mrs_rusheslake

A lot of choice there Gordon!

My starting of this thread was as a discussion point ralph... I havent missed your point and have answered it on the original thread.

I think the best lake in France is the lake thats best suited to you, and that does exactly what it says on the tin.

Following on from another thread ralphj made the following observation... As some of the best lakes in France never advertise Graviers, Lac de Curton (rainbow) and the late Maison de Lac Bleu. These are very well renowned lakes that survive through word of mouth and people trying to book two three years in advance. Two of these lakes certainly do have the biggest fish in France BUT does that make them the best lakes in France????? Would be interested in your views. Also would suggest that the 'big' names that regularly frequent them 'advertise' them on a number of levels... and it is certainly not 'word of mouth'.

Ok.... In as far as he ensured that the lakes had what they offered, were fully 'legal' he ( well lets rephrase it ) chose very wisely. I am going to take your comments about Graviers & Rainbow to another thread and hope you will comment further on that one. You havent offended me Ralph.... Ive got a very thick skin!

If you are thinking of taking your own food then firstly contact Paul to see if you have fridge space, if its a yes then take sausages, bacon & baked beans as the french versions probably wouldnt suit your taste! Ive only heard good things about Charlou, it isnt an easy water but the rewards are there in the form of some stunning 50's & perhaps a 60! To be honest I know Paul now does food packages and for the money is probably not worth the hassle of shopping etc. Anyway have a great trip, & hope you get a result

The fishing holiday sponsors on this forum has been handpicked by Richard and contains probably the best selection of French holiday venues. I dont envy you making a decision from any of them but think you can be assured that wherever you go you will have a great time.

Whether you expect it or not you WILL get the usual welcome that everyone who comes here get.... warm, welcoming and you will immediately be made to feel 'at home' Oh and a very welcome cup of tea or a cold beer. Cant imagine what the 'bad' is though... maybe pm me to ascertain its validity? Im sure there are many that will tell you more though.....

So what makes you come to France....? knowing you will get room to fish comfortably? A social with the lads? The chance of a pb? or......? Lets hear it lads

Have read on another forum that bungle is now sorted.... maybe he will try one of the carp.com sponsors next year seeing as weve tried hard to sort him out!!!!

Please try Sue & Dave at Windmill lakes... awesome food package, 4 hrs from Calais. www.windmilllakes.co.uk

Have to disagree strongly tony.... making a decision by looking at an advert in a carp magazine is definitely NOT the way to go. Personal recommendation is.

As far as I know Edens Lakes is closed this year....?????????? due to personal reasons.

My first piece of advise would be to look for somewhere you can book exclusively, it is nice having something to yourselves and where the novice anglers arent pressured by other anglers not in your party. An exclusive lake also means you can move about. I am sure you are almost 'googled out' by the choice out there, but word of mouth is always the way to go.... websites can look flash and wonderful when the reality can be far from it. Also try and choose a lake that is legal.... has a siret umber and has proper contact details and a lake address. There are a number of lake owners who sponsor the forum who would be ideal for you... click on any of their banners.

