gap

Here you go.. * do consider distance to travel, personally, I wouldn't consider a lake > 4 hours drive from the French ports.. * decide if you want runs with a chance of a biggy or two or out and out big fish with anything under a 30 being a nuisance.. there are lakes out there which will give you the feeling of a runs water with an average stamp of 30+ A venue I have fished twice has given me an average fish size of 40+ lb twcie now,with 2 or 3 fish a day being caught! (it's gone downhill since I think). Personally, I wouldn't consider a venue if it didn't have a couple of 50's swimming about (there's plenty out there that do for the same price as you'd pay for a lake that has a top fish in the 40's). Think about the quality of the fish too, are they in poor condition through bad lake management, are they from a none descript strain with few scales and fat bellies or are you going to be over the moon with what will likely be your new PB? size aint everything in my opinion! * sounds strange but if you do go for a lake with really big fish in it.. practice holding a fish of that size.. get a full bag of spuds and see if you'd be able to hold it for a trophy shot, if you can't then either learn the crouching on your haunches style with your knees supporting your forearms or make sure the lake and swim you're in can safely accomodate you taking pictures in the water.. of all the advice given, this is probably the most important for you and the fish. * decide if you want to have everthing on a plate (transport, food etc laid on) or whether you'd prefer drive and survive... the former costs more in the long run but it's convenient. * can you book the whole lake at a discount and take your mates to ensure you're not fishing next to a ravin muppet who's only there to get drunk and cause trouble every night? * what's the reputation of the lake owners and bailiffs.. it's an art getting it right.. a balance between making sure the anglers look after the lake owner's fish and lake and not being so protective that they become oppressive, looking over your shoulder all the time. Independant and reliable reviews of a venue (as already said, solid unbiased feedback from those who have been there), is a must.. bear in mind though, all lakes can have bad weeks and sometimes it's the anglers fault so check out multiple reviews. * do your research on the lake you choose before parting with a deposit.. does it have at least an acre of water per angler? are there any poisson chat? any crays? are sturgeon present? (will be a pain in the ass if there's loads of them), what are the facilities like (shower, good swims as apposed to mud pools, tackle shop available etc), what's the surrounding area like e.g. is the lake next door to a noisy road or worse still an active gravel works! is there a supermarket within easy reach, what's the stamp of fish like? when was it last restocked? any recent fish kill? is it a bowl in the ground or plenty of features to go at? is there a significant weed problem? any silly bait bans? any boat bans? can you use your own bait or are you forced to use theirs? etc etc etc * go later in the year to catch the big fish (Sept time) or take your chance and hit them on the munch in May(ish).. early season will be hit and miss though, get it wrong and you'll see plenty of carp, they'll just be in the margins getting it on with one another. Then think of yourself, do you want a good chance of some rays or will you be happy sitting in a bivvy with the potential of 7 days solid rain? * take all the essentials.. cold/wet weather kit even if you think there's no chance of inclement weather, no fun sitting wet through in your shorts for 7 days!! sun cream even if you think it'll rain all week.. medical kit, spare tackle if no on site shop, read up on new laws when travelling in France (hi viz vest etc), ensure you have European breakdown cover and travel insurance. Ensure your kit is insured abroad too. Take mossy repellent and good quality coils. spare batteries, solar panel to charge 'stuff' if the venue doesn't provide that as a free service etc etc etc * think about the none essentials to make life more comfortable.. 2 man bivvy for 1 angler, portable BBQ, 3 way fridge to keep the beer/food/bait cool. If the venue allows, take kit to cook you particles on the bank and take it out there dry with a large pan to soak it for 24hrs.. if going with mates, take walkie talkies. buy your food and beer from the likes of Super U and cook proper meals on the bank to avoid the squits (spag bols etc are a doddle if you organise yourself correctly).. remember that lake owners make money out of feeding and watering you on site (typically), it's cheaper to cook yourself and adds to the overall experience. * go for the tunnel if travelling during months of inclement weather.. it's well worth the extra as you avoid ferry cancellations and rough trips + if cancelled, you'll pay a fortune to the Euro Tunnel guys to get you home. * Don't go for the first lake owners that get in touch with you unless you're 100% sure it's for you, shop around and get the best combination of price and quality to ascertain if it is.. remember, if a lake is quality then they're probably not going to need to get in touch with you to sell their lake as it'll sell itself through word and mouth.... clearly, ignore this advice if it's their first or second year (see my next comment below) There's litterally hundreds out there and times is hard so get the most for your hard earned! I write down what I want from a trip that particular season taking in to consideration the advice I've given in this thread and then, and only then, go on the search to find a venue that ticks all the boxes. * don't be put off if the venue is in its first few years.. long established venues 'may' be harder than those in england as they typically see pressure week in week out for most of the year.. a new lake that's been setup properly and nutured until it's just right to accept its first year of anglers will typically see many many happy anglers with big catches.. * Finally, treat it as a holiday.. if you catch, great.. if you don't, yeah it's a bummer but at least you aint been at work that week if you catch a new PB.. it's cartwheels and flick flack time.. nothing like it in my opinion Think that's about it, feel free to PM me if you like... the above is off the cuff and I'm bound to have missed something. p.s. I don't own a lake so won't be trying to sell you a place.. of the two that's contacted you, I'd be more inclined to speak with Mrs RushesLake.. never fished it but she offered you advice without peddling her lake.. that's a good sign.. Got to say that I also don't know MoorLands Lake so cannot comment on the quality of that venue either so worthwhile continuing to ask the questions above to check out if his venue is worth a shout. Hope that helps. Cheers Gary

