Carp France - The Fishing Holiday Specialists

Another high quality catch report.

05/05/2012

Steve Eastwood and family were with us for their second stay at Les Croix this week. Steve banked 13 carp including 2 x 50's, 3 x 40's, 3 x 30's, 4 x 20's and one stockie common of 9-12. The average size this week not including the stockie was just under 37lbs !

Steve last fished here in September 2011 when he had a fairly tough week's fishing with just 7 carp landed, although it has to be said that one of these weighed in at 58-10 !

The weather this week started off in the same vein as the previous fortnight (wet), but by Tuesday things had brightened up and we had some fine weather for three days.

Steve fished from around 6.30AM through to 9.30 PM, baiting up and resting the lake for a couple of hours at lunchtime, and baiting up again in the evenings before retiring to the gite.

Steve used 15kg of Matrix Plus boilies and 5kg of Matrix pellet and used a bait boat to position his rigs which comprised 3oz leads, flourocarbon hooklinks and size 8 hooks.

Steve saved the best until last, landing the Long Mirror on Friday morning, at 59-10 after an epic battle of over an hour ! Next biggest was the Hungry Common at a new record weight of 53-07, a 50lb+ common being exactly what Steve was hoping for on this trip, and it was very nearly three 50's for Steve when he landed Whisker at 49-13, also at a new all time high weight.
 

More big fish on the bank...

29/04/2012

David and Anne Chandler , along with their Jack Russell dog Buster were our first time visitors to Les Croix this week. Dave's catch included 2 x 50's, 2 x 40's, 6 x 30's and 3 x 20's

With a very wet week ahead forecast, and with the water temperature still low, we were unsure how the carp would react, but Dave and Anne were quite determined to get on with some fishing, as well as taking a couple of days out, visiting the local area.

Dave fished days only on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with Tuesday and Thursday being allocated for days out.

Biggest fish of the week was the Long Mirror at 59-08, the capture of this fish was made even more special by the fact that it was caught on Dave's birthday ! Next best carp was the Hungry Common at 51-04 followed by The Slate at 48-01, a new 40 was also caught, a deep bodied mirror at 40-08 along with 6 good thirties.

Anne only fished for a few hours (during the short periods when it actually stopped raining) but still managed to bank a new PB in the shape of a 30-08 mirror.

Dave fished from swim 2 with boilies only, using a bait boat to position his rigs with a few freebies around the hookbait and then baiting up several areas with 10kg of Matrix baits throughout the week. Terminal tackle included size 8 hooks and flourocarbon hooklinks fished in conjunction with running rigs.

Daytime Big Carp Bonanza !

22/04/2012

A brilliant  week with 29 fish caught by 2 anglers fishing days only, including 2 x 50lb+ commons, 4 x 40's and 14 x 30's. Barry Clarke and Noel Hubbard returned to Les Croix for the second time, having fished this same week in 2011. Last year they enjoyed sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20's and a catch of 37 carp to 52lbs ....this year the weather was a little different - but the fishing was even better !

Saturday was fine and mild, Sunday and Monday it was also dry, but with the cold northerly wind that had set in, it felt more like February than April ! On Monday night a frost was followed by 4 days of torrential downpours and a westerly wind which was anything but mild, and the guys spent the rest of the week in and out of their bivvies - with doors down at times to avoid getting a right soaking !

Despite the unsettled weather, the pair have enjoyed a superb week's fishing. For the first two days Barry enjoyed the best fishing from swim one, but after the wind changed, it seemed that the fish had moved away, and it was Noel who benefitted from this in the second half of the week, it seemed that the fish had moved out from the deepest water in the dam area, and for the last 3 days nothing was caught from swim 1.

We have seen two new 40's and 5 new 30's on the bank this week which is excellent news bringing the number of known 30lb plus carp to around 70, there are plenty more to come so we will be looking out for these in the next few weeks.

The list of fish caught this week is very impressive and included the two big commons at 59-06 and 52-05, both of these fish coming to Barry's rods in 24 hours making him the first angler to bank 2 fifties in a week and for these both to be commons is a rare result indeed !

Four 40's were also banked (42-08 42-00 40-12 40-00) along with 4 high 30's at 38-13 38-08 37-04 36-10.

An amazing result for a small French venue and made even more so by the fact that Barry and Noel fished days only !

An excellent end to a superb weeks fishing

31/03/2012

Jon has fished two more afternooon sessions on Thursday and Friday, both from around 2PM through to 6PM.

Thursday produced 3 fish, a 28-00, the magnificent fully scaled fish at an all-time high of 37-12, and another cracker of 38-04 which is six pounds heavier now, than it was 12 months ago.

No change in the weather which has been warm and sunny all week  but with a north or east breeze pushing up into the shallows resulting in a nice ripple on the water, which often gives carp the confidence to feed in shallow water.

Jon writes "Today I was looking forward to my last afternoon session, which quite often involves a short nap in the bivvy - one of the very nice things about carp fishing ! There was to be no napping today however as the fish were getting onto the bait very quickly and in the four hours I had five takes. The first fish which I think was foul hooked, fell off as it was nearing the landing net, I then had two mid twenties, followed by a 31-06, and finally after a 40 minute long battle and a tour of the lake, I slipped the net under a very solid carp of 40-01 which was seven pounds heavier than last April, and a new 40, one that I did not expect to make forty pounds this year, so a nice bonus. "

Another afternoon and another 46 !

28/03/2012

A four hour session this afternoon from 2PM till 6PM resulted in this stunner of 46-08 for Les Croix owber Jon. The fish was caught from the shallow end of the lake in around 4 feet of water and has gained 2 pounds over the winter period. The carp which is known as "Whisker" has shown very fast growth in the last 18 months and is now one of the top 10 biggest fish in the lake.

With both this carp and "The Slate" having come out at 46lbs+ it is now reasonable to suggest that there are eight or more carp in the 45-50 pound class, in addition to the four biggest fish which are now over 50lbs.

