All the latest session diaries and venue videos from our carp fishing in France…
One week, two anglers and an incredible seven acre gravel pit just two and a half hours from Calais. Here’s an updated venue video showing you everything you need to know about this much loved water (…and we even managed a pretty special 50lb’er too)
For more information on French carp fishing at Beaurepaire follow the link – Carp Lakes Near Calais
Mike and Matt Linstead recently spent a week carp fishing at French gravel pit Blue Lake. Here’s their video diary.
A bit more about the lake… Blue Lake is 15 acres and roughly triangular in shape with swims cut into the tree line. The stocking of fish is impressive with carp up to 50lb+. It’s let on an individual or exclusive basis with room for up to 8 anglers.
For more information on Blue Lake follow the link – Fishing France.
You can also find more of Mike’s articles and videos on his website www.underthesurface.co.uk
Here it is, the venue video for our newest addition, Lillybelle. This was filmed over a very enjoyable 5 day session at the end of April….
This lovely 5.5 acre carp lake created by carp anglers for carp anglers and opened in Spring 2015. Set in utterly tranquil surroundings, the lake is rectangular in shape and an island just off centre means that it will accept up to 5/6 anglers fishing the lake. Nestled at one corner of the lake is a simple 2 bedroomed lodge with a fitted kitchen/diner & toilet and shower facilities. An eating area sits just outside and it’s possible to fish from the swim just next to the lodge.
For more information on Lillybelle follow the link – Carp Fishing Holidays in France
Ever thought about making your own leads? In the long term it could save you quite a bit of cash. One of our field testers, Jim Kelly, shows you how in the following two videos…
Part 1 – What you’ll need and how to mould your leads…
Part 2 – How to coat the leads…
Find more articles on technical carping and fishing tackle here – Carp Tackle Tips
As one of our venues that is perfectly suited to a family holiday as well as lots of fishing action, Vincons is a long standing favourite. We’ve updated the venue video using footage taken last Autumn on our annual lake visits.
This beautiful spring fed 12 acre lake is available for exclusive booking for up to six anglers and is literally stuffed full with carp. Arm aching action is the norm here! Add to this a swimming pool and lakeside lodge where you can literally fish out of the front door. For those craving more luxurious surroundings there is a gite just five minutes walk away.
Like what you see? Find out more information on Vincons here – Carp Fishing in France with Accommodation
Each year Brocard Large is drained and netted to remove small fish and check on the stocks. The scale patterns on many of the fish at Brocard Large really are something to be seen! Linears, fully scaled mirrors and big lean common carp all feature in the short video below…
For more information on fishing at Brocard Large follow the link – Carp Fishing France
A couple of days ago we featured an article on Brocard Large, written by Mike Linstead after his September session. Here’s a fantastic wee video diary he’s put together from that trip…
Read Mike’s original article here Brocard: A French Adventure. You can also see more of his articles and videos on his website www.underthesurface.co.uk, well worth checking out!
An updated venue video for Mas Bas Main Lake has been well overdue! We visited early October for four days of fishing and filming.
Bridget managed two forties in an hours early morning fishing on the second day, you’ll see all this and more in the video.
Like what you see? For more information on Mas Bas Main Lake follow the link – Fishing Holidays
An updated venue video for Lotus Lake has been well overdue! Excellent accommodation, swimming pool, specimen carp fishing – you can’t help but fall in love with this venue. We visited early October for four days of fishing and filming…
The pretty Lotus Lake is the smaller of the 2 lakes on the complex and holds around 110 hard fighting carp up to 45lb. The lake also offers, Koi, tench, zander, pike, bream and black bass. The lakeside cottage can sleep up to 7 and the lake will accommodate two anglers.
Like what you see? For more information on Lotus Lake follow the link – Fishing Holidays
This video documents a carp fishing trip to Boux made by three of the Angling Lines team – David Keep, Jim Kelly and Paul Cooper. Boux is a French carp lake that’s had a first class reputation for big carp since the 80’s. Our trip ended with a total result of 26 carp including 4 x 40’s.
We caught some of this action on film and you can see the highlights below;
Boux is a 14 acre lake available for exclusive bookings for up to 5 anglers. For more information follow the link – Carp Fishing in France
We built quite a collection of videos from our carp fishing trips to the lakes in the past 12 months, here’s our top 5…
1. Carl & Alex go to Holly Pools
We sent Carl and Alex to Holly Pools this April for a week carp fishing in France at a totally private complex of three shady lakes surrounding a gite. Their film is a lot of fun and well worth a watch…
2. The Big Stocking at Brie
Back in January Brie received some pretty impressive carp, part of a top-up stocking that consisted of 3 x forties, 1 x mid-fifty and 2 x fifty pound grass carp. We were there to get it all on film and the big common at the end is truly stunning.
3. A Trip to Molyneux
David and Heather escape the Angling Lines office for a week in June to travel out to the beautiful Molyneux in pursuit of carp, here’s a glimpse of their time there.
