{"id":7783,"date":"2022-03-23T03:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T02:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/?p=7783"},"modified":"2026-02-13T11:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:14:15","slug":"stocking-carp-in-a-french-lake-10-things-you-must-consider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/stocking-carp-in-a-french-lake-10-things-you-must-consider\/","title":{"rendered":"Stocking Carp in a French Lake \u2013 10 Things To Consider"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re starting your carp fishing lake business, stocking carp in a french lake is likely to be one of the biggest money outlays you make.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0the things I have learnt;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Before you even start to think about buying a lake and running your own carp fishery sit down and work out your finances<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0bigger the lake the more fish you will need. \u00a0They don\u2019t come cheap, prices are rising and big fish are getting harder to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Does the lake fill up easily and does it stay full of water throughout the year?<\/span><\/span><\/strong> \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This may sound obvious, but it\u2019s vital. \u00a0With the\u00a0drier and hotter weather we are having lake levels can soon drop. If a lake relies on rain only to fill it up the levels can drop\u00a0significantly during the summer. This can cause problems with the fish and water quality, in that the oxygen levels can drop to\u00a0dangerous levels. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lake that is spring or stream fed are good as you are less likely to suffer with levels dropping too much. \u00a0Our\u00a0lake, Bletiere<\/a>, is spring fed underground and even over a long summer the level only drops by inches, consequently oxygen levels have\u00a0never been a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bletiere
Bletiere carp lake in France<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Think about what will you do if we get another long hot summer and your carp start to suffer due to dropping\u00a0oxygen levels. \u00a0It’s \u00a0too late when it\u2019s happening so do you need to have ready a means to aerate the water. \u00a0You can find on the\u00a0internet. We are lucky and have never needed to do this but I still have pumps ready in the barn just in case. \u00a0It can be something\u00a0very simple – just as long as it forces oxygen into the water. \u00a0Obviously in a big lake it will take more effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Have the lake netted – this is very important. <\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You get to see what is in the lake, both species and size, and more importantly if\u00a0the fish are disease free and in good health. \u00a0What\u2019s the point in paying out thousands of euro\u2019s and putting healthy fish into a lake\u00a0that may have disease problems with its existing residents? No point at all! \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also take the chance to look at the bottom of the\u00a0lake to see if it needs dredging. \u00a0This would be the time to have this work done – before you stock. \u00a0It’s not cheap but definitely\u00a0worth it in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. For a very small cost (considering how much the carp are going to cost you) I would strongly advise you have the water tested.<\/span><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most\u00a0big towns have a municipal laboratory and it\u2019s a great way to ensure there are no water quality problems before your fish start to die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Before you go out and buy the fish try to assess what natural food is in the lake – will it be sufficient to feed all your fish?<\/span> <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00a0most cases the answer is probably no and once you add even more carp there will probably not be enough food to sustain growth rates. \u00a0So now is the time you need to source a fish feed supplier. \u00a0There are several large ones in France and it\u2019s down to your budget and\u00a0what you wish to feed, but cheap is not always good. \u00a0Don’t forget you will not have anglers there all the time putting bait in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have\u00a0covered feeding carp in another article (Winter Feeding Regime for a Carp Lake) and added ways to save money but still ensure good growth rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Owning
Bletiere<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

6. Spend time looking in your area for the fish farm that you intend to buy your carp from.<\/span> <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We originally purchased our fish from a\u00a0farm over 2 hours drive away and this entailed a lot of stress to the fish on the way to us. We now use a farm that is only 30 minutes\u00a0away from us. \u00a0So we select the fish and within 1 to 2 hours they are safely in the lake. \u00a0It’s a sad fact that on average 10% of the\u00a0carp you buy will die from the stress of moving and settling into their new environment – so try and keep the transportation time as\u00a0low as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Speak to the fish farmer and seek his advice about stocking levels. <\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0They are always helpful and they don\u2019t want you to have\u00a0problems. \u00a0If they suggest 2 or 3 stockings then agree as it\u2019s all about what\u2019s best for your carp. \u00a0Also on the day you go to pick\u00a0your fish be prepared for a long visit as you get to see and choose every fish you buy. \u00a0They will never argue if you say “no” to a\u00a0fish, but be careful it\u2019s easy to get carried away and end up with a big invoice… I did!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. When the fish are delivered don\u2019t forget to weigh and photograph all or at least some of them<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a great way to check future growth\u00a0rates when they get caught plus generate excellent publicity for your venue. Often, fish stockings are stressful and fast paced, consider roping a friend in to take on the job of photographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Check your stocking license (issued by the local Gard de Peche) before you buy anything other than carp to ensure you are allowed\u00a0to stock them. <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For example, here at Bletiere, we have some constraints as to what we are allowed to put in the lake due to a trout\u00a0stream running alongside the lake, as they are concerned as to what could get into the stream e.g. pike and perch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Think about any tools or implements that you may need to catch or release any trapped or injured fish.<\/strong><\/span><\/span> \u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For example chest waders,\u00a0heavy duty nets and a small work boat. \u00a0Just stop and think what\u2019s the worst that can happen and then prepare as a little pre-planning\u00a0and thought can save a lot of stress and heartache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope this has been of interest and use – just a few things I have learnt along the way over the last years. \u00a0If you are careful\u00a0and think about what you are doing nothing much goes wrong – but it pays to be prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tight lines,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John @ La Bletiere\u00a0Fishing Holidays<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find more articles on carp lake management here: Owning a Carp Lake in France<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re starting your carp fishing lake business, stocking carp in a french lake is likely to be one of the biggest money outlays you make.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0the things I have learnt; 1. Before you even start to think about buying a lake and running your own carp fishery sit down and work out your finances The\u00a0bigger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1023,943],"tags":[1167,1168,1078,1120,1119,1115,1118,1122,1166],"class_list":["post-7783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-owning-a-carp-lake","category-stocking-carp","tag-buying-a-carp-lake","tag-buying-a-lake-in-france","tag-carp-fishing","tag-carp-fishing-france","tag-carp-fishing-in-france","tag-french-carp","tag-french-carp-fishing","tag-lakes-in-france","tag-owning-a-lake-in-france"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7783"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29209,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7783\/revisions\/29209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}