The weather continues in the same vein, with blue skies, temperatures in the mid-twenties and a nice afternoon breeze blowing up into the shallows from the north east.

46lb mirror taken in 3 hour session !

28/03/2012

After a short afternoon session from 2.30 - 5.30PM Jon at Les Croix was pleased to report the capture of The Slate at 46-04. The fish was caught up in the shallows on the end of a nice northerly wind which was anything but cold with the temperature this afternoon again in the mid 20's...

The fish was last reported in September at 45-14 so has held its weight over winter and should be close to, or possibly over the 50lb mark if it is caught in late April or early May.

Afternoon session yields yet another new 30 and two more early spring fish

26/03/2012

This morning was spent with a visit to the Mayors office and the recycling centre and it was thus after lunch when my baits were finally in place. With the incredibly warm weather continuing, two rods were positioned up in the shallow end of the lake, with the third rod fished on a feature in open water in front of the house.

The shallows produced the first 2 fish, the first one being another new 30 in the shaoe of a mirror of 31-06 which has not been reported since I caught it in January 2011 at 26-08.

The second carp was much smaller but a real beauty, one of the scaley fish at 21-08.

The third carp came on the other rod and went ballistic when hooked, ripping line off the reel and swirling on the surface, then doing a tour of the lake ! This one was also a mirror and weighed in at 29-08, I suspect that this one is a male but it has still gained two pounds since it was last seen in June.

The carp are really starting to wake up now with the rapid rise of the water temperature, although the bigger fish are notable by their absence at the moment, this is sure to change over the next few weeks and we are looking forward to seeing some of them on the bank in April at new record weights...

Two more new 30's...

23/03/2012

With the start of the 2012 season getting closer and closer, it is time for me to get the rods out in between finishing off the last few jobs that need to be done.

Today, a session from 10:00 through till 18:00 produced two very nice carp, both coming from the shallow end of the lake, an area where no fish had been seen moving, whilst the other 2 rods fished in the area where the fish were very active remained untouched !

The 2 fish were almost identical in weight at 31-06 and 31-07, and both were reported at around 25lbs last summer, so both have made good progress in the last 6 months or so. Both fish were in exceptional condition as has been the case with all the carp that have been caught during the winter.

With plenty more weight to add to the carp over the next 2 months or so in the lead up to spawning, we expect to see plenty more new 30's gracing anglers' nets, along with the many existing big carp of course - some new 40's and 50's are also expected this year, and the lake record which stands at 61-02 will almost certainly be re-established in April or May....who will be the lucky angler ?

Another superb short session result !

05/03/2012

My friend Eric and family came to fish for a couple of days over the weekend, he started fishing on Saturday afternoon and fished until Monday afternoon, days only.

Saturday afternoon and evening passed without event, but in spite of the weather (constant drizzle and low cloud) Sunday proved to be a day to remember for Eric as he landed mirrors of 27-00, 30-08, and 42-08.

The big mirror has not been caught since September 2010, and last weighed in at 29-12 - a weight gain of 12.5 lbs in 18 months.... meaning a very happy angler and a very pleased fishery owner ! Another Les Croix 40 to add to the rapidly extending list.

Today, Monday proved to be a much better day in terms of the weather, a frosty morning was followed by a sunny, but cool day, but the fishing was slower with just one carp landed although again it was a nice fish, another fat mirror weighing in at 32-04.

All the fish were in stunning condition as you can see from the photos, and as I have previously said, 2012 is shaping up to be a year which will see many big carp on the bank at Les Croix and a lot of very happy anglers too !
 

Rare availability at Easter !

05/03/2012

April is without doubt one of the best months to fish at this venue, plenty of big fish are always caught during the month, as the carp begin their feed-up in preparation for spawning. We have one week's availability from 7th-14th April - this is only the second week of the season - be quick to take advantage of this rare opportunity...

Short session success

03/03/2012

After attending the French Carp Fishing show in Montlucon last weekend with Keith WIlliams to help with the promotion of the Angling Technics baitboats, we returned to Les Croix and Keith was ready for a bit of daytime fishing.

On Monday he fished from midday to around 6 o'clock and was rewarded with three carp, mirrors of 26-12 and 26-14, and a common of 25-04. On Tuesday, Keith fished from around 9AM till 6PM but no carp were caught despite conditions being identical to the previous day...that's fishing for you !

Keith's 25-04 common

After Keith set off en route back to the UK, the weather went into overdrive and on Wednesday afternoon the temperature climbed to a balmy 21C.... this happened again on Thursday and Friday, and this has raised the water temperature to around 9C which is warm enough to have set the pike into spawning mode and to get a few carp moving.

 

Another January forty !

21/01/2012

Fishing at this time of year can be very slow, and one fish is all that is needed to make it all worthwhile. It is rare to see fish crash or roll, and you have to be very vigilant to see anything at all. However I felt that conditions were favourable and that it might be possible to get one or two bites. Having seen a good carp head and shoulder 7 times in a minute this morning, it was clear that at least a few fish were active.

The day started off looking promising with some blue patches and not feeling too cold although the water temperature at 7C was one degree colder than it really needs to be for the carp to be properly waking up.

The rods had only been out for around one hour only when I had a jerky take on the rod fished out in open water, the bobbin was bouncing and I thought possibly a pike had got itself entangled in the line, but then the line tightened up and I struck into what felt like a decent carp. The fish plodded round in front of me in deep water for a while but when I had it at around 20 yards it woke up and then proceeded to give a good scrap near the surface, taking plenty of line and leading me to think probably an upper twenty, but when i got it in the net I realised that it was in fact going to be much bigger, and the scales confirmed the weight at 43-12 - my second January forty in 2 years !

As I said, any carp in the month of January is a bonus, and to catch a forty is marvellous, to catch a fish of this size in January 2 years running leaves me feeling very fortunate... 