4. The Beaurepaire Inflight
We filmed ‘Inflights’ at almost all our lakes last August – this was a set of short videos designed to give you a real taster of each venue’s layout and lake features. Here’s Beaurepaires Inflight, the day was sunny with very little wind, which made getting those steady shots MUCH easier…
5. A 50lb’er at Nautica
Short but sweet, this customer filmed clip shows just how big these 50lb+ carp are!
Two of us recently escaped the office for a week to travel out to Molyneux, a beautiful tree lined lake of 13 acres situated in rural Normandy.
David only fished up to Thursday but had 12 carp & 2 cats. 5 of the carp were 30’s (largest 33.05)and the others all averaged around 25lb, so a good average size. Wally & Helen were fantastic hosts as always and we had a thoroughly enjoyable week. We took the opportunity to film some of our experience and below is the result…
For more information on Molyneux follow the link – Carp Fishing in France
Paul Cooper and Jim Kelly spent a week carp fishing at Castle Lake in March, on the quest for big carp. They kept a video diary along the way, which you can watch below.
We’ll have an article up shortly and you can see the full catch reports here.
For more information on Castle Lake follow the link – Fishing France
There are lots of objects that we either wear as jewellery or that form part of our clothing that are potentially a threat to a fish whilst it is in our care.
What do I mean by ‘in our care’? As soon as a fish is netted we are now responsible for its well-being before it is returned safely back to the water. During a fishing session, nets can easily get torn or develop holes from debris in the margins, branches and even from the fins of a carp. It is important to check and maintain the net during a session to ensure that if a hole develops, it gets fixed immediately, repaired with fishing line or a piece of braid and the prospect of replaced the net at some stage in the near future.
I have talked about the dangers of old tatty weigh slings and unhooking mats and how to treat injuries to fish in the past, but what about our everyday clothing and jewelry. I personally do not wear any, but lots of anglers do, such as bracelets, rings and neck-chains. All these items are a potential hazard that can damage fins, skin or the eyes of a carp.
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For years I always owned and wore a watch, no other jewellery, just a watch. For as long as I can remember one of the things that I always did was to remove the watch as soon as a fish was in the net. Countless times I have spent hours searching for my watch, as I would just remove it and chuck it down somewhere in the under growth. I never learnt, just kept on losing the damn thing. If I was the owner of other smaller jewellery items I would still be searching now for them.
So what is the answer? Before a fishing session remove your jewellery and leave them in the car. Now I rarely wear watches as I have my mobile phone that I use for the time etc, so that danger has been superseded.
Long finger nails can also be a hazard, zips on coats and in fact on any outer garments. The list goes on. All that we can do is reduce the risks as best as we can, so the next time that you are out on the bank, think before you fish and remove potential sharp objects from your body, of course not forgetting to always have the unhooking mat placed on a soft piece of ground to create that extra cushioned effect.
Paul Cooper
In this video series Mark details his winter carp fishing campaign at Villefond. This week Mark catches a previously unknown 54lb carp.
Find out the tactics employed on this mature big fish water right from the person that knows it best. If you missed part 1 & 2, you can find them here.
For more information on Villefond follow the link – Carp Fishing in France
Our Webcast brings you carp fishing video news every month from our 36 French carp lakes.
This edition features a round-up of winter success on multiple waters, special early season offers, plus nettings & stockings at a number of lakes.
Tiger Nuts have been used by anglers for many years and are one of the most well known baits for fishing.
Join Hinders experts Kev Hewitt and Bryan Jarrett as they go through a step by step guide on how to safely prepare Tiger Nuts as well as sharing their top tips on using this particle bait to great effect…
Our Webcast brings you carp fishing video news every month from our 36 French carp lakes. This edition brings you a round up of the first 50lb+ fish to be caught this year, and over a dozen seriously impressive 50lb+ carp being stocked in to the Bachelier lakes.
The Bacheliers have stocked an additional 30 carp in to Brocard Large this January. Six of these are forties and fifties, you’ll be able to spot them in the video!
For more information on Brocard Large follow the link – Carp Fishing France
Another of our resurrected winter carping posts, today’s is 9 top tips on choosing your cold weather carp fishing bait.
1. Easily digested – the quicker it’s digested the sooner the carp need to eat again.
2. Low flavour level (that will surprise some!) – if I am presenting baits where I know the carp to be then I don’t need high flavour content. I have watched fish move from an area away from heavily flavoured baits when they don’t want to feed. They will tolerate low level flavoured baits being in the swim though and eat them when ready.
3. Soluble ingredients – to assist the leach of the natural subtle attractors.
4. Minimal fat/oil content – they struggle to digest fat in the cold weather which can make them ill and certainly makes it a longer period of time before they need to eat again.
5. Subtle colour if the bird life is troublesome – speaks for itself but I prefer subtle baits when everyone else is using ‘in your face baits’.
6. Food content instead of simple flavour carrier ingredients – if the bait has been out for a couple of days before the carp are inclined to feed or indeed come across the bait I want a food parcel awaiting them – not a washed out bit of pasta!
7. Essential Oil(s) – retain taste in the bait if not picked up early in the session.
8. Easily obtained – no good getting a bait going that you can’t get hold of easily.
9. Matching add–ons – I like to be able to get matching pop-ups, pellets and the like.
Hope this helps!
Shaun Harrison, Quest Baits
