{"id":20668,"date":"2014-07-12T03:48:59","date_gmt":"2014-07-12T02:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/?p=20668"},"modified":"2024-11-28T13:29:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T12:29:21","slug":"20668","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/20668\/","title":{"rendered":"The perfect getaway holiday \u2013 with big fish!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Anglers Mail editor Tim Knight recently spent a week at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/Mas-Bas-Main-Lake\/\" class=\"kblinker\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"More about Mas Bas &raquo;\">Mas Bas<\/a>, here&#8217;s his article following the trip&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">EVER tried finding and then enjoying a holiday where you get enough good fishing in, and the non-angler\/s with you are equally well catered for? It isn\u2019t always easy to get the balance right!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I can put my holidays into three categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fun times where hoped-for fishing did not happen\u2026 for whatever reason.<\/li>\n<li>Full-on fab fishing and beers with mates in Ireland, Denmark, Holland etc.<\/li>\n<li>Forgettable breaks, alright at the time but firmly at the back of the memory.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This spring I trawled the internet to find a perfect blend for a week away in late June, far from the crazy concrete city I work in and the lively seaside town I live in.<\/p>\n<p>Sun plus a pool or nearby coast would be vital for the missus. Fishing \u2013 quality fish and nobody else around, for me. A few local places of interest and places to eat would be handy so we felt we\u2019d been abroad!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20708\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20708\" class=\"wp-image-20708\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/large_tim_41-4.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas Family Carp Fishing Holiday with accommodation\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/large_tim_41-4.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/large_tim_41-4-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/large_tim_41-4-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20708\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Tim Knight with a 41-pounder caught during a stunning sunset at Mas Bas<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Angler\u2019s Mail \u2013 the magazine I edit &#8211; showcases all kinds of interesting locations, mainly in the UK, that offer tempting fishing breaks. But having independently booked cross-Channel trips to rural France several times, that was my first choice for this year\u2019s early-summer escape.<\/p>\n<p>Nothing opens when you expect in France \u2013 as regular visitors will know &#8211; but other than that the slow-paced country\u2019s a winner for most busy British anglers, if you ask me. Having travelled the world over the years, I\u2019ve grown to love France. It has hidden treasures that can keep you going back.<\/p>\n<p>After several evenings web-surfing I stumbled across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/Mas-Bas-Main-Lake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mas Bas<\/a>, 22<sup>rd\u00a0 <\/sup>of 35 venues listed alphabetically on the list of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/venues\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Angling Lines venues<\/a> and deeper down on the map due to its most southerly location. But if you demand sunshine, and my solar-powered other half certainly did, travelling a fair distance south is your safer bet.<\/p>\n<p>So\u2026 sun? Tick!<\/p>\n<p>Swimming pool? Tick \u2013 a real bonus!<\/p>\n<p>Quality fish and not just carp? Tick.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody else around? Tick\u2026 I saw you could get the main lake exclusively, and the venue\u2019s been low on bookings anyway for reasons I\u2019m not entirely sure of. I know the competitive French fishing holiday market has been slower since the recession hit angling.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20703\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20703\" class=\"wp-image-20703\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/house-with-pool-and-lake-reduced1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas carp fishing and accommodation in france\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/house-with-pool-and-lake-reduced1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/house-with-pool-and-lake-reduced1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/house-with-pool-and-lake-reduced1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/house-with-pool-and-lake-reduced1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20703\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Mas Bas &#8211;\u00a0house with pool and lake<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>And without a long boring holiday diary, to the week\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Aside from nearly crashing in a torrential deluge and at one of too many roundabouts (shouldn\u2019t have set the Sat Nav to \u2018Avoid toll roads\u2019), me and the other half thoroughly enjoyed a happy, relaxing escape.<\/p>\n<p>As with any foreign venue, it can help if you can have some basic communication with the owners when you arrive. In this case there were no worries \u2013 the farmer Gilles could not only speak decent English but he speaks the international language of angling too, and his equally welcoming partner Sharon hails from the East End of London.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20702\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20702\" class=\"wp-image-20702\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/gilles-and-sharon-reduced-file1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas Carp Fishing with accommodation in France\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/gilles-and-sharon-reduced-file1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/gilles-and-sharon-reduced-file1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/gilles-and-sharon-reduced-file1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/gilles-and-sharon-reduced-file1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20702\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Gilles and Sharon<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Of 34 chunky carp, almost half were the lake\u2019s \u2018original\u2019 commons, some of which were at Mas Bas when it was formerly a family restaurant with a swimming lake. A couple of grass carp, and a few other species including a zander, came by design too.<\/p>\n<p>My biggest mirrors, 41 lb 4 oz and 43 lb 13 oz, arrived early in the week &#8211; first in the evening and second when I re-started the next morning! Those proved to be the best times \u2013 breakfast and dinner time &#8211; as daytime temperatures soared to 35 Celsius. And with this being a trip with a partner who\u2019s no serious angler, I didn\u2019t fish all night, instead sleeping at sensible times, in a proper bed!