Second sixty of 2011.

17/12/2011

I have been catching a few nice fish here lately and I like to have a good go at fishing the lake in November and December if the weather is reasonable, (after watching customers fish the lake for 7 months of the year I am more than ready to have a go myself).

It has been very mild here with daytime temperatures in double figures most days. Catching a few fish at this time also provides something for both our regular customers and potential new clients to look at on here over the winter.

The fishing has not been easy but with my knowledage of the lake and the carp There is always a chance of a bite or two. Anyway, today things were very quiet, with no activity whatsoever and the first three hours passed without event, but at around 2.30PM a one inch dropback, followed by a two inch lift of the bobbin saw me connect with a heavy resistance and after a very slow fight with the carp plodding around in front of me I slipped the net under what was obviously a good carp. It wasn't until I had rolled up the net and lifted the fish from the water that I realised how heavy it was !

On the mat I saw that it was the long mirror, and as expected she has passed the 60lb mark, weighing in at 61-02, 10lbs heavier than this time last year, and looking in superb condition but with plenty of room for more weight to come !

This is now the lake record fish, weighing in a full 2 ounces (!) above the common, which was caught in August at 61-00, so we are once again in a position where these two mighty fish are both capable of being the top fish in the lake. We are confident tha both fish will be caught a bove these weights in the spring next year, so there are going to be some very happy faces at Les Croix in 2012 !

The second photo is of another cracker of 44-06 which is 9lbs heavier than in November 2010, this one was taken two days before the 61.
 

December Crackers !

02/12/2011

The autumn 2011 period saw some hard weeks' fishing at Les Croix, and this continued throughout November, the warm weather having a negataive effect on the fishing, but providing an extended feeding period for the carp with an abundance of natural food making them very hard to tempt.

We have still not had any cold weather but it has finally begun to cool down a little, and this week has finally seen the lake start to produce a few fish, and again every one has piled on a load of weight, proving that they have really been feeding hard on naturals.

Monday produced a very nice 26-02 which was last out in April at 18-00. Wednesday produced 2 nice fish, one of the males which does not often visit the bank, this time out at 28-02 and last time recorded was June 2010 at 22-00. The second fish was bang on 30 pounds, first time it has reached 30 and plenty more weight to come for sure.Today Thursday looked better with a stiff south westerly blowing for a change, nice and bright and again mild, and three fish have made for a very enjoyable session, the first one being a lovely 41-08, a new 40 to add to the rapidly expanding  list. The second fish was another well built mirror known as split tail and at 36-14 she has certainly been feeding well, having gained 8 pounds since the last capture in July ! Finally to round off the day at around 4.30PM a common of 22-12 which I was considering as a possible fish to be removed from the lake as it was only 17lbs or so in the summer, now looking like it has settled down and has filled out nicely, so it has had a stay of execution !

 

With a few flurries of activity when a few fish crash out in a short period of time and then all is quiet again, very little in the way of bubbling or other activity, I have been relying on previous experience for location of the carp. Putting baits to crashing or rolling fish has been fruitless so I have been persevering with some of my more productive areas and it is these that have produced the results.

Another Excellent October Result

22/10/2011

3 superb consecutive weeks fishing ! For the penultimate week of the season we welcomed back Tim and Sue Moore and their kids Isobel and Dillon. The Moores last fished at Les Croix in June 2010, and it was very interesting for them (and us) to see how things have progressed since then.

Tim fished from swim 2 and was joined periodically throughout the week by Sue who fished from swim 1 both aided by 2 very excited kids who also joined in with a bit of roach fishing. Tim is a very experienced carp angler so we were expecting a good week.

Tim and Sue fished with boilies only, baiting with 25kg of Premier Quad to several spots in the deeper water. The weather was good, although it rained most of the night on Tuesday and the last 3 nights were cold with ground frost, this did not affect the fishing and the pair caught steadily throughout the week.

The total catch for the week was 21 carp with one 9lb stockie, one double, 6 x 20's, 10 x 30's and 3 x 40's. Tim's best fish was the Hungry Common at 49-06 and Sue smashed her 32lb PB from last time with carp of 39-06, 38-15 and 34-02. This week saw a number of fish caught that had not been out for some time and I have to admit that even I was surprised by some of the weight gains, 6lbs+ since July in one case !

With the fish having done so well it was not a surprise to note that we have seen three new 30's caught this week and a couple of fish just under 40lbs which were not on my list of expected 40's for next year so brilliant news all round !
 

October big fish form continues....

15/10/2011

Chuck and Julie Ives from Chesterfield visited Les Croix for the first time this week. Chuck has been to a few French Lakes and had a PB of 39lbs so the target was a carp of 40lb+.

Chuck fished days only starting at around 8AM and winding in at around 7.45PM. He fished by both casting and also using a bait boat, and kept the bait going in regularly on 3 spots, baiting with 10kg of Matrix and Super Indain boilies and 10kg of Matrix combi-pellet. Chuck found that the cast rigs outfished the baitboat which is not really a surprise as the fish must be somewhat wary of the standard baitboat presentation by now.

A brilliant weeks fishing followed with some very big and beautiful carp including 5 x 20's, 2 x 30's, 2 x 40's and 1 x 50 - this being the long mirror at an all-time high of 59-12, and which will surely pass the 60lb mark in the very near future - meaning that we will have both mirror and common carp to 60lbs+ at Les Croix - a real achievement and one that we are justifiably proud of, after being open for just 4 seasons !

One of the 40's caught this week is a new forty, and was last caught at 37-10 in July, another indication of how well the carp are doing, and the other 40 at 44-10 is also at an all-time high weight. One fish that was caught this week was the "mint common" at 30-10. To my knowledge this carp has not been out since August 2010, when it weighed 23-00, it really is a beautiful fish, absolutely scale perfect and it was great to see it come out at 30+.

