Details of your catches:

32 common, 5 cats up to 30lb, 60 sturgeon, 40 Grassy, 28 common, 40 mirror

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

We tried everything in the book, they took everything to be fair, single pop ups maybe.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes great thanks.

Were you happy with them?

More than.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

definitely.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes.

General Comments:

We keep promising ourselves that we will avoid July/August in France but keep going back. all venues are the same this time of year where you think you are getting 7 days fishing but its only 7 nights as the fish just hold up under trees & this lake is no different from any other, however there are some spectacular fish here & the lake is in great condition with depths from 3-14 feet. we didn't over bait because you never know what has gone in the week before. The difference between this lake & any other is the owner Medhi, i can quite honestly say that if you could choose your perfect neighbor then this chap would be him, what a top bloke. The question is will we return? 100% but we will choose some cooler months next time as 37 degrees can play havoc with your catch rate. This is carp fishing Boys.

Details of your catches:

I had 5 x 40+ up to 44lb, 3 x 30 biggest 35lb and 2 x 20lb 10 fish with 3 lost 44lb common 43lb grass carp 42 lb grass carp 41. 08 mirror 41 lb common 35 lb mirror 32 lb common 30 lb mirror 25 lb common 21 lb common My brother caught 3 x 40 lb + and 4 x 30 lb+ fish all grass carp one estimated well above 50 but it jumped the net before a chance to weight it. A true tale of the one that got away :-) We also caught over 10 baby catfish between 3-10 pounds it appears the cats have bred and at least two years spawning are being caught.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Best tactics were to fish plastic and real sweetcorn on the hook over a bed or Medhi's partiblend. Had some success with bright yellow pineapple pop ups but the majority of the fish came to corn. I started at the far end of the lake in Le Chene and my brother in the beach swim. Medhi had given us some advice about the bars and possible spots to fish and I settled for the gravel at about 95 yards. I had two fish the first night fishing over a small area of particles. Nothing on the second night and then 2 fish the following night. The weather was against us, very hot, high pressure and blue skies. All the bites were coming from 11:00 pm till 4am. My brother hadn't had a bite in "the beach" swim and decided to move to swim 1 nearest the shower block where we could see crashing and with-in 2 hours had 2 grass carp. After another quiet night in "Le Chene" I moved to "the point " swim and caught every night fishing to the far bank about 20 yards off. That was the line fish were showing, also I had on rod on the plateau about half way across which produced as well. My brother also caught every night and on one occasion we both had 40lb +grass carp at the same time which made netting and photos interesting.

Were the facilities what you expected?

The lake itself is fantastic, very quiet and a good all round venue. The swims aren't too tightly placed and most have a lot of water to fish, its a hard lake in my opinion but if you work hard and don't over do the baiting to start you can catch and start to build up your swim. Medhi is a great guy and will offer his knowledge if you ask, always ready to make more partiblend or anything else for that matter. It was always sold as a drive and survive so all I expected was a clean working shower, running water, good fridge and freezer and toilet which we had.

Were you happy with them?

Yes

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Absolutely, with the caveat this is definitely not a runs water but big fish can be had with work and a little thought.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes I have used angling lines for at least ten years now and never had a bad experience.

General Comments:

Although the really hot weather and high pressure made fishing harder it was a good week. Reading some of the other weeks feedback we did expect a lot of issues with liners and the sturgeon wiping us out, however we were pleasantly surprised I don't think I had any in the week even fishing from two different swims. Medhi seems to really care about his fishery and is one of the most welcoming and generally nicest people I have meet. I will be back to fish this lake again and that's one of the few I have said that about. The only issue for Medhi I can see in the future is the number of small cats being caught, we were asked to retain them and he is taking out of the lake but the number we caught seems to suggest quiet a large spawn. I did talk to him about the possibility of providing nets, unhooking mats and weigh slings which would protect his carp and save a lot of bulk for anglers travelling to the lake. That is one of my bugbears when having to put wet slings mats in the car for a long journey home, oh the sweet smell of success turns a bit sour after 5 hours in a hot car lol.

Details of your catches:

43.08, 41.10, 31.09, 27.05 Grass Carp 43.10, 40.02, 37.07, 11.01 Mirrors 27.01, 24.08, 24.00, 22.02, 17.14, 17.00 Commons 59.08 Sturgeon 6 Tench upto 8.13 Few carp lost to hook pulls

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Mehdi's freshly prepared partiblend with Corn on the rods

Were the facilities what you expected?

