One of our regulars on the lake this week and what a fantastic result, he got everything he asked for:
17 Big Carp to 72lb
Richard and Lucy have been before and have had some great results so he knew exactly where he wanted to start and what he was going to do, but once again the best made plans do not always go accordingly.
Richard just wanted to relax, enjoy a week away from work with a bit of fishing, just a few fish would do, and if they happened to be on the bigger side then that would have been the icing on his cake.
There was no need for a guided tour as Richard has seen it all before, he was going back to his favourite swim, number 5, and his baiting strategy was already decided, HEAVY.
The weather forecast was good, fresh mornings, hot days with just enough thunder and lightening thrown in to the mix to remind us all that a good storm was always a possibility, thankfully the rain amounted to nothing more than an occasional shower.
Sunday morning arrived and there had been no activity through the night and it quickly became apparent that all of the fish were down in the shallows of swims 2 and 3. Knowing that the priority was to locate the fish he made an instant decision and he was off, straight down to swim 3, from there he could cover swims 2, 3 and 4 as required.
Once he had set up he started baiting his spots and by early evening he was in to his first fish, a 51lb Mirror, that qualified as “on the bigger side” even for Richard. It is worth commenting at this point that he rounds his weights down to the nearest whole pound.
He could see the fish everywhere and on Monday he had a bit of a crazy day which comprised a 30lb Common, 3 x 40lb Mirrors, and a 72lb Mirror which reset the lake record.
By Tuesday the main shoal of fish were drifting away towards swim 4 and he only found one more but there were enough fish in swim 3 to keep him there.
Wednesday produced another 3 but the fish were definitely on the move and swim 5 was coming alive, the problem was he was torn as he could watch the fish move away but at the same time he was still catching, and that incude a fine specimen of a Grassie at 47lb:
Thursday morning and the decision was made, move again, back up to his favourite swim, number 5.
It meant that he was going to have to start baiting his spots all over again but he knew the fish were there and having limited time remaining he had to get some bait in fast.
It paid off and by Thursday evening he had found himself a very nice 42lb Common:
By Friday he was back in amongst the action with another 3 in the bag and that included this stunning Mirror at 62lb:
He was still on the fish on Saturday morning with fish at 3am and 5am and his last one at 8am as he was packing up for the week.
What a session !!!! I reckon he would have happily stayed for another week if I had let him.
But all good sessions have to come to an end and his final tally was:
Zero Babies, Zero Doubles, 1 @ 27lb, 1 @ 30lb, 1 @ 32lb, 4 @ 35lb, 3 @ 40lb, 2 @ 42lb, 1 @ 45lb, 1 @ 47lb, 1 @ 51lb, 1 @ 62lb, and a new lake record at 72lb.
These Guys are back again in 2024, I wonder where Richard will want to make a start ??
We are closed now for the last 2 weeks of R&R for the fish, and I reckon they have earnt their time off, there will obviously not be a catch report next weekend
We have family coming over and hopefully they will babysit the place giving Me and Helen the time to shoot off down to the Costa-Brava for a bit of a chill. We have found a very nice 5star hotel on the sea front, it is quiet season, the weather forecast is good and I am looking forward to some nice food, good wine, and a good book.
I will of course let you know how that plan works out.
Till then, take care.
Le Moulin de Graffeuil 