Details of your catches:

If you put a fox in the henhouse, he will have chicken for dinner every night : - ) I was there, the lake was there but no one else was there, the lake to myself again : - ) The previous weeks were hot to 37 degrees but on my arrival temps dropped 10 degrees and rain was falling at times on most days. Every day was overcast and this triggered a reaction in the fish.

I baited up and had immediate results : - ) I took in total 49 carp and one tench. 3 X 50's, 4 x 40's, 17 x 30's, 21 x 20's and four doubles. 1 five pound tench.

A trickle of mirrors and commons were falling to me from the start. However, the Grass Carp were in full swing from first day but monday and tuesday I had in total 21 fish, mostly Grass Carp. I took a 50 and half grass carp, a 49 grass carp and a 43 grass Carp during those two days.

However, in the latter part of the week the big mirrors started to feed. Friday I took a 44 and half (fully scaled) at about 6pm, at midnight I took a 52 and about 1am I took a 55 and half from the same spot. I took three more fish at hourly intervals to the same spot. I started catching at 4am Sunday with a 35 and half mirror and finished on Saturday 8am also with a 35 and half mirror.

It was common for me to have two or three runs at one time, often having consecutive runs, letting one fish go and the next run occurred. I had to operate professionally from the start. Previous three trips this year saw me develop strategies to ease catching and restrict fish snagging other lines. Hook a fish then lift the other rods off rod rests and have the reels fit under the front buzz bars, with rods angling down into the water keeping lines safe on bottom. Only one of the 49 carp managed to foul one line.

It was amazing to watch the catch number rise and my right arm ache : - ) : - ) : - )

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

I thought my best tactic was to fish in JULY, a month people seem to avoid and twice I found I had the lake completely to myself for regular prices, that was priceless. I fished when it was hot and had 14 fish WITH TWO 40'S and when weather reduced in temp (TWO WEEKS LATER) catch rate was through the roof : - ) To me that was a win win situation : - )

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes the Cabin has all I needed, fridge, freezer, toilet and shower.

Were you happy with them?

Yes

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

I have done so, you cannot beat this lake for numbers of fish, big fish and the absolute beauty of the lake.

To the back of chien and birches is an unspoilt meadow where four horses run free. During this trip I could see huge flapping wings and got my binoculars out to watch a massive bird of prey trying to subdue a large Rabbit. It was struggling so much the bird flapped to get a better grip. After some time the rabbit got away. If its not that its the Catfish chasing and taking ducks, or a vast array of wildlife : - )

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Of course its absolutely Carp Fishing Heaven : - )

General Comments:

Mehdi Daho is always very helpful and comes out to take photos, he is ready to provide bulk loads of particle cooked, he knows the lake intensely and can help you maximize your results. He remembers fish catches and what fish came from where, he advises and demonstrates casting tips, features and has personally helped me to get parts for my car while I fished. Amazing guy : - )

Details of your catches:

2 anglers fishing for one week, weather overcast till Thursday then high 30s. 16 fish out, 4 lost, biggest being 55lb.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

A little and often on bait.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes great as always, nice and clean

Were you happy with them?

Yes more than happy

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Great lake, tremendous fish, does not feel like commercial French water.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes very professional, good communication

General Comments:

Mehdi as usual is a great source of knowledge, perfect host. Also you to get on with your fishing.

Details of your catches:

14 fish in total, me top rod. 1 x 46 mirror, 1 x 41 mirror, 1 x 35 .5 mirror, 1 x 30.5 common 5 x 20's, 5 x doubles. I lost five fish that came off the hook by weak hookhold and for using barbless hooks as is normal. Two of the losses were bigger fish :-)

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

The weather was very hot, 3 > 4 days at 37 degrees. For most of the day the fish took shelter in heavily shaded snaggy areas. However, they did feed early am for a few hrs making captures possible. I was surprised that no one else arrived and had the lake to myself. During feeding times fish were jumping all around the lake. If other anglers had arrived they would have caught too. It took the fish a couple of days to find my baits and runs were screamers :-)

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes very good.

Were you happy with them?

Very happy.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

People seem to avoid La Rousi in July thinking it is as dead as a Dodo. However, I enjoyed my fishing this week and caught many fish having excellent sport. Hot does not mean blanking here. With quality baits and efficient rigs, good catches are possible.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

I had photo'd most of my fish using a tripod and timer but Medhi was happy to come out and photo my bigger fish.

I also saw a lot of one of the Catfish. I saw it laying under a bush and viewed it from above. It was incredible to see at over 6ft long, head and main body at least half a metre wide. I also saw it at night patrolling the lake with half metre of fin out of the water. One night at 5am it woke me up chasing the ducks and all its length broke the surface.

It was very noticeable that the little fish are thriving again. There was a massive shoal of perch operating just out of the margins. They were chasing little fish and I got false runs from the perch hitting into my mainline. The weighted indicators rose up and returned down. I struck a couple b4 letting them go unless a screamer was evident.

Details of your catches:

Graham fished le Haut Fond and had a 44lb mirror the first night, followed by a 6.4 male tench, a 65lb sturgeon and a common about 20lb the next day.
After that bites dried up and a move to l'Ainse for the last 2 nights produced only the same 65lb sturgeon.
Simon fished le 2 Saules and had only a 26lb mirror.
Mark had nothing in the Point swim and only a move to le Plage for the last 2 nights produced a 15lb common.
Fishing was very hard with carp spawning on the first night and activity decreasing as the temperatures increased through the week.
Neverthless we saw a lot of big lumps jumping out and we all want to return when fish are hopefully feeding better.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Hard to say when fishing was so hard. We kept things simple, did not bait heavily as fish were not feeding. It does not appear that rigs/baits really matter too much. We tried close in, long range, on the bars, in far margins…all possible spots. All fish caught on 16 or 20 mm boilies

Were the facilities what you expected?

Facilities are excellent; large fridge and freezer is a real benefit in summer; supermarket only 10 mins away, shower and toilet clean

Were you happy with them?

Yes, very happy

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes, definitely, but this is a relatively hard water, you can't guarantee runs all the time

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes, definitely

General Comments:

The lake has fantastic specimen potential, not just for carp. You have a chance of PB tench, roach, crucians as well