To find a cabin with a good shower, toilet, large freezer big enough for ALOT of bait and food, a large fridge big enough for many anglers and fresh running water with a sink was a huge bonus to the trip! We went there for the fish laroussi had to offer so finding these only made the trip even better

Were you happy with them?

Very happy, as said before was a huge bonus to trip

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes, and planning on returning with more friends

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Very easy to book and angling lines suggested they changed our ferry to shorten our driving without us even asking, which was good.

General Comments:

Upon arrival we were greeted by owner Mehdi, who was very welcoming. He explained a few things and let us know how it was fishing. We then set off looking for a swim. Over the week we really had to work at our fishing in order to get bites. We were fortunate enough to be able to change swims which allowed us to move as the fish did. Mehdi mentioned how the previous anglers did well on his partiblend so we bought some off him which chose to be a great move, and allowed us to catch many more fish. Mehdi was a great host over the week and provided us with any information we needed. If your prepared to put in some effort at laroussi you will catch. See you soon, we'll be back!

Details of your catches:

It was a tough week, the conditions were far from ideal with high pressure and temperatures in excess of 30 degrees. It took a couple days the settle in and begin to get a feel for what the carp were doing on their daily routine. The first thing that became blatantly obvious was that they were not interested in feeding throughout the heat of the day. Whilst walking the banks of Laroussi on that first afternoon, we were sure to look in every nook, cranny, over handing tree, shaded corner etc and each time we looked we found fish. This was a common theme throughout the week, after 10am the fish would make there way from the main body of water in front of Le Chen toward the plentiful snags found around Laroussi's stunning margins. Now, the opposite happened in the evenings. From around 9pm, you could see the fish making their way back out into the main body of the lake. Every evening they would put on a fantastic display...boshing, rolling, jumping clear from the water, it was as if they were celebrating the coming of the cooler night time temperatures. You could set your watch by it, my takes came between 0030 - 0130 & then between 0330 -0430. I spent the day time hours with my rods out of the water, resting the swim allowing any fish that were visiting my spots to have a free meal. I was more than happy just wandering the banks watching these massive carp (and catfish) relaxing under the overhanging trees around the margins. I would make sure that once 1030 came around the rods were in and I would top the spots up with 10-15 spombs, ensuring that there was always bait on the spots. By 1900, I would be putting the rods back out onto the spots ready for the daily migration of the carp back to the open body of water from the snags. I ended up with 9 carp - 43.10 Mirro 40.02 Mirror 37.07 Mirror 27.00 Common 24.08 Common 24.00 Mirror 22.00 Common 19.14 Common 17.00 Common Along with 3 tench and a few catfish.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

By far the best tactic was Mehdi's home made party blend spodded tightly onto polished gravel spots (there is plenty of gravel to be found on the lake bed, but finding those real heavily polished areas made the difference). Short hooklinks (4 inches) with a single grain of fake plastic corn and a well balanced sharp hook worked for me. Resting the swim throughout the day i feel really helped. I know it is hard to wind in as you have spent that money to fish for the week but it will make a difference. These fish get angled for 7 days a week 365 days a year, giving them a break in your swim can only benefit you. I kept my rods out of the water fro around 10 hours a day. Only fishing through the hours of darkness.

Were the facilities what you expected?

The facilities were exactly what you need for a week on the bank. I was pleasantly surprised with the power shower within the hut, really spacious and clean. The toilet was clean and more than good enough. Remember to take your own toilet roll! The freezer was huge, I mean massive, you could hide a body in that thing! On more than one occasion I was tempted to sit in it for a while to cool off! The fridge was perfect, full height fridge with loads of room for food, drinks, even bait. Fresh running water from inside and outside the hut, a sink inside for washing dishes I even washed my clothes. There are 4 European plugs perfect for charging all of your electrical devices. Be sure to take your adapters .

Were you happy with them?

Cannot fault it , Mehdi take real pride in every aspect of the lake and its facilities and this is clearly visible.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Definitely, planning a return trip in 2020 with a group of us.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

Overall the lake, facilities & Mehdi were excellent. This was my first trip to France angling so I was apprehensive on what to expect, Laroussi was above and beyond what I could have hoped for. Sat looking over the lake on a misty sunrise you could easily be sat on an Oxford-shire gravel pit.