have fished it once 3 years ago on a guest ticket.. very weedy.. had a fish kill about a year ago but has been restocked since. http://www.carptalk-online.co.uk/edrf08/ quoted from article within the above link: "Still more problems with carp deaths up and down the country. We had Dovecote Fishery on the phone the other day and they have also been losing a lot of fish" and some details here regarding what was originally stocked.. I can only trust the original biggies are still in there? http://www.go-fish.co.uk/venue_1493.htm not sure what the stock levels are like following the fish kill and restocking program.. give the owner a call I guess

I used to use it all the time until my preferred tackle supplier stopped providing it as a freebie with other purchases

if it's lots and lots of doubles you're after with the odd 20 and possibly a 30 then go to Le Valdore, 1 hr!!! from Calais... it's very cheap too as it's French run and the lake is very nice.. 'probably' the cheapest lake complex in France.. very few snags, a little island, mature banks, huge swims (hard gravel so take a hammer!!).. just done an overnighter there on route back from La Horre, I had 10 carp in under 36 hrs to 33lb (a rare original) the rest were all around the 12lb mark... I wasn't fishing hard for them either (banging out singles)... there's been catches of over a hundred fish in 48hrs so expect little sleep if you get it right. the two lads (and wife) who invited me there are fishing on and have a couple of 20's out. A stark contrast to La Horre but great for a very frequent bend in the rod.

Had a smashing time at Sue and Kev's venue... caught a few and had a thoroughly relaxing time in the sun with a beer or three to keep us cool... well recommended for those wanting a home from home sort of venue... not a hook a chuck water mind which for me, made it all the more enjoyable (a bit of a challenge) Full Catch report here: http://kaevad2000.proboards100.com/...=fish&thread=31

well, it's finally here.. work can take a back seat for a week and fishing, a few beers and hopefully a good portion of sun and carp on the bank will put the icing on the cake... I've not posted for a while due to work pressure (all day meetings and the like ) so this one's going to be a real chill out jobby... catch up in a week or so. cheers Gary

Trev's (Pellethead) has fished 20 mate... not a bad choice .... I fished 19

Just heard from a mate on another forum that this lake has a few problems at present (with the fish themselves apparently) so they cancelled his trip.. he was to travel out this Saturday. I think the forum rules state nothing can be posted unless it's factual.. Whilst I can't say for sure, I trust this guy so have no reason to believe otherwise.. they're trying to sort him an alternative lake.. he booked through CCFH (Carp and Coarse Fishing Holidays) Obviously, he's gutted.. hope the lake owners are ok too as it must be pretty tragic for them too.

