Joining us on Lac Lucie this week was this lovely family from South Devon who made the journey across from Plymouth to Roscoff and then the long drive down to us, with their trailer packed with fishing gear. Catherine and Christopher brought their sons, Henry and Ted, and 5 month old puppy, Lara, for their first French carping experience.
Usually we find that it is the parents who have got their sons into carp fishing but Christopher is a sea fisherman and has had nothing to do with the boys discovering the carp. Apparently Ted was first to go fishing for carp with his friends and then Henry tagged along and they fell for it, hook, line and sinker. Catherine told us that they had been researching for their trip ever since it was booked, reading the catch reports and planning their trip.
They were soon unpacked and we went off down to the lake with Nigel talking them through where all the best spots were. The water level has been low for many weeks now and most of the fish have come from the deeper part of the lake, near to the monk valve in the stream of the aerators.
It was hot when this lovely family arrived, in the mid 30s and temperatures only dropped to 18°C overnight with a huge storm right overhead, and some much needed rain (23.7mm in the space of an hour). They slept in the chalet overnight and the two lads were down by the lake first thing on Sunday morning. Temperatures stayed over 30°C on Sunday so the storm had not had much impact on clearing the air.
On Sunday when we went to see them we found them set up on the dam wall, just by the monk valve with a table in front of their chairs and everything laid out and getting sorted. They were already off the mark, Henry had had a 14lb 5oz common the night before just after 9pm.
But that was it for a couple of days and by Monday morning the whole family was feeling a little despondent. The only one that seemed her bouncy playful self when we saw them was Lara, who was finding all sorts of things to chew on and chase and was desperate for Maisie to play with her. Those of you who know Maisie will be aware that she only has eyes for whoever is throwing the ball for her and would have a little grumble at Lara if she got too close. But who could resist this pretty face.
Nigel spent some time with the lads, advising them where to put the bait and their rigs and told them to be patient and to leave their lines in the water for several hours at a time and to have confidence in what they were doing. An hour or so later we heard some shouting, Henry had a fish on and he managed to get it to the bank, only to discover the net had a hole in it and the fish had swum right through and managed to get off before they had chance to get another net there. To say he was gutted is an understatement.
Nigel had also suggested that they moved up to the main bank and fished from their instead as the vibrations from people moving on the bank may well have disturbed the fish to a different part of the lake. So that is what they did and set up a day shelter and all of their gear with Henry fishing on the right of the lake and Ted to the left hand side.
However the lake remained very quiet for another 24 hours but Kingfisher was also very slow and Jo’s Fishing Points app said that fishing was not going to be great this week. Who knows why? So they opened up the box of golf darts they had brought with them and kept themselves amused playing that and making a fuss of Lara.
On Tuesday morning there was still no news of any fish. The family had spent the whole night down by the lake, in shifts and there had been plenty of signs of fish jumping but no bites. Nigel found them some more glug and some of our smaller Pallatrax hooks and we all crossed our fingers, not wanting to kill the passion and enthusiasm that these young anglers had.
At around midday Nigel saw one of them going down with a camera. Ted had managed to land a 20lb common, a new PB, from the left hand side of the lake near the reeds, using the Pallatrax hooks so they were sold on these. Just under an hour later Henry caught his second fish, a 30lb mirror, and a new PB, so they were both feeling way happier and impressed with the information that Nigel had given them. And they were all doing their bit to help. One going in the water with Christopher with the nets whilst the other playing it and Catherine helping by threading the rig tubing, a job even Nigel hates!
And this became the pattern for the next few days. Catherine described it in the visitors log as ‘Periods of high adrenaline and excitement as the boys worked together to land the fish combined with moments of calm in this beautiful tranquil setting’. In five separate cases, when one of them caught a fish the other one managed to land one within an hour, keeping the competition active between the pair of them throughout the week.
On Wednesday morning they all went out to the market at Piegut Pluviers and really enjoyed walking through the town. Christopher was invited to have a go on the barrel organ that is often there and loved engaging with the man playing with it. They bought a few gifts and enjoyed a coffee in the middle of it all. Even Lara had lots of people making a fuss of her but it was very tiring for such a young puppy and she decided just to lay down and not move in the middle of it.
The lads were straight back down to the lake when they got back and the lines in the water, with mum and dad providing all of the meals and refreshments all they had to do was fish. But it paid off and their spots were now doing well. Ted caught a 17lb 3oz common around 3pm and 45 minutes later Henry had a 23lb 7oz mirror.
Just when they were about to call it a night and head back to the chalet Henry’s alarms went off and he landed another new PB, a 32lb 3oz mirror around 11pm and so they waited for Ted’s turn, hopefully. And it happened. Ted beat his PB again half an hour later with, what ended up being the biggest fish of the week, a 35lb 5oz mirror.
By Thursday the temperatures had dropped by 10°C to the mid 20s so was a lot more comfortable for everyone and the fishing seemed to have improved. Thursday was a key day for Henry who was expecting his GCSE results. We waited until after lunch to go and see them and were delighted to hear that he had passed everything and got a place at Exeter college for September. Congratulations Henry!
There had been no fish in the morning but Nigel was round at the neighbours lake having a little dabble and heard them shouting around 4pm and he was right as Henry landed a 30lb 4oz common around 3.45pm and Ted followed at 4.40pm with a 28lb 1oz mirror and it was the fish he had been keeping an eye on in the catch reports, Nemo, who only has one pectoral fin so he was over the moon. Henry then finished the day with a 20lb common but there was no further one on Thursday for Ted.
Friday comes round too quickly but the lads were still down by the lake early in the morning and keen to get the rods in. We often find that by the end of the week younger anglers have got bored and their time by the bank has got less and less but Henry and Ted were making the most of this week and as keen on Friday as they had been on Sunday morning. We love to see the passion and enthusiasm in young people, wanting to be outdoors and catching fish.
It was just gone midday again when Henry caught the first carp of the session with a 27lb 4oz common from the dam wall swim. We were just coming back up from our morning visit and so stayed to watch and went round to take a photo of the whole family together. Again this was followed an hour later by one for Ted, another 27lb 4oz common.
However that was it for Ted as in the evening the fish seemed to have forgotten the rule about coming in in pairs and it was Henry who caught the last two fish of the session, a new PB mirror weighing 34lb 2oz and a smaller mirror at 25lb.
The final summary of what turned out to be a very productive week for these young lads at the start of their carp angling journey zero babies, 2 at 10lb+, 7 at 20lb+ and 5 at 30lb+. Henry had the most fish (9) but Ted caught the biggest at 35lb 5oz and also Nemo so all is fair. We would love to see this lovely family again someday and wish them a lovely second week holidaying in France. Until the next time bonne journée et à bientôt….