guyholman

Volume 2 is out in November too....a christmas number one for Gaz and the team I expect!!

anyway???? Tell us if you regret it...I will be very surprised if you do! The blog is well worth checking out too. http://subsurfacejournal.co.uk/

Sorry, I was on my way out so was a bit rushed. Quite an eclectic mix Newmarket, their aim was to do something sort of half way between a book and the magazines, but without the sponsored, have to mention this bit of kit and that bit of kit thing, that for me ruins the mags these days. It's a bit like how the carping spirit and carp writing used to be, but bought up to date. A fair bit about fishing the Thames from the likes of Terry Hearn, Mark Casper, John Gard and Simon Hartop. Some very interesting interviews - the Terry Dempsey, Steve Neville and Geoff Bowers ITV's are particularly well worth the read and many more too, some less inspiring than others though. A couple of book reviews. A few travelogues from some not so well known anglers, both British and European. A good dose of Gareth's prose, which for me is never a bad thing. Superb photography too! He should put me on commission after that..lol

Got it last year and love it. Will be getting vol 2 as soon as its out...November from what I've been told. Well worth the money! Guy

No secret Newmarket, even less so (at least in France) the vast numbers of fish moved from public waters to stock private carp venues here in France itself, both before and after the change to the environmental laws in 2006 that made this practice illegal. Cheesed off....putting it lightly Gagnaccarp...although perhaps today the Lot is less of a target than it once was, for a variety of reasons. The very fact that so many fish have been removed over the last 20 yrs, inevitably with a high proportion of the more easily caught carp being moved, means that catching many of the remaining carp has become harder. Recent studies have shown that the mirror carp population is ageing rapidly, with far fewer mirror carp fry making it to adult weights, whereas the hardier common fry are able in most stretches to come through and maintain a healthy population structure. Many of the large mirrors in the river today originate from stockings made after a major pollution event in 1986 (zinc and cadmium). These fish are now around 30 yrs old. After the "emergency" stockings very little in the way of new blood was introduced into the Lot since. The Federation are however now starting to take the carp population a little more seriously and for the last two years they have been adding small batches of 3 yr old mirrors to try and rebalance the stocks. They have also put into place a short term programme over the next three years to add again small numbers to all the stretches where an ageing population of mirrors has been identified and more homoeopathic doses, to add a little extra new blood in others. Hopefully the new carp will be able to live out the rest of their lives in the river, unlike so many of their predecessors. The Lot may be less targeted by fish thieves than it once was, but it is still very much going on. Increased vigilance by local anglers and the authorities and a campaign to inform home owners on the banks of the river, of the problem and who to contact in case of suspicious behaviour may well help to further minimise the numbers lost..lets hope so. Today the problem with fish thefts from public waters is far greater in other areas of France....rather unsurprisingly these are centred upon the areas with a high density of private carp lakes.

No siret number is required for renting gites or accomodation, other rules apply to that sort of activity. Can come under the MSA if you are farming or can be classed as supplementary income. If you were to set up and rent fishing swims to bivvy up in on the lakes.... then you would need a siret, but not if fishing is simply advertised as a local activity. Also worth knowing is that if the river is public (domaine public) then you cannot reserve swims for clients or build swims...as there is a thing called "Le servitude de marche pieds" which means a certain distance from the point where the river breaks its banks is public (usually between 1.5m and 3.75m in most places). On this strip of land you must not erect fences, plant trees or otherwise obstruct the right of passage. Fishermen are allowed to use this strip to access the banks of public rivers to fish from. In fact your are required to maintain this strip for this use at your own expense. This all depends on where you are and how the river is classified where you have your property. You can check on how this might affect you at your departmental fishing federation or local AAPPMA.

Mas Bas is a registered fishery...their siret number appears on the angling lines website.

