Grosley and spawning carp

Jamie Simpson wrote this excellent write up about his recent trip to the Angling Lines venue at Grosley sur Risle on the Quest baits blog. By Jamie simpson I recently went on a week long trip to Lac De Grosley in France. A well run 25acre venue in Normandy, and only a 2 1/2 hour […]

Combatting Poisson Chat Problems

Craig Alldrick wrote: When were the poisson chat netted from Margot? Was it 2006 or 2007?  Will there be a problem this year [any reports yet?]. I am going in June and know poisson-chats get more active as it gets warmer. Any info or tips would be gratefully received as I would rather be prepared. I […]

Keeping the bugs away!

As you already know, insects are a huge problem with any outdoor activities. Mosquitoes, horse flies and other nasty insects can be very annoying as they swarm and bite causing much itching and discomfort. I remember on trip to the Lac d’Orient, in Eastern France when they were biting us through our T-shirts. There is […]

Carp anglers – men behaving badly?

What is and isn’t acceptable behaviour on the bank when you are on a carp fishing holiday in France ? This issue of lack of respect to the venues, the owners and the other anglers on the bank is an issue that comes up on a regular basis. Ok don’t get me wrong I enjoy […]

Don’t get lost driving to your carp venue!

  Every Saturday I get a call from some group or other of Carp anglers travelling out for a fishing holiday to one of our venues who has got lost or is struggling to find their way to the lake in question. It is totally understandable that navigating in a foreign country can cause a […]

Top 5 carp fishing vehicles

by Gareth Watkins Over the years I’ve had a whole range of different vehicles that I’ve used to get myself fishing. In the early days it was my parent’s cars, so whatever they had at the time, and varied from an Audio 80 to a Triumph Dolomite. Not always very practical… Since then I’ve had […]

Shoot better carp fishing videos

Like so many things these days the advances in technology have meant that top quality video even high definition is accessible to everyone, not just professional television crews, as was the case just a decade ago. The latest range of DV and HDV cameras are just mind-blowingly good. But have a good camera doesn’t turn […]

70lb carp marks opening week at Laroussi!

The Angling Lines venue Laroussi starts every year with a bang… and this year’s been no exception with a rake of big fish captures topped by the new lake record mirror “Big Cheeks” at 70lb 2oz. The monster mirror was caught by Jason Baker from Exeter on April 1st – and it certainly wasn’t an […]

Carp fishing cuisine – my top 5 bank side recipes

  Bankside food while carp fishing needs to be tasty, but quick and easy to prepare. So aside the fry up what can you eat? The main problem you get cooking on the bank is lack of space and only one or at the most two cooker rings. I’ve used a Coleman double burner in […]

What’s the bottom like in Willow Lake at Mas Bas

Craig Lea-hair wrote: What type of bottom is Lotus at Mas Bas? I’ve been thinking about what type and colour hook link to use. Gareth Watkins replies: First off you’ll love Mas Bas, I went to Lotus with my family last summer when I shot the video. We had a great time; if you look […]

17 tips for driving in France

First rule for you to remember (should you come from the UK) when planning to drive in France for a carp fishing holiday is : drive on the right side of the road! Be especially careful when setting off from service stations or restaurants on the left side of the road. Also, bear in mind […]

Carp care – please use an antiseptic!

Why we should all use Klin-ik  Klin-ik is a Laboratory Formulated Fish Care Product. Dave Chilton of Kryston tells us why and how the totally safe and laboratory formulated fish care product Klin-ik was introduced. This is an issue that many carp anglers still ignore, especially when they come to France.  I see anglers turn up […]

Carp fishing – take better photos

As a follow on article to my post on ‘Making Fishing Videos’, I thought I’d look at the close links there seem to be between Fishing and photography. I know a number of anglers who are accomplished photographers. Nearly all the guys who contribute regularly to the Angling Press are good shooters. You need to illustrate […]

Making angling videos

I read to a recent Opinion Piece – by Jeff Woodhouse on Making Angling Videos posted on the Fishing Magic website, commenting on the poor quality and low standard of angling videos on the market. As a photographer/cameraman the subject is naturally of interest to me. Jeff writes:(…..why should we put up with this sort […]

Budget carp fishing in France

February & March can be unpredictable months for the fishing in France. Some anglers feel the weathers too dodgy to warrant spending hard earned cash and risk blanking. But February bookings this year have had some great results – 1 angler caught around 30 carp at Vaux the first week of February and we’ve a […]

Carp fishing holidays abroad – what are my options?

As carp fishing gets ever more popular each year so more anglers look to Europe for their fishing and in particular – France. Most of the waters in the UK which hold fish over 35lb are either exclusive syndicate waters or cost a small fortune to fish. France then, can offer the chance of large […]

Carp fishing techniques – are bait boats cheating?

Izaak Walton’s famous book ‘The Complete Angler’ was a celebration of our sport, based on the central theme that angling is an art that transcends the objective of catching fish. Angling then is the technique of catching fish using a rod and line; it is called “angling” because of the angle formed by the two. […]

Essential tackle for your French trip

Generally speaking the bulk of tackle used for UK carp angling is perfectly adequate for the continent, but it is worth bearing in mind that many of the French waters are much larger than the UK and more importantly, you will be faced with bigger fish for the most part. Here then I propose a […]

Are you prepared for your French carp trip?

Are you ready to go to Carping in France… Steve Guy over on the Quest Baits Blog submitted and interesting piece about making the most of this time of the year to prepare for the coming season. Well what he says here makes a lot of sense. But his points about checking your equipment and […]

Cooking on the bank; fed up of wobbly stoves? Read on!

Every once in a while someone comes along with a simple yet really useful product, where you think… “Hey! That’s neat… why has no one come up with that before?” Well the Steady Rig from Rig Innovations is just such a product. I met these guys out on the bank carp fishing in France a […]