We first met Sean and Mike last June on our Kingfisher lake where they managed to land 5 carp and 8 catfish over the week, only fishing days. It was a hot week when they were here so they decided that they would fish on Lac Lucie this year in September when hopefully the weather would be cooler and it would be easier for them.
As you know we have had a very hot summer here this year, as in the UK, and the weather did not look as if it was going to cool down much during September either, and we had no rain in the forecast for their holiday. Temperatures were still up to the late 20°C and low 30°C all week with cooler night temperatures of below 10°C so they had come prepared with plenty of layers so they could be down by the lake before the sun rose and apart from meal times have the whole day down there until nightfall around 9pm.
Nigel picked the pair up from the airport on Saturday lunchtime and they made their way back here with a quick stop off at the supermarket and Jo and Maisie greeted them on their arrival. After a quick look round the lake they got themselves unpacked and their things down by the lake before tea.
Sean uses crutches to help him get about so we were a bit concerned about the steepness of the hill on Lac Lucie and how it can be tiring just walking up and down it. We decided the best option was to let him use our lawnmower to help, so that he could reduce the risk of falling, and save his energy for the fishing. For this he was very appreciative.
There were no fish out on Saturday and they got up and down to the lake for a short session before breakfast on Sunday morning and Sean managed to get the first fish of the week around 6am, a 23lb 1oz mirror so they were happy that they were off the mark.
Mike went on to have 3 on Sunday, a 24lb 3oz mirror, a 26lb 13oz common and just before they pulled their rods in for tea a 16lb 13oz mirror. Not a bad first days fishing.
Monday was fairly quiet with only one carp on the bank for Mike, again just before tea. A mirror weighing 22lb 13oz. Sadly there was nothing for Sean.
They enjoyed their time sat by the bank, just waiting for their bobbins to twitch and Mike was always ready to jump up and leap into action, helping Sean to land the fish and get them weighed and take any photos as needed.
Tuesday saw a fish for each of them, a small common for Mike at 13lb 10oz and Sean ended the day with a 29lb 13oz mirror and what turned out to be the biggest fish of the week. Where have all the 30lb+ and 40lb+ gone this week?
Wednesday turned out to be the most active day of the week with two on the bank for the pair, a 18lb 12oz mirror and 20lb 7oz common for Mike and a 27lb 2oz mirror and 17lb 14oz common for Sean which was netted just before breakfast.
The days were warm but the early mornings were chilly so they made sure they were well wrapped up when they were first up in the morning. With temperatures down to 9°C some mornings Sean had a double layer of coat on as well as his ‘cowboy’ long johns. By the time they came up for breakfast at 9.30am the sun was already getting warm and the coats came off. The dam wall side of the lake where they were fishing from stayed in the shade of most of the day but the last couple of hours they did get a bit warm.
Thursday was the 26lb club with a 26lb 9oz mirror for Mike and a 26lb 1oz common for Sean. There was always plenty of banter at tea time between the pair of them and we all enjoyed spending time with them. They actually named themselves Laurel and Hardy at some point during the week and we thought this was a fitting title for their catch report.
The last carp of the session was for Mike on Friday morning, a 22lb 11oz mirror just before breakfast. Sean had his second day with the ‘b’ word.
All of the fish were caught on a mix of maple syrup boilies and our own matching hook baits. The Fishing Points App did suggest that there would be a slow start to the week, with activity increasing as the week went on ready for the full moon on Saturday.
So Sean won the biggest fish of the week, Mike won the overall weight, Sean won 2 days and Mike 4 days so Mike went home £5 richer. The pair managed the whole holiday well and we were pleased to be able to make sure they had a great week. As they said in the chalet visitor logs ‘We will be back! It’s the perfect fishing experience’. And we will look forward to their next visit.
The final summary of the week was zero babies, 4 at 10lb+ and 10 at 20lb+. This was a good week for them as they were only using 3 rods between them and not fishing all day/night. We are sure we will see them again and until then bonne journée et à bientôt…
Here are a few of their photos from the week.
