Four anglers on the lake this week for what was going to prove to be a challenging session, the end result was not fantastic but it was a 150% improvement on their last visit. Like all groups they would have liked to have found one or two more but in the end they had to settle for what is a very respectable catch :
17 Big Carp to 54lb
Although not massive in number The Boys did find some stonking fish and those 17 big carp weighed in at over 736lb with an average weight of over 43lb, I reckon that is a great session by most measures.
Ashley and his better half Jeanette were here for their first visit and Ashley was taking his lead from the other guys, Justin, Simon and Will who have been before. The Boys elected to draw for swims and the result of that was Simon in swim 2, Ashley in swim 3, Will in swim 5 and Justin in swim 6.
Little did The Boys know but they were going to have to contend with all sorts of challenges from the weather which would see some terrific swings in conditions from frosty lows through to tropical sunshine with temperatures in to the 30sC, freezing cold northerly winds through to balmy southerlies creating shirt-off sunbathing conditions. And although the weather has been dryer we have had several downpours which were full of ice.
The worst thing about this isn’t what the weather is doing it is the change in conditions, big carp do not cope well with change.
Just to set the scene we had a storm blow through on Friday night which resulted in this:
And that was followed on Saturday by the warmest ever recorded April day on record. It was going to be fun !!
Things were looking hopeful when Simon got the ball rolling at 9.30pm on Saturday evening with a gorgeous Mirror out of swim 2 that weighed in at 44lb 10oz, lovely.
Will found himself in to a 38lb Mirror at 9am on Sunday morning from swim 5.
A slow steady start which suggested great promise.
Despite the weather chucking all sorts down The Boys found another 5 on Monday and by now everyone had caught, that is what we like, no dry nets.
Tuesday saw another 5 on the bank and things were on for the first big catch of the season, but it was not going to last.
On Wednesday the sun came out and for most people that is a positive change but for carp fishing it often proves to be a negative one.
As The Boys started to take their shirts off to catch a few rays the fish were doing the same and by the afternoon all the fish were coming to the surface to bask in the sun. Not good !
The sun stayed out for the rest of the week and as we know now we were heading in to a mini heat-wave. This was quickly reflected in the catch rate as Wednesday saw 2 in the net, Thursday 3, but all day Friday and Saturday morning resulted in a big fat zero.
There was another issue to contend with as well, tadpoles and snails. The lake water has been so cold that Mother Nature is behind the curve this year and she has suddenly decided to play catch-up.
Everywhere you look there are tadpoles swimming around and snails crawling up the grasses and reeds. There were hundreds and thousands as the sun came out on Wednesday, millions by Thursday, trillions by Friday and simply too many to put a number on today, but all of that is food for carp.
Ashley had the last of the action on Friday with a missed take and another which he dropped at the net, not the best of ways to finish a session but that’s fishing for you.
Ashley had to be content with just the 2 fish but his best went to over 49lb, things could have been a whole lot different had he not dropped a couple but he is now up for a future challenge and is booked for a return match in 2026:
Simon slipped in to 3rd place with a total of three but his third fish gave him the Big Carp award at 54lb:
Justin had a steady session up until the sun came out when things just ground to a halt but he still held on to second place with 5 fish, his best of which went to 47lb, and what a fish !! I love a big common:
Will was top rod on their last visit and he has managed it again with a total of 7 fish and his best went over 48lb:
He also chucked in a little jack-pike for good measure, well done Will:
All in all it was a challenging session but the end result was very successful, the final tally was :
Zero Babies, zero doubles, zero 20s, 1 pike, 1 @ 30lb, 1 @ 35lb, 1 @ 38lb, 2 @ 39lb, 1 @ 40lb, 1 @ 41lb, 1 @ 42lb, 1 @ 44lb, 2 @ 45lb, 3 @ 47lb, 1 @ 48lb, 1 @ 49lb and one at 54lb.
Only one angler on the lake this week, the weather is going to go full circle again so the result will be interesting. Keep your eye on this space and I will let you know how he gets on next weekend.
For now we are enjoying the mini heatwave, Helen is galivanting around the French country side on horseback and as soon as she gets home we are off to one of the local pubs to sit on their terrace and enjoy Sunday lunch.
Till next week, take care.
Le Moulin de Graffeuil 