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20701\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20701\" class=\"wp-image-20701\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/43-13-carp-reduced1-1024x697.jpg\" alt=\"Carp fishing in France at Mas Bas\" width=\"600\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/43-13-carp-reduced1-1024x697.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/43-13-carp-reduced1-150x102.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/43-13-carp-reduced1-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/43-13-carp-reduced1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20701\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">43-13 carp<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019m no ultracult carp angler, and rarely fish for bigger ones back home. Although my magazine\u2019s news pages show paint a different picture on a national and international scale, a mid-20 is actually still a big fish near where I live, so Mas Bas\u2019s average size was very satisfying.<\/p>\n<p>Most of my carp fell to Dynamite Baits\u2019 The Crave 20mm boilies with a regular scattering of boilies or pellets, with simple 3 oz leads on safety clips and standard carp gear.\u00a0 Nothing beyond what would catch on most English waters.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Mas Bas has bait available to buy at reasonable prices, and offers tackle hire &#8211; I was grateful to use owner Gilles\u2019 giant carp cradle and sturdy weighing tripod. He told me some anglers come gunned up with sonar and bait boats but to me, on an intimate water with depths from a foot to 7 ft, that\u2019s hardly necessary. But each to his or her own, I say.<\/p>\n<p>One of my early fish, just under 30 lb, took a scrap of boilie under a pole float with 5 lb line and size 14 down the edge \u2013 that arm-aching battle was a lesson to step up.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20704\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20704\" class=\"wp-image-20704\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/just-under-30-on-float-reduced-file1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas Carp Fishing Holidays in France\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/just-under-30-on-float-reduced-file1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/just-under-30-on-float-reduced-file1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/just-under-30-on-float-reduced-file1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/just-under-30-on-float-reduced-file1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20704\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Just under 30lb on float<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p>I even had a 36-pounder on raw French garlic!! Yes, a hair-rigged peeled single clove. I\u2019ve heard people suggest the magical powers of this stinky stuff, beyond a bit of garlic salt or oil in cheesepaste, so it was fun to prove it works.<\/p>\n<p>Given I was in a \u2018what the hell\u2019 holiday mood, I tried a hair-rigged prune off a tree too \u2013 they look just like 20mm boilies. It brought a run eventually, but the fish came off. Next time, eh?<\/p>\n<p>So this picturesque, well-run venue totally fitted the original holiday brief. Spot-on, and I\u2019m keen to return. Mas Bas suits couples as well as mixed groups and families too.<\/p>\n<p>Before this sounds like an advert, I did pay for my holiday. And I\u2019ll enjoy seeking my next one whenever that may be!<\/p>\n<h2>To go to\u00a0Mas Bas&#8217; venue page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/Mas-Bas-Main-Lake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click here<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/h2>\n<p><em><strong>Angler\u2019s Mail editor Tim Knight can be followed on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/timknightfish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@timknightfish<\/a> He also works on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anglersmail.co.uk\/\">www.anglersmail.co.uk<\/a> and Anglers Mail Facebook<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20705\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20705\" class=\"wp-image-20705\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/Missus-Marion-gets-the-BBQ-going-reduced1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas Carp fishing holidays \" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/Missus-Marion-gets-the-BBQ-going-reduced1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/Missus-Marion-gets-the-BBQ-going-reduced1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/Missus-Marion-gets-the-BBQ-going-reduced1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/Missus-Marion-gets-the-BBQ-going-reduced1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20705\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Missus Marion gets the BBQ going<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_20706\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20706\" class=\"wp-image-20706\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/mooching-round-smaller-Lotus-lake-reduced1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas carp fishing holidays with accommodation\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/mooching-round-smaller-Lotus-lake-reduced1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/mooching-round-smaller-Lotus-lake-reduced1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/mooching-round-smaller-Lotus-lake-reduced1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/mooching-round-smaller-Lotus-lake-reduced1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20706\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Mooching around smaller Lotus lake<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_20707\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20707\" class=\"wp-image-20707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/The-venue-has-2-friendly-cats-reduced1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Mas Bas carp fishing holidays in france\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/The-venue-has-2-friendly-cats-reduced1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/The-venue-has-2-friendly-cats-reduced1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/The-venue-has-2-friendly-cats-reduced1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/2014\/07\/The-venue-has-2-friendly-cats-reduced1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20707\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">The venue also has 2 friendly cats<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anglers Mail editor Tim Knight recently spent a week at Mas Bas, here&#8217;s his article following the trip&#8230; EVER tried finding and then enjoying a holiday where you get enough good fishing in, and the non-angler\/s with you are equally well catered for? It isn\u2019t always easy to get the balance right! I can put [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,190,1072,1071],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29077,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668\/revisions\/29077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglinglines.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}