options; Dover to Calais ferries By far the cheapest […]
Here it is Martin Locke’s World Record 94lb mirror caught at Rainbow Lake last week. I must say it is looking in great shape at the moment and possibly doesn’t look 94lb because we are so used to seeing carp pushed out towards the camera. However if you check the size of Martin’s hands then […]
The death of Benson, the immaculate common carp from Bluebell Lakes back in August this year ignited the uncooked particle debate once again. You can read the Daily Express article here. The article contains a couple of quotes. The first come from an anonimous Web Poster; “Tiger nuts and peanuts are not swallowed whole, they […]
Here’s a list of the Websites we find ourselves recommending to people throughout the year; For French weather forecasts we recommend Metcheck … here’s the French page. Incredibly accurate even 10 days or so before. For route planning we recommend ViaMichelin Enter your start destination as the French ferry port you’re using & end destination […]
I caught this monster at Laroussi on 15th November in swim La Plage. I was fishing 65 yards to my right into open water and at about 1 am Sunday morning had a slow take. 40 minutes later and this monster came into my net! I could not believe the size of this carp, I […]
Gary wrote; As I’m going to France next year and the average fish is 20 – 25lb, but there are bigger ones in the lake, so what line should I use? I normally use 12lb. Should i go up to 15 or even 20lb? Could you let me know many thanks. Hi Gary, When […]
Question from Steve Sayers; Looking forward to fishing Boux in April 2010. It will be my 1st French trip… so not sure what to expect. Any advice on rigs or presentations would be really helpful for a virgin French carper! Hi Steve, Simply fish in exactly the same way as you do here in the UK. […]
Rich asks; What time of year do the carp spawn? Hi Rich, Spawning time is purely a matter of water temperature and mostly late May or June is the spawning period in France. A warm spring or mild winter can bring it on early (I’ve even known them start in March) and some lakes will start sooner than […]
Stewart asks; Looking for a runs water with big carp for 6 anglers. Looking to book for next year. It really depends on what you class as big carp? Runs waters tend not to have a concentration of 40’s and 50’s. We have around 35 venues but I’d still genuinely only class around 4 of them […]
I think most carpers will agree cooking on the bank is a pain in the proverbial… It’s bad enough, if you can’t get your car to the peg, just walking your gear round, without dealing with bags of tins, pasta & water, stoves, pans, plates, etc.. For those who have been carping a while and […]
Philip Parker wrote: I will be tackling a venue that contains a good head of large grass carp. The lake itself is quite shallow 3′-4′ and around nine acres in size. Can anyone offer some advice on trying to catch them. Of all the fish I’ve caught this one has eluded me. Surface baits are […]
Robert Fisher wrote: Please could you tell me the average spawning dates in France. Hi Robert, This is a very difficult question to reply to as there are so many factors involved. Much depends on the depth of the lake, the amount of sun it recieves and other factors that might effect water temperature such […]
Mike Burt wrote: I’m a reasonably experienced angler but new to dedicated carping and very confused about lines, braid, shock leaders, hook lengths etc. I have all the tackle but am not sure what line to put on the reel. What I really need is a configuration of the type of lines from my reel to the […]
Simon Rooney wrote: Could you please find out for me if the fish at Hideaway feed off the surface as I have found out that some lakes in France don’t. Hi Simon, Generally speaking peole have the impression that carp don’t take of the surface in France. This is of course rubbish. However this […]
Trevor wrote: Can you help… I’m fishing a place and need a line that sinks like a stone. Could you recommend one ? Hi Trevor, We asked Shaun Harrison and he suggested looking at one of the Fluoro Carbon lines. Shaun uses the P Line Halo when he wants a fast sinking line, whilst several […]
By Jon Perkins This is a subject which has been debated for many years and both barbed and barbless hooks certainly have their place in modern carp fishing.I beleive that on the majority of waters and in the majority of angling situations, barbless hooks are better for the carp. Most fisheries these days have a […]
Ian Sweenie wrote: I’m booked on Ribiere in early May any advice or tips would be appreciated as I’ve been told that they have a lot of crays in there. Hi Ian, I’ve fish Ribière on a couple of occasions both early and later in the year and have never been troubled by Crayfish. When […]
James Derbyshire wrote: I am booked on Mas Bas main lake at the end of July. I am the only person fishing (my wife will be sunbathing!). I’m starting to think about getting myself sorted out for the trip and am wondering how much bait (and what baits) I should be taking with me for […]
Some of you may remember this film that we gave away in 2007 as bonus footage on the Angling Lines DVD. Well I came across the clips on a hard drive this week and thought that it might be useful to post them on the blog here for all to see and enjoy… The film […]
I saw this excellent post on the Quest Baits Blog: By Jamie Simpson Ok so I thought this piece may be helpful to anyone who has little or no experience of fishing in France. Travelling to France for a fishing holiday can be a daunting prospect, yet the draw of large Carp and a slightly […]