With Chuck's PB beaten 3 times and a new PB just short of 60lbs he now finds himself in a similar position to some of our other clients - where to fish next ? The list of lakes in France with fish of this size and lakeside accommodation is very short .....

October kicks off in fine style...

09/10/2011

Tony and Lyn Gardner returned to fish Les Croix for the second time this week. Last year they fished in November and it rained constantly for the whole week ! Hard to believe but that was the last time that we had a significant amount of rain in this area !

 

This time the weather was completely different with the first 3 days very warm and sunny, followed by a slow cooling down in the second part of the week.

Tony and Lyn fished days only, casting to the central area of the lake and fishing with 2.5oz leads, Nash missing link hooklinks and size 7 twister hooks with Matrix boilies, and they baited with boilies sparingly, scattered around the spots.

The first 2 days were slow, the hot weather seeing lots of surface activity but little in the way of action, but as the week progressed and the weather started to cool down, the fishing picked up and 13 carp were landed with a very high average weight  - one stockie at 10-05, one double at 18-05, 4 x 20's, 2 x upper 30's, 3 x mid 40's and 2 x 50's.

Although I don't like to speculate about the size of fish that might be caught in the future, I have been hinting that we might be seeing a good number of big fish caught this autumn and it would appear that this is going to be the case if this week is anything to go by.

All the carp are well up in weight on their previous captures, several of the fish have gained 3-4lbs and I am sure that there is more to come over the course of the next 3 weeks before the 2012 season comes to an end.

Another fine catch of carp.

01/08/2011

With us this week for the first time, Steve Mason and partner Angie from Nuneaton. Steve, 46 is a very experienced carp angler with a string of big carp to his name including a UK PB of 47-00.

Steve started off the week wanting to fish day and night - we advised against this and in fact within 48 hours he agreed with us that it looked like a better idea to fish days only as once again fishing at night was having a negative effect on the daytime fishing. So after a slow start, Steve elected to fish mornings until about 11:00 and again in the evenings until 10:30PM. This approach paid off and Steve finished the week with 31 fish !

The weather started off wet and cool but improved midweek and ended up warm and sunny.

Steve has earned a new nickname at Les Croix as he managed to catch a record number of stockies (10 in total) and by the end of the week "Steve the Stockie" was starting to stick...during most weeks one or two of these fish are caught !

These young fish are growing rapidly and are now in the 8-12 lb bracket, hopefully a good few will be 20lb + next year - they have an important role to play in the future of the fishery as we will not be bringing any fish onto the site from elsewhere.

Aside from these, Steve also caught 21 "proper carp " including 13 x 20's, 4 x 30's and 3 x 40's catching the hungry common twice at 44-12 and 44-08, and also capturing The Slate Grey at it's best ever weight of 43-02.

Once again all the fish were well up in weight and I am looking forward to the autumn ! A very nice new 30 this week at 33-10 - this fish weighed 26lb 12 months ago and looks set to be a real lump in the near future ! Amongst the 20's were 6 fish of 27lbs + which should all soon be on the 30's list !

Steve fished with Premier Super Indian Boilies, baiting with 8kg of these plus around 12kg of pellet, and fishing a variety of different spots, casting with stringers and also using his bait boat to reach some of the further marks.

Steve described his fishing as the best ever weeks fishing in France, and actually found that he had enjoyed the holiday more by not fishing at night and spending some time with Angie in the gite !

Another superb week...

16/07/2011

The excellent form continued this week with another great catch of fish to one of our regulars, and the weights of the carp are well up for the time of year.

For the third consecutive year we welcomed Ian and Ann Wright from Harlow.They always book the same week, and always seem to be blessed with good weather and good fishing !

This year was no exception and the week started off very warm, peaked on Monday with an afternoon temperature of 32C in the shade, and then cooled down midweek and finished off fine and sunny but more comfortable on Thursday and Friday.

Ian fished from gite no.1 swim and fished days only, in previous years he has fished at night and having not caught much during darkness, this year he decided to try days only and actually found it more enjoyable and relaxing this way !

Fishing with Super Indian boilies which Ian always uses here, and baiting with 10kg of these plus 45kg of pellet and fishing snowman style hookbaits Ian landed 25 carp including 14 x 20's, 6 x 30's, 1 x 40 and 1 x 50.

The two best fish of the week were the hungry common at 44-12 and the long mirror at 52-08, (which beats Ian's previous PB by 5lbs) - both fish being caught for the second time in 7 days ... showing that the fish are really feeding hard at present. Ian also had fish of 37-08, 36-10, 34-04, 33-12, 33-04 and 31-04.

The weights of some of the fish this week have really surprised me, being back at or above the weights we saw in April, before spawning - this is excellent news because we normally have to wait until late September or October to see this ! The exceptionally warm weather which we have experienced so early this year has no doubt been partly responsible for this, raising the temperature of the lake water to the optimal feeding temperature for carp.

We look forward to seeing Ian and Anne for the fourth time in July 2012.

 

Dream trip with 1000lb+ catch of big carp.

10/07/2011

Les Croix revealed its true potential and proved once again why it is one of the top exclusive venues in France.

 

Steve Moore along with mum and dad Ken and Lorraine, wife Leanne and daughter Ella-Mai plus the inlaws Mick and Julie made it a real family affair this week. Apparently it was a 25th birthday treat for Steve who has been waiting for 2 years to come and fish at Les Croix, but Ken and Lorraine were also keen to get involved with the fishing and it seemed that there was quite a competitive edge between the three of them.....

The weather started off as usual - hot and sunny for three days, and then from Tuesday evening things started to cool down and the fish went into feeding mode.

Following our advice Steve, Ken and Lorraine fished days only - starting early and fishing until around 1:00PM, resting the lake in the afternoons and fishing again in the evenings and winding in at around 10:00PM to rest the lake overnight.

