Details of your catches:

One Mirror 41.07lb, 2 coypu, cold,wet,thoroughly miserable.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

no comment

Were the facilities what you expected?

yes but fridge/freezer/charging facilities need big improvements. Swims had poor access to the water.

Were you happy with them?

no comment

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Not really

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

lovely water, lovely people, lovely food, but the first thing should be all about the fish and this water is hard and not worth the effort or expense.

**** OWNERS REPLY ****

After reading the last feedback from Dave Dyson on the Saturday the 6th of October I had to post this reply, this feedback is almost unbelievable. I will start at the beginning.

On arrival I asked Mr Dyson in conversation why they had chosen our lake and the reply was because they had been to France once before caught lots but wanted a challenge and a chance at bigger fish. There were two fishermen with the lake to themselves at a brilliant time of year for catching fish although the weather was very poor, raining heavily.

So after arrival on Saturday we left them to set up and then we visited them on Sunday morning with breakfast and they seemed very despondent after not catching during their first night. At dinner time they had still no fish. Come Monday after only losing one and catching one a 40lb carp, I (Mark, fisheries Manager) went to help and advise them about lunch time and to my surprise they was packing down and preparing to leave.

They was very pleasant but said they had tried everything they could and there was no sign of fish so they felt they was only going to blank so they was going to look for a venue more suited to them. Villefond is not water for amateur anglers which we always say and if some one is out of their league then I can understand a move. However when the problem lies squarely on the angler then the outrageous feedback they left needs a retort.

The reason I said the blame lays squarely with the anglers is because firstly as I told them when you have 8 acres between two anglers on a difficult water with only big, smart, pressured fish you need to spread out because if you sit together as they did the fish will move away from the noise and stay up the over end of the lake.

The other statement which to me is maybe the most outrageous was when they said they had tried everything, and this was on Monday morning after one proper day of fishing because when you arrive on Saturday after lunch its just a chuck out at night and normally straight to bed after the long drive. There is no way in one week could you possibly try every tactic and give each one a fair chance let alone in one full day!

As they spoke to me and said that they had tried everything they went on to say they had been round the lake and seen no signs of fish. This was difficult for me to take in I was watching fish roll and plumes of bubbles breaking the surface in front of their swim, the fish was clearly feeding if you was able to read the signs.

As I left slightly bemused by some of what they said I did understand that our lake is designed as big fish water, for the more skilled angler so I was able to take on board that they would prefer runs water and they was going to struggle on our lake. The reason I am writing this reply was because they left a terrible feedback which reads like they fished the week and caught one fish. To someone reading that feedback they would think it was the lake and not the angler.

To put this into perspective after these guys left I decided to pop up the lake and put a rod out to confirm to myself the fish were feeding as I had thought, this was before I even knew they had designs on putting feedback on despite hardly fishing the lake! The first day with one rod I cast out to a spot in the middle near where they had been fishing, 1hr 45mins later on my one rod I had a run, I lost that fish due to a tangled rig.1hr 30mins later I landed a 37lber shortly followed by a fish called Nemo because of its small fin at 37.10.

The following day I took my one rod up the lake again, same spot. In just 30mins I had a really hard fighting 33lb fish on the bank and then 25 mins later I landed a 35.12 mirror. All four fish pictures are on our page. This goes to show just how much depends on the angler and if I had their 6 rods and a whole week I would have been kept very busy.

I am always willing to accept our lake is not for everyone and I always say and write its difficult water. We have in the past had some guys struggle and write that on the feedback blaming conditions etc when it would have been more accurate to blame the angler. On the flip side we have had really good anglers struggle and it has been the fish. I felt I had to reply to this feedback because firstly they never even tried despite telling me they wanted the challenge and secondly because they blame the fish.

In conclusion I will repeat our lake is difficult water full of only big fish. There are very few small carp. It’s not runs water with a handful of larger carp; it’s specimen water with a handful of smaller carp. So if you are looking for easy fishing (although at times even our lake can be easy at certain times of year) and non stop action without having to work for the fish then our lake is probably not for you. If you like monster carp that will test your mind, rigs, and bait and if you get that right you will have a amazing weeks fishing like never before then Villefond is for you.

Mark,
Manger, Lac du Villefond

Details of your catches:

5 anglers
46lb 2oz common, 44lb mirror, 43lb mirror,40lb mirror
15 fish 4 x forties, 9 x thirties 2 under
4 times PB

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Listen to Mark, home bait

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes better

Were you happy with them?

Yes

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

Sort the weather out!! Will be back brilliant venue
PHOTO'S TO FOLLOW

Details of your catches:

2x40s 4x30s 3x20s 1x7lber 1x75+catfish

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Definately using villefonds bait made the difference,we found using inline semi-fixed leads resulted in very positive takes, using backleads also helps as they tended to fight hard in the margins.

Were the facilities what you expected?

yes the facilities were as expected,clean and well kept

Were you happy with them?

yes absolutely no complaints, John and mark were very helpful with tactics and spots to fish,they visit once a day for catch reports and to generally make sure there aren't any problems.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

I'd recommend this venue to any of my friends without hesitation

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes the service received was friendly and very professional.Even when there was a lightening ferry strike Angling Lines made sure that we could get home,extremely professional.

General Comments:

overall it was a very enjoyable week the fishing was good. it isnt a runs water but if tactics are correct it can be very productive. i would recommend this lake. the village is close by with general amenies, just be aware of the random closing times of the local stores when shopping.

Details of your catches:

4x 40's
21x 30's
9x 20's

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Fished over boilies with small baits either snowman or popups, simple rigs, size 8 hooks. This is a carpers lake, keep working at it and you will reep rewards

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes

Were you happy with them?

Yes

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

Villefond is a lovely carp lake with some stunning carp, good facilities and very friendly owners in John Mark and Debbie.Listen to Mark and John and Enjoy Debbies cooking. We will return