Tackling Big French Carp Lakes – Finding Features

How confident are you about fishing a 3 acre lake, or maybe a 4 acre lake or even a 10 acre lake? Most anglers would say that they’d know the features to bait up to:- snags, overhanging trees, island margins, the edge of weed beds to name but a few. Now lets increase the size of […]

Top 5 Tips To Get The Cheapest Ferry Crossing

Here’s our top 5  tips on getting the best value out of your ferry crossing… It’s cheaper to take a car and trailer than 2 cars A minibus doesn’t cost much more than a car Booking additional height (above 1.7m) costs very little more.  But it must be booked in advance so if your bedchairs etc. will […]

5 Things To Avoid When Driving In France

Five simple things to avoid; 1. Paris at rush hours – Rush hour is normally 8:00-10:00am &  5:00-8:00pm 2. Tolls –  Can be expensive. Check out which route is best using Viamichelin 3. Drinking – France’s drink driving laws are fiercer than our own; 0.5 mg per ml as opposed to 0.8 mg per ml in […]

A Beginners Guide To: Carp Fishing in France

Every year hundreds of British anglers invade France in search of those monster carp. With literally hundreds of lakes to choose from, it seems that more and more Brits are traveling to France in the hope of smashing their PB’s.  A week seems to be the average length of time that an angler would spend […]

My thoughts on ten years carp fishing in France

I’m sure it’s a familiar story, two friends start fishing together as teenagers. The quick evening sessions floating bread for ten pounders and then scarpering before having to pay the bailiff three quid. The joys of fitting two peoples worth of gear into a mark two Fiesta with room to spare.  The sleepless nights when i […]

The Importance of Having a European Health Insurance Card

Anthony Brown fishing the week of 6th July here at Genets discovered just how important it is to have a current European Health Insurance Card (EHIC ) with you when fishing in France. On Wednesday morning while threading a dumbbell boilie with a long barbed baiting needle the needle went into the end of his finger, […]

Bletiere – A Spring Time Approach

It’s that tim­­­­­­­e of year again when we start dreaming of our summer holidays in France.  The days are starting to draw out and it’s time to start dusting down the rods and think about planning our trips.  I have been to La Bletiere four times over the last four years and have booked a […]

French Carping from the Start – Part 3

Part 1, Part 2 Angling Lines have asked me to put together an itinerary of the tackle that I use for my carp fishing in France, and to talk about tackle in general for the angler just setting off for his or her first French carp fishing adventure. In part 1 I covered the most essential parts […]

Buying Particle Baits in France

Translation to help with particle baits… Most Angling Lines venues will be happy to prepare particles for you and then have them waiting for you when you arrive, as I do here at Bletiere.  but  if your booked venue doesn’t offer this service then this will help you buy particle baits in the shops over […]

French Carping from the Start – Part 2

Part 1, Part 3 Angling Lines have asked me to put together an itinerary of the tackle that I use for my carp fishing in France, and to talk about tackle in general for the angler just setting off for his or her first French carp fishing adventure. In part 1 I covered the most essential parts […]

French Carping from the Start – Part 1

Part 2, Part 3 I have been asked by the management at Angling Lines to put together a few blogs which contain sufficient information to assist new and existing customers, in their quest for carp in France. In these blogs I will suggest what I would list as the most appropriate tackle for the job in […]

Choosing a French Carp Venue

There are so many options available but if you want to get a quick start then consider these simple questions… Size of carp? Ask yourself realistically what size of carp would you be happy to catch?  Of course we all want to catch 60’s eventually, but if your UK pb is 23lb surely a lake […]

Research, research… it pays off!

I often get ask by anglers when they arrive what are the best tactics to use, what bait catches the most, what fish are in the lake and all the other information we anglers like to know.   But of course once you are here it’s too late to pack that extra rod or bring that […]

Preparing For A Carp Session – Vacuum Packing Food & Bait (Part 5)

Are you preparing for a carp fishing trip to France in 2012? Via a series of Blog posts & a video diary Paul Cooper will take you through his preparation routine for a trip to Blue Lake. Part 1 is here – https://youtu.be/k4U6stV_utQ Part 2 is here – https://youtu.be/EDqwU1oEXrk Part 3 is here – https://youtu.be/rQCoZ0b2i2g Part 4 is […]

Recycling in France – How You Can Help Carp Lake Owners

One of the big differences you find when you move to Europe is the high level of recycling that you have to do without choice.  It’s very strictly controlled here in France, which of course in the long term is a good thing for us all. Over the last year they have been rolling out […]

Preparing for a 2012 Carp Session on Blue Lake (Pt 1)

Are you preparing for a carp fishing trip to France in 2012? Via a series of Blog posts & a video diary Paul Cooper will take you through his preparation routine. Blue Lake (Part 1) Blue lake in the summer of 2011 I have been travelling over to France with Angling Lines for over 10 years […]