I didn't say you could necessarily get decent bait there Mrs R, the OP asked for a decent tackle and bait shop in the area... the Pacific Peche in Limoges is one of the largest and best stocked tackle shops in the country and it has a fair range of bait. Personally I don't buy branded baits in any case, apart from the odd pack of pop ups, so am inclined to agree with you on the decent bait in a French tackle shop front. You are also right about Etang de Cosse, the UNCL have not been able to find a siret number for the owner or the lake either. I would advise the OP to contact the owner and ask about this, as although many owners now do use their siret numbers, a lot still don't even realise they need to put one on their business documents (including websites), so the owners may well be registered in reality. I have found this to be the case on a number of occasions. It's really good to see that more and more owners are registering and talking publicly about the many waters that still remain unregistered and the the potential pitfalls for visiting anglers. I hope that anglers take note and can make informed choices about their holiday destinations in France.

Hi There is a big well stocked Pacific Peche tackle shop just north of Limoges, next to the CORA supermarket, its probably your best bet and is right next to the motorway.

Fishmeals you will need to get online...Cotes et Lacs have a decent range..otherwise just google "farine de poisson". I have lived in the Lot for 12 years and run the local carp section which covers the area between Figeac and St Cirq Lapopie..by all means PM me for a chat or a beer on the banks sometime. All the best Guy

Hey Frenchboy I have never paid (other than the license fee) to fish anywhere in France..I personally don't see any need to, with the wealth of public waters available. I have no problem tough with the idea that people may prefer the British owned private waters, their convenience and the sort of angling experience they can offer. The rivers usually hold some very good fish and some provide stunning locations that are normally a lot more peaceful than a commercial lake, with far less heavily pressured fish too! I don't think that many will have missed the fact that there is so much underexploited potential in the public waters though...especially readers of Carpworld! Just looking at the latest issue, there are several references to just these kind of waters and I can't remember the last issue where there wasn't something about French public waters! Take the latest article by Tony Davis-Patrick in the series European Adventures. He fishes a couple of spots, whilst leaving much to the imagination as to the actual areas he fished, but mentioning in the process other areas of potential interest that can be easily sussed by reading between the lines and with a bit of research or local knowledge....there are lots of French carp forums with decent information on waters...enough to bring the detective out of the carp angler! I am sure more will do so in the future. Good luck to them those that choose to visit the private lakes! Hopefully everybody gets what they are looking for!

Hi Maffy Sorry to hear you didnt catch. Thats a pretty decent spot...did you fish from the point at the mouth on the Célé side of the Lot, (turn right after bridge just before the tunnel)?? There are a couple of lovely swims down that track.

There really is an awful lot of public water available over in France and some really spectacular places to fish. Even some of the smaller rivers, like my local river Célé hold quality fish in some quite unexpected places and I'm not talking about where it enters the Lot, for those that know the area! The privately run lakes, offer a very good deal (for the most part) and have obvious appeal...but as said above there are literally hundreds of public waters in France that hold very respectable fish and some real biggies too, that get rarely fished for. Even if its often a needle in the haystack and sometimes a very big haystack (I fish a few waters in the 500 to 1500 hectares range), there are often lots of 30's and 40's too be had too. Here is a site with all the night fishing zones listed by department for 2012. Any of these zones will have some decent potential for the public water carp fisherman. Night Fishing Zones in France 2012 You can also get your French Fishing Licence online these days. Although the site is only in French for the moment. If fishing public waters, a valid licence is required, this is not the case on the private waters. Public water fishing is often more of a challenge, especially for those looking for wi fi hook ups, fridges and the creature comforts, but can be a great adventure....each to his own I guess. The situation with fish pilfering for private lakes has come to a head of late. Mainly down to a Kevin Nash interview in one of the carp mags here, where he admits responsibility for 200 carp being transferred from the Lot area to a (once but no longer his) lake in the Aveyron......by members of his team but without his knowledge.................................... Laws have been strengthened in recent years, so now it is illegal to, remove or transport a carp of over 60cm and use carp sacks at night. You have to place a light to mark your presence at night in most areas too and stick to authorised night fishing zones....... Hopefully this will have some impact, but I ain't holding my breath....its easy to understand the point of view of the French "carpistes" though...public fish being taken to stock private ponds, be they English or French owned, deprives the licence holder of some of the best fish in THEIR waterways, so they feel well ripped off....to put it mildly! If you do decide to try a bit of public fishing in France, may you have a very successful and enjoyable time...I sure do...always the latter in any case...lol! All the best Guy