Hi everybody. We are coming up to the middle of December so the lake has been rested for a few weeks now and soon the shortest day of the year will be behind us……thank God. Neither Wayne nor myself have fished the lake for more than a few hours at a time but I did manage to nick out a 37.05 lb mirror which we cannot trace in any of our records or photos. Obviously it can’t be classed as a true “unknown” fish but it certainly wasn’t one of the expected bigguns so it was certainly a nice surprise. (another new forty for 2007).
The weather has remained mild and the light steady rain that we have been experiencing has started to fill the lake slowly with beautifully clean water. In fact the lake is clearing well and the visibility is the best that I have ever seen. Because of the mild weather the fish have continued to feed and jump so the signs are good for some more incredible weight gains for 2007.
We have rotavated and seeded all of the swims in an attempt to give a covering of clean grass for the new season. They were all beginning to look a bit tired so, hopefully, the work will improve the appearance considerably.
We have also continued to search out new areas on the river Saone and are currently fishing one section which is extremely wide and unbelievably deep. So far we haven’t been able to put the echo sounder over it (the winds and strong winter currents are making it too dangerous at the moment) but casting and counting down produces a count of 20 seconds at 50 yards. On top of that the drop off from the marginal (12 foot deep) shelf down to the deeper water seems to be almost sheer. We have heard rumours about a “wall” drop off which has produced some massive carp including a 72.00 lb fully scaled and a 67.00 lb common. Let’s hope the section we have found is indeed “the spot”. So far two days (dawn till dusk) have produced 2 thirties and a mid twenty in what can only be described as the worse possible fishing conditions. We couldn’t actually fish the deep water because even 8 ounce grippers wouldn’t hold. We fished at two rod lengths on the marginal shelf and managed to find a few fish but of course it was prime feeding area for the chub and bream which abound in the river. Everyone tells me that the cats in the Ebro have virtually wiped out the other species and now there are only cats and big carp. Well the Saone is still teaming with other species and the cats are still multiplying and growing. It certainly isn’t an easy river to fish but it will very soon be, if it isn’t already, the best in Europe. Don’t miss out.
Whilst writing about the Saone let me just tell you about a possible conundrum which could mean that the river already holds the European catfish record. A pair of Dutch anglers showed us some photos of a massive “Silure” which looked to be well over ten feet long and which they said weighed 217 lb. It wasn’t until we had left that I began to question the actual weight. Let me explain. The Dutch have exactly 2 pounds to the kilo whereas we have 2.2 English pounds to the kilo. If you convert 217 Dutch pounds into kilos you have 108.5 kilos which, in English pounds, equals 238.11 lb. That is one hell of a moggy but is not at all surprising. The French predator anglers (carnassiers) are proud of their Perch and Zander fishing and the rivers around here are producing 5 lb perch and 19 pound Zander without anyone really batting an eyelid. Every species seems to grow to enormous weights.
Now before I finish let me just put in a small question. If the Dutch and German anglers have possibly made a mistake in quoting their own pounds for the Silure above, they may have made similar mistakes on some of the carp reports. Most are quoted in kilos so there won’t be a problem with them but some are certainly in pounds, such as the fully scaled above. If this is possible then that fish actually weighs nearly 80 lb. I know the river will produce a world record, it’s just a matter of when. Everyone tells me that Rainbow lake in the south, is extremely rich in natural food. I don’t believe there can be anywhere on earth with more natural and free swimming food than the Saone. During spring and summer it literally teems with mussels, baby crayfish, caddis and other grubs and it turns red with shrimp. In fact I’m amazed we ever catch anything because the carp only have to adopt “whale shark” attitude and swim along with their mouths open to feed.
Anyway, that’s it for this year. Thank you to everyone who has already booked for next year. We already have more people booked for 2007 than visited us in total in 2006 so it looks as though we are in for an extremely busy and rewarding season ahead. There are still a few places available but most of the peak months are taken and we already have some confirmed bookings for 2008 so if you are considering a trip to see us you need to get your skates on.
Merry Christmas and an extremely happy new year and most of all stay healthy and be lucky. See you next year.
Keith Moors |
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