During the week the three anglers used 20kg of Matrix and Super Indian boilies along with 30kg of pellet and 5kg of Premier combi-pellet. Nearly all the fish were caught on Matrix hookbaits fished as singles or tipped with plastic corn and fished on flourocarbon hooklinks.

The results make for impressive reading with 40 carp landed including 2 x 50's, 2 x 40's, 10 x 30's and 18 x 20's (11 over 25lb). Steve had 20 fish including BK at 57-14 plus one of the long mirrors at 42-12 plus three mid 30's, Lorraine had the long mirror at 52-03 plus four mid 30's and Ken banked the hungry common at 45-12 plus three upper 30's. Total weight for the week was over 1140+lbs.

All the fish were in superb condition and well up in weight for this time of year, which kind of confirms our theory that they have been stuffing themselves on naturals during June when the fishing was hard. At least 3 fish were caught at their best ever weights which is incredible for this time of year - and this confirms our earlier predictions of more new 40's and plenty of new 30's to come later in the year.

 

Catch Report 11th June 2011

13/06/2011

Mark Walker with his partner Julie and their 6 month old baby Darcy were our guests at Les Croix this week. Mark restricted his fishing to 3 - 4 hours each morning and evening, so not a huge amount of rod hours this week - but a very nice catch of quality carp reported nonetheless, with the emphasis on quality rather than quantity.

Mark landed 10 carp of which 5 were over 30, these going 37-10, 35-02, 34-12, 33-13 and 30-12 along with others of 28-08, 25-09, 19-00 and 15-00 giving an average weight of around 28lbs.

The 2 biggest fish included one that has not been caught since October last year and which has gained 5lbs since and is now 37-10 after spawning, and the 35-00 is also well up in weight for this time of year which leads to a very positive outlook for late 2011/early 2012 when I think that we could be looking at a dozen or more different 40's in the lake.

WIth a much cooler period of weather since the end of May, nearly all the fish were caught from open water in the middle of the lake. A massive storm on Sunday evening with torrential downpours saw the lake rise by 4 inches which is great news because the water level is well below where it should be.As I write, it is raining again and there is more rain forecast for the week to come so things are looking up....with weather more like July/August since the middle of March this year, we are enjoying a break from the sun and the fresh water will be very good for the fishing.

Mark fished with Premier baits Super Indian boilies and baited with 20kg of these, using a throwing stick and also used 10kg of pellet and 5kg of Premier combi-pelle. Size 8 hooks, coated braid hooklinks and inline leads with safe-zone leaders tied to 15lb X-line main line completed the setup.

Catch Report 21st - 28th May 2011

01/06/2011

A return to top form this week at Les Croix, with a superb catch of quality carp to Ken Higgot and partner Rachel Smith from Kings Bromley, Staffs. Ken had a great week here last September and has repeated the experience this week !

Just Ken fishing, with Rachel on netting duty and leading the way in terms of soaking up the sun in between ! Ken is of course familiar with the lake, and fished days only. WIth the weather being warm and sunny for the first 4 days, Ken concentrated his efforts in the mornings and evenings, resting the lake in the afternoons and enjoying the pool and gite.

On Thursday and Friday the weather changed with plenty of cloud cover and a big drop in temperature from 28 down to 18C - this really seemed to make a big difference, switching the carp into feeding mode (and Rachel into survival mode !) and nearly half of the fish caught came in the last 2 days of the week.

Ken landed 25 carp of which only one was under 20 lbs, with 17 x 20's, 6 x 30's and the big common for the second time at 57-04. Nealry all the fish were spawned out and it was great to see the number of fish that are still in the high 20's and 30's after spawning. Fish of 38-14 and 39-00 featured in the catch along with a grass carp of 27-00 , and the average weight this week was 28lbs+.

Ken used 10kg of Matrix boilies, 20kg of pellet, 5kg of Matrix combi-pellet and fished to 3 different spots on the lake using a bait boat to position his rigs with a mix of pellet and boilie free offerings and baiting widely over three areas with boilies.. He is looking forward to another visit to Les Croix in September when Ken is hoping to land his first 40 from the lake, and to try for the big mirror which we think that by autumn time this year may be rivalling the common for position as the biggest fish in the lake.

Les Croix catch report 14 - 21st April 2011

23/05/2011

Two of our regulars, father and son Ray and Andy Hassall, from The New Forest, Hampshire fished at Les Croix this week and showed to good effect how to catch carp here during the day.

Although conditions were far from ideal, in fact conditions were the same as they have been since the start of the season (hot, sunny and calm) and in spite of the weather and the intense spawning activity on three days, (spawning has continued on and off for 3 weeks), the two guys caught 19 carp, every one of them in daylight and the few hours that were fished after dark on one or two evenings did not produce a single bite.

Arriving on Saturday afternoon but choosing not to fish until Sunday morning was a very positive move, meaning that the carp had a full 24 hours without lines in the water or bankside disturbance, so that by Sunday there were fish all over the lake, and by fishing only during the times when a bite was likely, and resting the lake in between, therefore allowing the carp freedom of movement around the lake, the 2 anglers caught fish every day. The productive times were mornings and evenings, although one or two fish were taken around midday. Afternoons were unproductive and Ray and Andy rested the lake. Keeping noise to the minimum was also a key factor, this is now becoming an essential requirement in order to have a good week's fishing at Les Croix.

Ray fished gite no.3 and Andy was next door in no.2., they used 10kg of Matrix boilies, 20kg of pellet and 10kg of Matrix combi pellet and caught 19 carp for a total weight of 537lbs with an average weight of 28lbs+. Highlight of the week was the big common to Ray at 58-04, Andy took the other large common, which although spawned out, still weighed in at bang on 40-00 and the pair also caught 5 x 30's, 9 x 20's and 3 doubles.

Great to see the common, which has not been out since October 2010, in immaculate condition, now we are now waiting to see some of the other big fish which have not been caught this season, amongst which should be some new 30's and 40's.

 

Catch Report 23 - 30 April 2011

01/05/2011

Two new 40's taken during a more challenging week....

