Whilst we provide a variety of information at the lake, I thought it may be useful to provide some tips on fishing the lake on the blog as well. These fishing notes are essentially a copy of what we provide to anglers who are new to the lake. It hopefully gives a bit of background information and helps with confidence on the first visit to the lake. More detail on the specific swims is provided in the separate blog posts.
The Lake
The lake is approximately 3.75 acres in size, approximately 180m long and 50-60m wide. The depths range from approximately 1m at the shallow northern end and 3.5m at the deeper southern end.
Most of the fishing is from the western bank which is where the bivvies are set up. This is shallow at the western margin and then deepens away with the eastern bank being steep sided and with deep water. There is a shallow drop off 10-15m off the western bank.
A lot of the lake bed comprises of shallow silt. There are, however, harder patches to be found. The eastern bank has hard ground for approximately 5m before joining the silt. There is some rock along the western bank. We have a rowing boat and there are merits in having a row around the lake with a pole to get a feel for the lake bed and to identify different spots. You can also use a marker rod if you prefer.
Main features on the lake include the base of the dam wall. This is approximately 5m off the wall with the water quickly deepening from 1m to 2-3m. The eastern bank also drops off very sharply and has a sharp boundary between hard and soft ground. There are also lots of overhanging trees, some of which lie horizontal within the water and which always hold a few and sometimes a lot of fish. The near bank drop off is also a feature which is used by the fish and yet is rarely fished. The ‘chimney’ which controls the water level in the north-west corner is also an obvious feature and fish are always to be found around this. In the central parts of the lake the old stream bed, whilst not obvious, is another feeding hotspot with several regularly used areas particularly opposite Swim 2.
There are also undoubtedly food hotspots within the main part of the lake. These are most probably associated with the densest bloodworm beds or with some other food source such as swan mussels. The fish will show themselves in these areas with feeding bubbles or as clouds of silt which are sometimes visible at the shallower end of the lake. When we drained the lake there were numerous hollows which had been excavated by feeding carp. These were particularly evident in the shallow south-western corner.
The lake is not a runs water but with good conditions and tactics good catches are possible. There are approximately 120 carp which tend to average around the 30lb mark although are increasing in size. Our larger ‘Royal’ and ‘Galician’ strain carp probably now average over 35lbs but with some smaller original French fish this brings the average down to nearer the 30lb mark. There is, however, a very good head of 35lb+ fish with quite a few 40’s and some 50’s. We also have 2 Grass Carp, one of which is mid-30’s and the other low-40’s when last caught in 2020. Whilst we have removed a number of catfish, we have a small number left, one of which is 100lb+, a second 75lb+ and back-up fish in the 20-50lbs category.
As a relatively small water, good watercraft is essential. It is important to keep quiet around the lake, to hide lines and rigs and to rest swims for periods. From my own observations, without this effort, the fish certainly become aware that they are being fished for and can quickly become difficult to catch.
Whilst there are certain areas which the fish seem to favour, they move around the lake a lot and probably much more than we are aware of. An example of this from a couple of seasons ago was from an angler fishing the lake on his own who caught a mid-40 on sweetcorn from the shallow northern end. In the net the fish passed the tell-tale residue from our boilies. These had only been put in by the angler in one area of deeper water at the opposite end of the lake.
Bait
The lake has an amazing density of natural food, particularly bloodworm. Quality bait is therefore essential, particularly for the larger fish. We stock fresh frozen boilies supplied by Union Jack Baits which is based at the Priory Lakes fishery to the north of Limoges. Priory Lakes has one of the best carp stocks in France with a genuine average size of fish which exceeds 45lbs. Their baits are of the very highest quality and contain no artificial preservatives, colours or flavourings. They supply several other leading French carp fisheries and are now the only bait which we allow on the lake. At present we offer Salmon and Garlic, Enervite Gold/Coconut and Crab X.
Whilst I usually use boilies straight from the bag as hookbaits, it is worth bringing some hookbaits with you. These are a personal preference but anglers have caught on various hookbaits. These include a wide variety of flavours and colours of pop-ups, wafters or bottom baits fished either singly or as part a snowman presentation.
Pellets are also effective. This is both as a loose feed with boilies fished over the top or also with pellets as a hookbait. Our pellets are also supplied via Priory Lakes and are the highest quality. Some anglers have had particular success with artificial pellets. The plastic pellets that Enterprise Tackle produce are excellent and are available in sinking and floating baits.