A Rushes tale Well it’s about midnight and despite being nearly unconscious I’m still buzzing. This is me last Saturday night after a week’s fishing at Rushes and a 12 hour journey home and this is my tale about my first continental carping experience based at Rushes Lake. After the 450 mile journey over in a battered old Volvo with my passenger and two sets of kit we were greeted by Kim and Iain on the patio of an old French hunting lodge which they had transformed into their home and a Mecca of carp fishing. Only one other person was there for the week so swim choice was not an issue so me and Tim settled into the double swim of Blue camp and set about getting ready. The swims were nicely set out with a bark chipped area and plenty of room for the bivvies and other assorted gear that only a carper to take away with them (although I wish I’d have not lent Tim my pod as the ground didn’t like bank sticks!) but after a couple of hours we were away, just in time for dinner. The dinner bell goes everyday at around 1800, so we made our way over (after taking the rods out) and awaited the legendary food that’s raved about on all reports from this place. I not sure what I can say about the food that hasn’t already been said but if you like pot noodles and processed ‘food’ then take your own! You’ll get nothing like that at Rushes, over the week we had meatballs, Sunday roast, burgers, chicken and pork, all cooked fresh and butchered the proper way (with all the little bits left in) I doubt very much that the produce Kim and Iain used has ever seen a polythene wrapper or a carrier bag. Food as it should be fresh, tasty and prepared to perfection. Following this a homemade desert comes out every day to the same standards (although, the chocolate fondant doesn’t appear as often as I’d liked!!) Fresh French bread accompanies the meals and bread has never tasted so good. No rubbish pumped into it, just like your granny used to buy! So back to the fishing and apart from a couple of stockies by Tuesday I’d had nothing where as Tim had had a 25.5lb carp, 20lb catfish and more than few doubles so a change in tactics was needed as I was getting increasingly frustrated and wanted to get some fish out, so I made up some stick mix and cast them out with each rod. Once this was done, the fish rolled in and I started to catch, Tim carried on catching and the other guest (now having moved swims) was pulling out big catfish like a madman. By the end of the week myself and Tim had new PB’s and had caught that many fish when the fish were feeding we stopped fishing at night to get some rest! Like a lot of lakes, Rushes has periods when it’s really quiet (we found this to be between 1100 and 1600) but it’s busy times can, and were, manic. At times it’s like you’re match fishing, they come that quick and fast! The last night was the most eventful for me, we’d already decided not to fish over night so we cast our lines out for the last session of the holiday. We brewed up a coffee and I started a nice Cuban cigar ready to catch the last fish of the week when the left hand rod had the weirdest bite I’ve ever witnessed. The indicator lifted and stopped, dropped and stayed still. 5 minutes later the same again but when a little line left the spool I picked the rod up and hit what I was a lump of weed. Dragging the weed back in, the rod tip felt like I was dragging over pea gravel. About 2 rod lengths out the weed had had enough and took off. Now I’ve never had weed do this so fish on! Little by little, it came in and then went off again taking more line on each run but now the right hand rod goes off. Tim grabs that and starts playing it, and then one of his goes off! Bloody hell, three rods on the go, and two pairs of hands WTF! Tim puts a loose clutch on my rod and goes for his which is then promptly dropped (nothing on it) and he grabs mine again. I eventually get mine ready for the net and the net separates from the block in the water (new net now with a stripped thread on the spreader), [censored] me two fish on, one net. I grab Tim’s net and get my fish on the bank and in the safety of the unhooking cradle and throw the net to Tim as he’s about ready. My fish is weighed (a 28lb common my new PB), treated, photo taken and put back and Tim lands the other (a 25.5lb Mirror) what a last couple fish. The Cuban is re-lit and the coffee brewed again and my middle rod screams off again, after an easier fight a 26lb mirror is landed. Three doubles in the space of 15 minutes no one will believe this! One more fish which came off just at the net and that’s it I’m ready for some sleep and my first French carping adventure is over. Early on Saturday we’re packing up ready for the journey home. After a long and smelly, what with the fishing kit and the Camembert bought at Boulogne stinking the car out, and I’m home. After getting mugged by the dog and showing the pics to the wife I’m back to the start of this tale looking back at a fantastic weeks holiday. Kim and Iain are perfect hosts, giving you as better attention and service as I’ve had in any 5 star hotel. They are both there when needed with advice or basically anything you need (thanks for fetching me some cigars Iain!!) and the facilities (which include clean showers with hot water, toilet, chill out room and freezers for bait) are better than needed or expected. So would we do Rushes again? Well we both would and will next year after booking up already for a week in June 2011. This time we’re taking the wives over, with them sleeping in the room on site and explore France whilst me and Tim settle back in for another weeks fishing. Oh, before I forget. A fresh bacon and egg stick is delivered, along with a pot of coffee, every morning to your bivvy. This was most days accompanied by Buster, Archie and Harvey (the Rushes really well behaved and cute pets) who hang around until you’re finished or you give them some bread or bacon (or in Harvey’s case some Halibut pellets!). I’m reliably informed, by the Oscar winning performances given by both dogs and the cat that Kim and Iain do not feed them so don’t scoff it all and give em some brekkie!!! Rob May 2010

I really dont want to butt in, but we at Rushes have only 2 single vacancies this year... Weve had a guy cancel his week for July 17th he was booked into Stumps swim and owing to the circumstances in which he had to cancel I would love to get his money back for him. We are a fairly easy water and an ideal venue for WAGS... lots of information on here. I really dont want to take any consideration away from any other sponsor lakes, and Gordon has a lovely venue and is now doing single bookings.