After our brilliant opening week, we were expecting more of the same this week but  the carp had different ideas ....and a slight change to the weather created a more challenging weeks fishing.

Russell and Dean Bremner and friend Michael O'Donughue from the West London area arrived with the weather continuing fine and warm. During the week the wind changed from South East to North East and we had a few thundery evenings with short sharp showers. It was still warm but the wind was noticeably cooler especially on Thursday and Friday.

From the off it was clear that this was going to be a different weeks fishing with carp activity on the surface down to a bare minimum, mainly restricted to the morning and evening, and these were the times when most of the carp were caught, the middle part of the day proving to be very quiet, but the guys persevered and were rewarded with some fine fish including a 41-05 and a 38-00 to Russell and a new PB mirror of 41-08 to Michael.

Although the anglers have had to work hard for their fish this week, the total catch for the week was a very respectable 22 carp for a total weight of 580lbs caught fishing days only, and including 2 x 40's, 5 x 30's, 10 x 20's and 5 doubles.

The guys used 30kg of Premier Baits Matrix and Super Indian boilies, 60kg pellet and 20kg Premier combi pellet, fishing the central area of the lake and at times fishing over into the far margin, which proved especially effective for Russell in gite no. 3 swim. Presentations using a bait boat but also casting with stringers and small pva bags were used to catch fish. All 3 used X-line flourocarbon main line and slack lines, so they were certainly not spooking the fish.

Of course with the carp now being so much bigger, older and wiser, Les Croix will of course become more difficult than it has been in previous seasons, but even on what we have considered to be a difficult weeks fishing, the results are still impressive !

Les Croix opens the season with a superb catch of quality fish.

24/04/2011

We have just finished our opening week at Les Croix and it has been the best ever first week of the season - with first time visitors Barry Clarke and Noel Hubbard from near Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk enjoying a week of blue skies, warm weather and big carp !

It has proved to be our best ever opening week, with 37 carp banked for a total weight of 1072lbs with a superb average weight of 30-10.

The catch featured carp of 52-08, 45-04, 38-08, 37-09, 37-08, 35-12, 35-10, 34-00 plus 6 more 30's, 19 x 20's and just 4 doubles.

The pair fished with Premier Baits'  Matrix and Super Indian single hookbaits on size 6 hooks tied to flourocarbon hooklinks and fished both casting and using a boat, baiting up with 25kg boilies, 35kg carp pellets, & 10kg Premier combi-pellet.

Barry and Noel described the venue as "fantastic" and have re-booked for 2012.
 

New lake record

20/05/2010

An inspiration to all of us this week in the form of Dennis Hildon aged 89, still fishing for carp, aided by son Jeff and Jeff's wife Norma, from Darlington, County Durham.

I'm sure we would all like to think that we might be able to go on fishing forever, but of course, one day eventually we will have to hang up the rods for good - to go on until the age of 89 is a real achievement in my book !

Jeff and Dennis fished days only, from the gite swims, and banked 27 fish between them for a total weight of 660lbs including 4 x 30's to 39-08, 13 x 20's and the big common to Jeff on the Thursday at a new record weight of 52-00, smashing his old PB by 10lbs !

The pair fished with boilies only and caught all the fish with single boile hookbaits on 12" nylon hooklinks with inline lead setups mainly cast to the deeper water in the centre of the lake.
 
The weather was very poor for the month of May, starting off wet and then continuing cool for the rest of the week, but it didn't stop the carp from feeding !

FIRST 50lb'er

12/10/2009
Well - Jon has been suggesting that they might be seeing a very big carp on the bank sometime this month or next, and exactly one year and one day after he caught the common at 40-03, he banked this incredible fish again today, 12th October, at 50-01. In superb condition, but not what you would call fat, just solid and heavy ! Taken on Premier Baits super Indian 16mm boilie fished over a handful of 9mm pellets, about 30 grains of sweetcorn and some crushed boilies. The growth of this fish has been astounding, stocked at 25lbs in March 2008 - this equals a weight gain of 25lbs in 18 months! How big will it get - who knows, but he is, of course, exceptionally happy to have such a fish in the lake. Now we must wait to see the next capture of the long mirror which has been matching the common pound for pound throughout the season.

LES CROIX

08/09/2009
For the first week of the Autumn period we welcomed for the first time 3 experienced carp anglers from the Bristol area, Dave Daniels, Aje Mercato and Jordan Dicks (of Bristol Angling Centre). Joining them were Aje's wife Natalie, son Luka and Natalies parents Jenny and Reg, who chose to arrive courtesy of Ryanair from Bristol to Limoges. Aje and Jordan chose to fish from the gite bank, with Dave going it alone and fishing from the Oaks on the opposite bank. From the first night it was obviously going to be a good week,with 2 high 40's coming out including the new lake record common of 47-00 to Dave and a 46-07 Mirror to Aje, and with the weather having cooled off nicely, I expected to fish to get their heads down and have a good feed up. The three anglers fished every night, morning and evening, and baited well during the day whilst the swims were rested. I'm not sure exactly on the quantities but at least 40kg of boilies and 20kg of pellets were used over the week. Baits used included Elite Baits Ocean Fruit, Mainline's high leakage pineapple, and Nash Mach 3 and B2. The total catch for the week was around 60 carp, for a total weight of well over 1500lbs, with 3 x 40's, 11 x 30's, and 35+ 20's. This sets new records for total number and weight of fish caught, and also the number of 30's and 40's caught in a week, so well done to all 3 of the guys ! Aje 46-07, 36-12, 33-08, 33-04, 32-06, 32-04, 30-00 + 12 x 20's Dave 47-00, 34-04, 33-12, 33-08, 33-04 + 11 x 20's Jordan 44-12, 30-12 plus more (waiting for catch report). A few doubles were caught but nearly all were 18/19 pound fish. One or 2 new 30's featuring in the catches, and the fish are just starting to put weight back on ! The late autumn and winter is going to be very interesting.....We have a couple of weeks free in October, so If you fancy a piece of the action, get in touch ASAP !

