Mas Bas Lotus Lake

Details of your catches:

1 x 30
5 x 20's
6 x doubles
Only 2 of the fish were Grass carp, the rest were a mixture of Stunning Commons and chunky Mirrors.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

20mm Rahja Spice loose fed, 20mm Glugged Rhaja spice as hook bait.
Standard coated braid hair rigs.

(Plus The kids enjoyed a bit of maggot drowning for roach with the whips and Maggots Gilles so kindly lent us!)

Were the facilities what you expected?

Better than expected, we even had wifi which was a bonus for posting pics to facebook!

Were you happy with them?

Very Happy.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Definitely, we haven't stopped talking about it since coming home

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes. Great communication, info and takes the hassle out of organising a trip.

General Comments:

Absolutely great holiday for the whole family. We had 4 kids with us ranging from 7 to 13 and the sister in-law in tow.
We found the area so peaceful, quaint and full of amazing wildlife.
The Willow Cottage was beautiful and had everything we needed and More. Sharon and Gilles are amazing hosts, so friendly but professional at the same time and couldn't have done more to help us enjoy our break.
As for the fishing, it took us a couple of days to really start catching, but after a visit from Gilles we realised just how accurate you needed to be with bait placement and once he had shown us the hotspots the fish started coming thick and fast. At this stage however we were balancing family time with the fishing so really limited it to a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening. Had we spent more time with the rods out we would have caught a lot more...and maybe even that 40! However, three of us all broke our Personal Bests (Me with a 32, my Fiancee with a 23lb 8oz and my 13 year old son with a 26!) So we were ecstatic as you will see from the pics. This is the perfect place to combine a family holiday with fishing! It is well worth the traveling time as in such beautiful surroundings it doesn't take long to relax and unwind from the journey. The shops/restaurants in the local village have everything you will need food and drink wise, we only ate out once as it was so beautiful by the lake in the evenings with a BBQ on the go and watching the Carp crashing out, while sipping the local wine and being entertained by the cows in the adjacent field (and not to forget Tommasina the cat!)

Details of your catches:

There was only me fishing and after some guidance from Gilles I started to catch quite regularly. All the fish were landed in the last two days of our stay purely because Gilles was unable to contact us until Wednesday evening. However did manage to account for SIX carp between 21 & 27Lbs.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Straight lead with about 300 mm hook length. Add to this about 8 to 10 15mm boilies as free feed. 20mm boilies on the hook (hair rigged).

Were the facilities what you expected?

Because we were the only people there, Gilles upgraded us to the main house. It was magnificent, I can't say any more.

Were you happy with them?

You Bet. As Julie or Brenda? says in the video they the following week it is definitely luxury with fishing on the doorstep.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

I already have to many contacts not just friends.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

See above.

General Comments:

I have said to many friends and Gilles as well that if I came and stayed for a week and never caught a fish I would still have had a good week. After my first stay at Mas Bas three years ago I said to friends and family that this is the first place I've been to on holiday and arrived home feeling like I'd had a holiday and not needing another week to get over the stress.

Details of your catches:

Lots of small grass carp, 3 mirror carp to 20lb

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

The grass carp seemed to eat anything, bookies and sweet corn

Were the facilities what you expected?

This was my second visit to Mas Bas willow cottage, the facilities are good but the kitchen and ground floor bedroom smelt very damp and musty. The wardrobe left your clothes smelling of damp dirty washing.

Were you happy with them?

On the whole yes but the kitchen and ground floor bedroom furniture needs cleaning/ changing.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

No.
Mas Bas is a beautiful location but as an angling holiday it is very poor with hundreds of small grass carp and also very expensive.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes. I have fished with angling lines for many years and I am very pleased with the helpful service provided.

General Comments:

Very disappointed with the fishing. A lot of improvements needed to turn the lake into a good fishery you would expect angling lines to endorse. Too many small nuisance fish, to the point where you don't want to fish the lake....

*Owner's note* We're sorry the fishing wasn't as you expected on this particular week. We do stress though that overuse of sweetcorn will encourage the grass carp. The accommodation is rustic french in style, but is cleaned thoroughly weekly. We ask that if anyone experiences any problems to contact us as soon as possible and we'll do our best to sort them then and there.

Details of your catches:

Just myself fishing, mainly days and evenings only. 47 fish, 12 mirrors, biggest 27lb, 8 commons, biggest 24lb 12 oz, 1 koi, the rest grass carp, biggest 16lb, we also had a pike and sander, plus a few bream.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Fishing between the aerator and bank on left hand side, plus under the big willow, right in the gap. Trout pellet 10mm as loose feed and 20 mm Rahja Spice ripped with a yellow pellet pop up. 25lb coated hook links with size 4 micro barbs.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Much better, lovely place, the photos do not do it justice, very beautiful and fantastic scenery, absolutely stunning.

Were you happy with them?

Yes, fantastic.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Already have done.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Definitely.

General Comments:

Gilles was very helpful and charming, Mas Bas is something special, well worth the journey and we will be back very soon.