The lake can also fish well to alternative baits. Particles can be very good, particularly Maize or Sweetcorn. We have some very good catches particularly when fished over large beds of carpet feed. Fish can be caught on Sweetcorn straight from the tin or with plastic maize/corn (or a combination of both).
Bait Application
I would recommend applying bait slowly at first. However strong the urge to get fishing, a good approach on Day 1 is to take your time. Arrive with an open mind and lots of ideas but not with a preconceived plan. A good approach is to take your time to pick your initial spots so that you are confident they are what you want and then set three traps each with a small amount of free offerings and fish for bite at a time. During this period you can be watching the lake for signs of feeding fish and be developing your strategy for the rest of the trip. A small spomb, stringer, mesh or solid bag, part filled bait boat or catapulted bait are all that I would recommend initially. Fish accurately and know where these spots are as it is entirely possible that you may get fish from the off and that these become the feeding areas for the week. Once you start to get fish, you can keep topping up the spots and building up the swim. There are occasions when you will find that this will involve a lot of boilies and this tactic can certainly work very well at times. However, the bait can’t be taken out of the lake which is why I would recommend to build it up slowly. If there are a group of you then fish as a team. Each of you try slightly different tactics and bait, at least for the first day, until you get onto what is working.
As a fairly small lake where the fish move around a lot, making the bait more attractive is always well worth considering. This can be sight or smell/taste or both. There are a variety of excellent bait soaks available that will help further. You will probably have your own favourites. Also don’t ignore the most simple. My largest fish from the lake to date (52lb 2oz) was caught on a single Salmon/Garlic boilie soaked in hemp oil.
An alternative baiting approach is to fish over a spread of boilies. At the start, something like 1-2kg spread over an area approximately 40m x 40m is a good starting point. This is a tactic that I use a lot and can be very successful at times. Once the fish are feeding it is important to keep topping up the area, preferably with a rest period.
Bait Boats
These can be an advantage although are not essential and I never use them. Certainly, if fishing to tight spots along the far bank of the lake a bait boat is necessary. The overhanging trees on this bank make it very difficult to cast baits to these areas and impossible to put baits under trees. When fishing away from the far bank trees, a boat is not really necessary.
When using the bait boat, it is worth considering doing something a little different, for example, taking the bait to a far bank spot and then spreading a wider pattern of free offerings by hand from the bank can provide something different than the denser pattern of bait which is delivered by a bait boat.
We also have a rowing boat which can be used to put baits in tight spots by those not using a bait boat.
Rigs
We would recommend keeping these as simple as possible. Our fish get caught on many different rigs. However, there is no need to use overly complicated rigs. The majority of my fish have been caught on bottom baits fished on a simple rig made with soft braid. ESP Camolink and Kryston Supa-Nova are both excellent soft braids although there are undoubtedly others. Whilst I tend to hold the hair in place opposite the point with micro rig tubing, the blow back rig is also an excellent rig which works very well.
Coated braids also work and it is always best to fish with a rig that you have caught on before and made with the materials that you have confidence in.
Whether you fish your boilies as a bottom bait, snowman or pop-up is really up to you. All work. I have had the majority of my fish on single bottom baits but then other anglers have done well on double bottom baits, snowmen (either sitting up or ‘dead’) or pop-ups. There is some leaf litter in parts of the lake, especially early season as so some may feel more confident with a popped-up bait. However, it is perfectly possible to use bottom baits in these areas – just use a nugget and/or mesh bag over the hookbait, feel the lead down and tighten slowly without shifting the lead.
With regard to the length of rig, this can be important. The majority of rigs that I use are 15-20cm long. This length seems to work well although if you find that you are getting indications that are not developing into runs or hooked fish then initially try lengthening or shortening the rig first. My initial recommendation would be to lengthen it.
When designing your rigs, it is important to think about the fish and how they may take the bait. Many of our large carp don’t give screaming runs. Often the initial indications are just a series of beeps on the alarm before the fish moves off. I think that they are basically staying in the same position and shaking their heads to get the rid of the hook rather than immediately bolting. It is therefore very important to fish with aggressive rigs either using a line aligner or shrink tubing.