Latest News

01/09/2008
Keith Williams and family had the lake booked this week. Keith is the sales and development manager for Viper Bait Boats, an experienced angler who has fished many different French Venues, and who is also a field tester for Mainline Baits. As it was a family holiday for Keith, he elected to fish just nights (the opposite of what most anglers do at Les Croix) and take some days out to visit the local area. Fishing from gite no.1 swim, starting at around 7:00 PM and fishing through the night till between 1:00 and 4:00 AM, Keith banked a total of 38 carp for a total weight of 890lbs, including three 30's and twenty-two 20's which sets a new record for a single angler both in number of fish and total weight. Amongst the carp landed were commons of 35-12 and 27-01 and mirrors of 34-00, 33-13, 29-15, 29-01, 28-12, 28-04, 28-02, 5 x 27's, 2 x 26's and 2 x 25's. Using a Viper Mk.3 boat on which he was testing out a new fishfinder development, and fishing with Mainline Cell boilies and also a new prototype Mainline boilie, Keith fished over small beds of Mainline Response pellets mixed with partiblend, with size 6 Korda wide gape B hooks tied to Korda hybrid soft hooklinks with 3oz inline leads. Wife Tammy and kids Nicole and Harry enjoyed the gite and pool and we were able to arrange an afternoon's horse riding for Tammy and Nicole in the local "Monts de Blond" area which is a stunning range of hills 20 minutes east of Les Croix. The Williams' have already re-booked Les Croix for 2009, and we look forward to seeing them again next year.

Latest Catch Report

26/08/2008
Glen and Anita Viney and children Jack and Amber, from Billingshurst, were lucky enough to have booked Les Croix for 2 weeks holiday. As it was a family holiday, Glen fished on and off throughout the 2 weeks with day trips out visiting the local area etc. Although he vowed to fish at least a couple of nights, in the end it just did not happen - the comfort of the gite just seems to be too much for most people who fish at Les Croix ! For the first week Glen fished just a few hours in the morning and sometimes a couple of hours in the evening, but still managed to take 11 carp, the second week he fished more and used one of the hired Viper bait boats, adding another 15 fish to the tally and wife Anita caught 2 as well, giving a total of 28 carp caught for a total weight of 693lbs. The size of the fish caught during the period was really superb with 5 thirties and 17 twenties, the best fish going 39-00, 38-00, 35-00, 30-00, 29-04, 29-02, 29-00, 27-08, 3 x 26's and 3 x 25's ! Best Mirror was 39-00 and best common 37-04. Glen used Quest Baits Rajah Spice and Fruity Trifle and Cotswold Baits T2 boilies, fished over beds of partiblend and mixed pellets. The weather for the 2 weeks was very mixed as is often the case in August here, with some hot days but with a fair amont of rain mixed in, good fishing condtions ! The children had a wonderful time in the pool and catching frogs and crayfish in the margins, and did not want to go home !

Latest News

02/08/2008
Steve Waterhouse and family from Singen, South West Germany made the journey to Les Croix for this week. Fishing from gite no.1 or 2 swim for approximately 4 hours each morning and three hours each evening, Steve banked 20 carp, 19 of which were over 22lbs ! 480lbs of carp giving an average weight of 24lbs ! Best fish of the week was a mirror of 36-04 backed up with fish of 33-00, 28-00, 6 x 26's, 4 x 24's, 6 x 22's and one 18-00. Steve used Pro-Logic DD baits boilies on mono hooklinks with size 6 hooks and fished with a scattering of freebies around each rod, with most of the fish coming from open water in the middle part of the lake. Steve has the unusual habit of not photographing his fish and says he just enjoys catching them ! I managed to persuade him to photograph the biggest one though ! The weather for the first part of the week was warm and sunny with Wednesday seeing 32 degrees in the shade, then we had a huge thunderstorm on Wednesday night with some rain and then back to fine conditions but cooler. Wife Suzanne and daughters Melissa and Lindsey had a lovely relaxing week and enjoyed the gite accommodation and pool so much that they did not want to leave Les Croix even for day trips !

Latest News

30/07/2008
Les Croix - Catch Report (19th July - 26th July) This week, Les Croix was booked by Craig Lea-Hair, with partner Nicky from Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire. Yet another week of fine, dry, and warm weather was forecast from which Craig guessed that he might struggle to catch during the daytime as is so often the case in the UK, and on many French lakes - not here at Les Croix ! I informed Craig that the lake normally fished well in the day, which pleased him no end as he had not brought a bivvy, bedchair or sleeping bag and was planning on fishing days only and sleeping in the gite - which seems to be so comfortable that many of our anglers are finding it hard to get themselves fishing before 9 o'clock in the morning ......! Using his AT Microcat and fishing three different spots with heavy baiting tactics (on my advice) Craig banked 24 carp for a total weight of 589lbs. Amongst the carp landed were 5 x 30's (35-00/32-08/32-00/30-00/30-00) and 13 x 20's including 8 x 25lb+ fish, including a new lake record Grass Carp of 27-08, along with just 6 doubles, 4 fish between 18 and 20 and two other high end doubles. Craig used 25kgs of Bang on Baits' Deep Sea Mix boilies along with 20kg hemp, 10kg partiblend, 10kg pellets, 24 tins sweetcorn, 24 tins tuna, and 6 tins chick peas, fishing with snowman style boilie hookbaits on size 6 hooks on Sufix Stealth hooklengths. Partner Nicky, who is a confirmed sun worshipper, took full advantage of the superb weather, enjoying the sun loungers and pool whilst Craig had a great week with an excellent catch of quality carp.