May 15-May 22 Up next was the Courtnell party, made up of Rob, Ash, Bill, Ken and Dave Dubai Dave pitched up in Stumps and was the captor of the weeks biggest carp, a beautiful 38lb mirror along with 2 other 30s and 3 big 20s. All the time he was playing the 38 he kept telling me it was just a small one, and was quite surprised and delighted when the big mirror rolled into the net, a new PB by over 20lbs, for him after his long trip from Dubai (apparently there are no carp waters in Dubai) Rob (Dubai Daves son) and his mate Ash from Norfolk, set up in Blue Camp where Ash helped himself to 2 x 30s (1 mirror, 1 common) and 7x 20s and a 20lbs+ catfish (his first cat). Rob in the meantime couldn’t quite get his 30 but came close with carp to 29lbs 12ozs (common) amongst a catch of 9x 20s and a rake of doubles Over in Goffees and Beatties were Bill (Dubai Daves brother) and Ken . Bill managed to land 29 fish including a lovely 27lbs common, loads of other mid 20s and 4 cats up to 31lbs Kenny, had less fish than Bill but topped him on the weights with a fabulous 33lbs common , several upper 20s including a 29 lbs mirror and a few catfish to 28lbs All 5 of them went home very happy with their weeks fishing and eating, after booking for 2011 Heard from them the next day and it seems it took them 26 hours to get back to UK, due to an incorrect spelling of Boulogne in the satnav (which took them in completely the wrong direction) and a small problem at the toll when they ran out of cash to pay the nice lady…….. May 22 – 29 Next a group, although reduced in numbers due to some personal problems in UK, the 3 guys who did get here had a great weeks fishing and some lovely weather In Blue Camp we had Rob and Tim, who, despite the very hot weather amassed a total of 12 x 20s with the biggest at over 28lbs to Rob, both smashed their pbs by over 15lbs also had a couple of cats, the best being a shade over 20lbs John moved around from Stumps after a having a 26 & a couple of quietish days and landed up in Goffees, where he turned into Catman, having 4 cats to 31.5lbs, another of just over 30 along with a number of carp to 26.5lbs A good week was had by all and they too have rebooked for 2011… see you & your wives next year chaps! May 29 – June 5 Jez (Jemsue5), Malc (Mach3) and friends have just arrived, along with a whole load of rain, so after a very leisurely set up they have just started getting some rods in the water (4pm !) so nothing to report just yet, but stay tuned cos Jez is ‘gonna empty it this time’..lol More news later……….. Join us on Facebook for daily info... Rushes Lake www.rusheslake.com Iain & Kim

Well done the lads... !

A list of carp.com sponsors... the banners show randomly through the site or just google Carp Quarry Scarper-Carper Forest Lakes Martins Lake Bills Lake Carp and Cats Les Burons Rushes Lake Horton Fishing Vallee Sweet Chestnut Wakeup Fishing Carp Runs Beauregard Genesis La Cohue Fisheries, The Old Mill Cas en Lac Clearwater Woodpecker Petit Pretre Lakes Les Croix Blavet Valley

Looking through our sponsors sites is a good start the banners are all on the forum. So click away. Blavet would be a good one... think you just need to clarify if they can do the gear hire. Berny is on the forum and usually visits every day so send a pm to berny Remember even if a website doesnt mention hiring gear its always worth asking! As for Edens they made an announcement that they were unable to open in 2010 but hoped to be open for 2011. One of those minibus services might be good for you.... carp runs. Not sure it will be within your budget though.

15lbs sensor brown is perfectly adequate and you should be confident with it.

Sorry beza... my post looks smug and in no way is it meant to be. Apologies

I am, at this moment, looking for venues to suggest. Edens isnt open this year and have no idea if the situation will be resolved in 2011...

Have you tried a fly and drive to somewhere near Limoges... many lakes do an all inclusive of kit package. Sorry!!!

Many thanks for the recommendations. Unfortunately we are fully booked in August. I would recommend Genesis Lake who I think would suit you. Click on the banner or contact genesislake by pm.