not fished it myself but got talking to a group of lads last year whilst fishing Valdore and they spoke very highly of the place... they came across as decent and knowledgeable so I'd say it's worth a look if I were a betting man

that's cool mate

did a couple of years on the Beacon, then Newport Pits (Sherrington) and then Ectons but now fish Great Linford syndicate and MKAA waters with some of the local lads.... you're from round these parts too mate?

got to admit mate, that sounds an aweful lot like a death rig unless there's some other detail that you've omitted i don't think is a death rig, i think is the-now famous- "Shocker Rig",don't you, guys? have just posted I dont think there's an issue after 1daya30 clarified what he meant by fixing a bead to the tubing. end of from my perspective

have a look at the word I highlighted in bold in my first reply... take yourself out of your own head, put yourself in an observers and re-read the post.. it states the bead is fixed to the tubing and now you clarified it isn't, so sounds like there's not an issue p.s. have purposely not reciprocated with exclamation marks mate... calm down, it was only a clarification question on what seemed to be an issue

got to admit mate, that sounds an aweful lot like a death rig unless there's some other detail that you've omitted

ignoring them is good when you've been on the forum for a while and know the score but not saying anything, doesn't give new comers a hint so they tend to take the bait and post a reply, or at least that's my finding on other forum's I've helped manage........ I've found posting zzzzz's to every post works too, especially if every regular member does it as soon as the drivel starts.. tends to frustrate the heck out the stroppy poster and gives the new guys some clue that the posts are not being reacted to as the wind up merchant intended. must try to stop having an opinion on everything

on a more serious note to try and help you out, a friend of mine told me about a place on the outskirts of Paris from recollection that's more like a holiday park but it just so happens to have a number of lakes within it that you can fish.. apparently with decent sized carp in them.. it has all the usual holiday park ammenities + obviously Paris is close by for a night out or two... I'll see if I can get him to tell me the name again

don't kid yourself mate, this state of mind does not exist in the species... it's taken me 17 years to come to this realisation... the best you can hope for is a mild sense of none unhappiness for a millisecond or so, any longer and the wifey subconcience drives the feeling back down, deep down, inside her never to reappear... use that millsecond wisely my friend, it occurs once in a marital lifetime.

Silly12Sally, what hair length do you prefer?

travelled to The Monument a year or so ago around christmas time and was turned away with the excuse that there was a sliver of ice on one side of the lake which was deemed to be a danger for the fish by the bailiff.. you could break it with a pea shingle it was that thin.... however, the bailiff wasn't aware we'd overheard him speaking to the bossman that it wasn't worth opening because only 5 anglers were there to fish so he didn't want to pay the bailiff with little revenue coming in to fund his time... we did the pleading bit because we'd travelled over a hundred miles to get there but to no avail, it simply wasn't commercially sound for the guy..... will never step foot on the banks of that lake again for what it's worth

heard of mush mate but isn't moosh to do with your face or something...

extract from a command list for training sled dogs (I used to own a couple): The lead dog is the important dog. The usual starting command is "Mush" or "Moosh" got to ask, what does the term mean for you? I've not come across it before

tight lines moosh, hope you haul, let us know how you do, as i quite like the look of this place aswell Pompey pb... you wouldn't have owned a team of Huskies in a prvious life by any chance would you?

cheers mate

sorry mate, missed your initial post.. I've not been beofre and will be fishing in one of the lower numbered pegs, we've booked out pegs 2 to 5 but am hearing that the higher numbered pegs, around 10, produce the most at the time of year we're going... doh!

this concurs with what I've heard... the lake's dogbone shaped with a deep gully running down the length of the bone joining both ends together... what happen's, apparently, is the carp hold up in one of the bays and move along the gully during the day to pick up the other bay that means one end catches first thing, the anglers along the staight on the gully side catch transitory fish during the day and the other end catches at night... those on the side with no gully and no access to the bays catch diddly