Latest News

14/07/2008
Darryl Kirkbright had the lake booked for this week, with just Darryl fishing, electing to fish from Gite No.1 swim and covering the deeper end of the lake. I gave him some advice as to where the fish were spending a lot of their time and after some depth finding with the bait boat he picked three spots and stuck to them all week which paid off well. I told Darryl that the fish liked a lot of bait, which is certainly the case here at Les Croix, and he responded with the following mix - 6kg hemp, 6kg chilli hemp, 2kg partimix, 14 tins sweetcorn, 14 tins tuna, 8 tins sardines, 4 tins maize, 6 tins chickpeas, 3kg Mojo groundbait, 6kg Mainline Boiles (Pulse/Fusion,Cell/Pro-Activ Pineapple) 4kg Cotswold Bolies (T2/UFO/Kick) and 10kg pellets ! Many of the fish fell for Mainline boilie hookbaits tipped off with yellow or red plastic sweetcorn, a tactic which has proved very successful this year. Darryl's catch for the week was the best so far this year to a single angler, with 30 carp taken for a total weight of 628lbs, and he only did one night ! Included in his catch were commons of 35-01 and 29-14, and mirrors of 34-04, 29-08, 27-10, 26-11, 26-06, 26-00, and 25-08 along with 4 other 20's and seventeen doubles most of which were in the 16 to 19lb class. Another mirror of 35+ lost at the net. The weather for the week was good with just the odd shower and a nice breeze on most days. The fish are now starting to put their weight back on rapidly after spawning was completed in June and some of the fish are coming out at new highest weights - October and November are eagerly awaited !

Latest News

23/06/2008
Fishing at Les Croix this week were brothers Ade and Greg White from Coalville, Leicestershire. Two very competent anglers with a good amount of experience of fishing various waters in the UK, they have also fished in France on several previous occasions. With conditions for the week ahead looking very promising, they were keen to try and beat the previous weeks record for the lake of 42 fish for 850lbs. Not an easy target by any means, but they fished hard and well and are now the new lake record holders having taken an incredible catch of 54 carp for a total weight of 1182 lbs ! Fishing days and nights on the rods and also with a little stalking during the days, Ade and Greg used Cotswold T2, Dynamite Baits Fresh Squid and Octopus, and Nutrabaits Trigga boilies sometimes tipped off with peach plastic corn and fished as either double bottom baits or snowman presentation - T2 taking the majority of the fish. The list of big fish in the catch was also impressive with no less than eight thirties at 37-00, 35-00, 34-00, 32-06, 32-00, 31-12, 31-06, & 31-00 and backing this up with another twelve fish over 25-00 and ten more 20's. More PB's broken this week with Ade taking a new PB common of 31-06 and Greg a new PB mirror of 32-00. The fishing slowed down in the last 48 hours when the carp went into spawning mode for the third time in 2008 and the lads were treated to a frantic display of activity in the lilies and reedbeds. It was nice to see two good anglers fishing well and showing the true potential of Les Croix. Ade and Greg and girlfriends Alex and Mandy all enjoyed their week tremendously and are hoping to return in October which is something which we will all be looking forward to!

Latest News

29/05/2008
CCFH (CARP-FRANCE).COM are extremely pleased with feedback from their debut venue of Les Croix in the Charente region of South West France. Neil and George Bullock had this to say about their holiday on 24th May: “We have really enjoyed our stay with you. Some of the things that have made it memorable have been: The excellent condition of the fish, and the fact that, with a little thought, they are catchable. New PB common, mirror and grass carp on 1 week is not bad ! The gite is perfectly positioned for when we want to pop back for natures calls and bits we have forgotten. The lake is just the right size to experiment and watch for signs of fish, so goals are achievable. Dad's highlight of the days were his cooked breakfasts and the excellent evening meals that Sophie prepared and kindly brought to us at our swim - where else could you sit at the waters edge enjoying your meals ? I enjoyed the chats with Jon about the fish history, their weight gains, which fish have not been caught etc etc, it makes for a better weeks fishing rather than just turning up, catching the fish and going home again. I now have a little more insight into how carp behave and survive. A very big thank you to both of you for a memorable holiday, and I should also say that you should be proud of what you have produced here at Les Croix”. Neil and George Bullock. 24th May 2008.

Latest News

10/05/2008
Week 3 saw the arrival of Tony from Farnborough Hants, along with sons Greg and Sean, and grandson Danny aged 9. They enjoyed a week of mostly fine weather with the rain holding off for the most part and with some fine sunshine mixed in. 32 fish were taken for a total weight of 647lbs. Best fish out were 38-15 and 30-04 mirrors to Tony - who fished days only, a 30-00 mirror to Greg and a 28-10 common to Sean. All 3 anglers beating their personal bests during the week (Tony's previous best fish was about 5lbs ...!) Also lots of 20's taken this week. Successful tactics were small mesh PVA bags with pellets and boilies, Coswold Baits UFO fished as a single, or snowman style with a pineapple pop-up accounting for a lot of the fish, corn and pellet hookbaits also accounting for a fair share of captures. Water temperature is starting to creep up now at around 16-17C, but the fish still have not spawned, so the chance of a very heavy fish is running high! Little Danny had lots of fun feeding the goats and chickens, running errands for Dad, Greg and watching DVD's in the gite !

ACCOMMODATION

05/03/2008
Les Croix offers some of the best accommodation on offer......and it's situated right next to the lake. have a look at the photographs which show the standard of bankside accommodation on offer.

A stunning new exclusive venue

18/09/2007
We're pleased to introduce to you a fantastic exclusive water situated in the Charente region of France only 25 mins from Limoges airport. The beutifully converted lakeside gite has stunning views over your private 3.6 acre lake and will have the added benefit of a swimming pool. We have been asked so often if we have a quality exclusive carp fishery, quality accommodation and a swimming pool - it was a big ask, but now we can offer all that and more for the 2008 season. Please call the CCFH office on 02476 641178 for more details or click on LES CROIX in 'Our Venues' for more info.