Our guests on Kingfisher this week have been before – in fact this is Paul’s 6th visit to our lakes so he knows us and knows the fish. Last August the group were on Kingfisher at the same time as Chris and Liam on Lac Lucie and it was a bad week with temperatures hitting 40°C and low oxygen levels in the lakes. Lac Lucie suffered the most and Paul was kind enough to let Liam fish with them. This year both families decided to come at the very start of the season, where temperatures were almost the opposite – with a low of under 1°C on the first night. But they are all hardened anglers and do not really want to leave the lake at all over the week, which bought them some great results.
Arriving around mid-day in some rain, they unhooked the trailer and went off to the supermarket to stock up, mainly on camembert, before heading back to the lake to get set up. With the two new huts now in place there was a bit of a discussion as to who was going where. Historically Michael has been in swim 3 but with Thomas having his birthday this week, and being the youngest in the family, he laid claim to the new hut on swim 3, with Paul in swim 2 to keep an eye on him, Dave in the house swim and Michael and Oliver on the dam wall in swims 5 and 6. This did not leave a great deal of water between Oliver, Michael and Dave but they were happy where they were. Oliver was desperate for a catfish, so much so that he set one rod up with chicken on – just for the cats.
Thomas – swim 3
As they were setting up, Thomas threw a rod in the middle, in the hope that something would take his bait. Within a few minutes he was shouting to the others that he had a fish on, but no one heard him until he nearly had it at the net. Imagine his delight, and Oliver’s despair when he landed a 76lb catfish, without even trying and just a boilie on the end of his line. A new PB catfish for him and a great start to his week.
And so the competition started. By the end of Sunday Thomas had landed 5 carp as well as the catfish and as previous visits was way ahead of everyone with numbers caught.
And it continued throughout the week with fish ending up on the bank during the day and night and Thomas ending the week with 14 carp in total – beating all the others by at least 6. These are some of his photos.
Paul – swim 2
Paul has always had the house swim when he has fished this lake previously but the new hut on swim 2 tempted him way too much and along with his AstroTurf, made himself comfortable with his bed looking out over the lake. Historically he has also always been the last to catch anything, usually making it til Thursday before he lands anything but this time he was off the mark by the time we went round to see them on Sunday morning with a lovely 48lb common
He ended the week with 8 carp on the bank in total and you have to agree that is is a cracking photo of a stunning mirror with the morning mist on the lake.
House swim 1 – Dave
Maybe it is the swim that is always slow to switch on, rather than Paul as it was Dave who was the last to land a fish this week, having to wait until Tuesday before one was on the bank. But whilst most of the others will all fish 24/7 given the chance Dave was a bit more laid back about it all, enjoying the peace and quiet and being away form everyday life as much as the fishing. He was also the one sweeping the chalet out most days when we went round there so he did have some other responsibilities also! He ended the week with 3 or 4 carp he thinks, including a 33lb mirror and these are the photos we have.
Swim 5 – Michael
Michael is Thomas and Oliver’s cousin and this was his 3rd trip to Kingfisher lake, usually ending up in swim 3 but this time setting up on the dam wall with Oliver. He started the week well with a 38lb mirror on the Saturday evening.
But unfortunately only ended up with two more on the bank for the rest of the week. This had to win the photo of the week though with a stunning sunset behind him, and a lovely 42lb common and a new PB.
Swim 6 – Oliver
As we said before Oliver had come for a catfish this time, not that he was adverse to the carp but all of his efforts went into trying to get a catfish. He knew that they like to hang around in the deeper part of the lake near the dam wall so that is why he wanted to fish from there. He had set his rig up on one rod with some chicken and adapted this over the week, hoping that patience would pay off. By Tuesday he had had 3 carp on the bank, a 38lb common, a 33lb common and a 30lb mirror so was still catching but he was determined to get a catfish.
It was Wednesday afternoon before his patience paid off. With everyone around him he managed to play the catfish and keep it on his line for a good 45 minutes, getting it right to the net. But we all know they are tricky to get into the net when they are big and between them the fish kept on sliding out. Determined he was going to land it, brave Oliver got into the water, even though it is only April and still very cold and got the cat onto the bank. Soaking wet and freezing cold he was still jubilant and was thrilled that it was 78lb, 2lb heavier than his brothers and a new PB for him too.
A summary of their week, based on the information we have, 35 fish on the bank in total, including zero babies, 1 at 10lb+, 5 at 20lb+, 11 at 30lb+, 4 at 40lb+ and 3 catfish up to 78lb.
So another great week for this family who have been here every year that we have been and in all weathers. We have enjoyed spending time with them again and sharing in their trials and tribulations and hope to see them again someday. Until then bonne journée et à bientôt….