Leads are also important and it is best to bring a selection with you to cover the different lake bottoms as appropriate. Most of my fishing is done with light leads typically around 1.5oz or 2oz. These are usually of the pear swivel type or flat pear in line although this is just a personal preference. I tend to cast and I think that these will sit in the silt without being buried. An alternative lead that you may want to take a look at is the Fox Paste Bombs. These are excellent in enabling paste or similar to be moulded onto the lead thereby adding more attraction around the hookbait. A couple of our anglers have also used the Angletec Lead Systems which are well worth checking out.
Whether you fish the rig semi-fixed or running is a personal preference. Most anglers fish with semi-fixed rigs. Again, if indications are not developing into runs then it is worth changing.
We insist on a minimum of 60cm of rig tubing although I often use up to 1m. Whilst this is primarily to provide adequate protection to a carp which turns on the line during the fight, it also helps to keep everything pinned to the bottom and hidden. My personal favourite is the Korda tungsten tubing is very good and sinks like a stone. The silt colour is probably the best option for our lake.
Hooks
Hooks are also personal preference but our fish are large and so there is little point in going too small, particularly if using double baits or snowmen presentations. Most of my own fishing is done with Korda Kurv Shank B in Size 4 or 6 or Korda Wide Gape B in Size 6. Both are excellent hooks and as long as you keep a tight line when playing a fish they will only very rarely fall off. When fishing particles I will go down to Size 8 in the same pattern. The more recent Korda Krank B’s are also an excellent hook. There are other similar and very good hooks, particularly those produced by Nash.
If you have not used barbless hooks before there is nothing to worry about. When I first bought the lake and fished regularly, I had a run of 52 fish landed with one loss. The key is to follow a few simple rules. In particular, never bully a fish (with the exception of the chimney, the lake has no major snags and so there is no reason to put excessive pressure on a fish). Keep a tight but not too tight a line throughout the fight. Some anglers have a tendency to lift and drop the rod when playing a fish. Every time the pressure is taken off, there is a risk that the barbless hook will come out. I also believe that this action can enlarge the hole that the hook is in. I would also always advocate trusting the clutch as opposed to backwinding. The clutches on modern reels such as the Shimano Baitrunner range are superb and will never let you down. This also helps in maintaining a constant pressure on the fish which is not always possible when not using the clutch.
Other Tactics
Fish accurately. Whilst this is easy to do when fishing to the obvious far bank or other features it is less so when fishing in the main part of the lake. If you are fishing to a harder area within the silt then it is important that you know exactly where this is and that you can keep casting baits and free offerings to this area. It is therefore worth clipping lines and measuring the number of wraps to these features. Allow a small amount of extra line on the baited rod (2-3ft is usually about right on our lake with the distances and depths involved) and simply cast to the clip and the bait will be exactly over the baited area. It is surprising how few anglers do this and it is certainly well worth the effort. It is virtually impossible to fish accurately in open water simply by eye, even with a bait boat.
Hiding the line is very important. I typically fish with monofilament and use both a flying back lead and a back lead. Whilst, I’ve seen some articles suggesting that this affects bite detection, I’ve seen no evidence of this. The alternative is to fish a slack line with one of the sinking monofilaments that are available or to use a fluorocarbon. All work and it is therefore best to use what you are confident in. One point to consider is that I have noticed that fluorocarbon does have a tendency to pick up silt and that this can make it more visible. It is therefore important to ensure that it is regularly cleaned by winding it through a clean damp cloth.
Other Methods
Stalking can be a very good tactic. The fish come very close in to the shallows and also along the dam wall. It is easy to apply a few patches of bait at the start of the day and then keep checking these for signs of feeding fish. It’s certainly a good way to spend a few hours as the fish are usually very visible – also at the same time it’s giving your main spots a rest. If doing this, please make sure that the other rules regarding tubing are maintained. One of our 40lb Commons sustained some bad damage to its tail wrist which we assumed was caused by someone using just mono, probably float fished. I tend to just fish with my standard rigs. If you get some fish feeding, the best approach is to feed some more which will usually temporarily scare them away whilst you get your rig in position. By the time they return, the trap will have been set.
Finally – Rest the Lake
Without doubt the most important piece of advice I could give to anyone is to keep the lines out of the water for periods during the holiday. In the UK we fish short sessions in what spare time we have and we want to be fishing all of the time. In France we are fishing for a week, for big fish that see a certain amount of pressure, often from very good anglers. I have no doubt that the fish know when they are being fished for and the more that we can confuse them the better. The best way to do this is to give the fish periods to feed when there are no lines in the water. I don’t think it really matters when as long as you rest the lake.
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