Details of your catches:

No carp were caught.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

The fish were found to be in very shallow water bedded down in the silt.

Finding hard spots will be the answer, there are a few but they are small, at range and in very shallow water.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Facilities were as described and expected.

Were you happy with them?

They did not make sense to us. The shower room has two open showers and a toilet in the middle of the room, all open plan. There isn't even a lock on the door of the room or a shower curtain. It would make sense to me that the unit could be improved by making a single private shower and toilet and having an area for a microwave / cooker / sink and a much needed chest freezer. It appears this venue does not look at its own reviews!!
Showers were good and hot though with plenty of water.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

The lake is very low. We took a boat out over the whole lake checking depths and looking for hard, clear patches with sounder and a landing net pole.

The silt / soft clay is deep (3-9 inches almost all over) and the only real feature of the lake being the margins, were very shallow, in the order of inches.

The lake is 3 - 4 feet deep at the dam wall end and 1 - 3 feet at the bay end. We found the carp bedded down in the shallow end readying themselves for the winter and not interested in feeding.

We are both experienced anglers and have fished France many times. We prefer fishing the harder waters now with the better stamp of fish, like this water. But our experience here was very disappointing, though not because of the lack of carp caught. I have fished for carp for over 30 years and I am used to fishing blanks whilst in pursuit of better fish.

The lake is very low and is at least 50% lower than it should be. Oxygen levels must be very low and the lake could do with de-silting and / or stabilising with gravel in areas. The swims are 3 feet above the the water at the furthest point into the lake so landing fish is more difficult than needed. The sides of the swim are inches deep making the launching of the boats difficult as it grounds and dangerously slipery with silt and clay. Why not extend the swim base at one side making it easier and safer?

The worst thing for us though was the fact that once at the lake we didn't even see the bailiff. Despite calls and text messages we did not get a reply. On arrival at the lake someone from the main house gave us a catch report to fill in, said that the previous anglers had not caught, the lake was fishing slowly because it was cold and that the bailiff would see us in the morning. He took our 100 Euros deposit and that was it. We never saw our deposit again either!

This lake is a pleasure to be at, with a wooded natural location full of fantastic bird and wildlife.
But the owners need to read the feedback on the venue, react accordingly, invest in their business and reconsider the service they provide to the anglers that pay good money to visit.


*Angling Lines note** We have spoken to the lake at length about the points raised above. The water levels in many lakes this year have been low due to the extraordinarily dry summer. It is not an issue we have had at Brie before and down to unusual circumstances. This will return to normal after the rain this winter. The owners do check the oxygen level in all of their lakes regularly and these are fine. We can only pass on their sincere apologies regarding contact during the week, as fish farmers they are very busy at this time of year with lake nettings and have no record of any calls but Mark has had an issue with his phone and the number has now been changed. They were unsure what time you were leaving to return the deposit and so we will be in touch to arrange this with you. Apologies for the delay.

Update for 2016 - There is now a bigger freezer for bait on site.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

I would always recommend Angling Lines, they are the best I have found in the industry.

General Comments:

We want our deposit back please!

Details of your catches:

12 carp to 42lb 14oz

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

We fished innovatebaits s2t. Stiff hinged rigs seemed to work the best. Water depth was low and we fished gullys around 3-4 foot.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Facility's were as expected as this was my 2nd visit to Brie. Showers are very good but bait/food fridge needs to be bigger.

*Angling Lines note* There is now a bigger freezer on site for bait, thank you for the feedback.

Were you happy with them?

Very.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Definitely recommend this venue, fish didn't really feed heavy this time but I know what stunning fish reside in this lake and it can be prolific if conditions are right.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Angling lines is a great company very easy to deal with and take the hassle away from booking and arranging transport etc. Lake owner and the bailiff are also great and you know the very best fish get stocked into their lakes due to them being the biggest fish farmer in the champagne region.

General Comments:

Fishing was a little slow which was expected somewhat with the dry season and weather however fishing this lake is a pleasure from the tranquillity and the wildlife. One thing I would like to mention is how the lake owner Paul Bacheiler and his bailiff Mark were when I had a problem with my van breaking down. Obviously with the language barrier being a problem Paul liased with the French garage and chased all enquiries up and even drove me himself back to the garage to collect my vehicle. Service like this just shows how much they value there customers and it is what will keep me going back to their waters. First class from Start to finish from Angling lines through to owners and bailiff. Thankyou

Details of your catches:

1 Mirror carp 22lb
1 Common carp 28lb
2 Pike (on boilies)
lots of Roach

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

We started with the Cell, rahja and ghurkka spice critically balanced hook baits over beds of pellet and particle. After speaking to Mark the Bailiff midweek, changed to soft braided hook lengths, dark brown and black small wafters over large beds of lake pellets. Fished to far and near margins and mid water.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes, as described, great shower. Remember to take English plug adaptors and a 2 gang extension lead as there is only a couple of sockets available which can make charging bait boat batteries and phones etc busy at times

Were you happy with them?

Yes

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes, fished with Angling Lines many times before and have recommended to friends

General Comments:

Absolutely stunning lake, very easy drive using the toll roads. Both Mark the Bailiff and the Owner were great guys.

A very hard week's fishing due to the first two days of very heavy rain which we think the fresh water going in put the fish off the feed but still managed to catch a couple!! Water level was down about 18 inches but still fishable .

Details of your catches:

Swim 1 - 30 carp, 12 x 30LB+, 1 x 40LB, rest 20's
Swim 2 - 1 carp 30LB

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Small beds of bait or single baits against dam wall, far bank and open water

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes as asked details about them before going.

Were you happy with them?

Could do with a bigger freezer

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

Swim 1 had a great time, however swim 2 had a very hard week, the deepest part of the lake was only 3 foot and as swim 2 is the shallower end is the reason they struggled, with 1 angler not catching anything. We even lost a big fish in open water by it beaching itself. However the fish are in top condition, very clean and good looking.