guinness

I would use what you normally use. that way you can test it there and also be able to see how the rig reacts in the shallow water. If you don't get results start testing different things. I would imagine light lead as you aren't casting. good luck

You need something to occupy the time whilst waiting for the few elusive fish in Montbel! Beautiful skies and a bit of music help

Will be going there again as soon as all the snow has melted off the mountains. I drop in the cafe for a few beers each time i am there - nice to have a cold one after a session they have some good music there too in the summer which is good to listen to!

Not wrong there fatfish! I go to get away from the missus (gives her a break from me too!)

an annual permit is 84 € not 47€ sorry! have never seen a bailiff and personally wouldnt bother with a bait boat as you need a "real" boat to get to anywhere fishable. Personal preferences only so no offence mad mick!!. There are some big fish still in there but real hard to catch but thats fishing!

............mainly because 75% of the spawning females died in 2003 when there was a late snow melt off the mountains and the water temperature dropped dramatically ANd it hasnt been restocked since. I live nearby and fish it but have only caught 2 fish in 30 days fishing. And some guys i know came over from ireland and fished it and caught one carp between them in 3 weeks - one of them fishes for the Ireland team so they were not novices! So to recap - i wouldnt waste your time coming here for a holiday from the uk - i only live 30 mins away so its a camping session for me and if i catch a fish its a bonus. (gets me away from the missus ) I also fish for pike at the same time so it breaks the monotony. if you do decide to go there give me a shout and i'll come wet a line

Have found out a bit more info thanks to fatfish and friends Also found out it was fairly well stocked but in 2003 there was a big melt of snow off the mountains in April when the carp were spawning and the sudden drop in temperature killed 75% of them And it seems it hasnt been restocked since then so a low head count of carp there. But I have my echo sounder and now am attacking the lake with gusto (when wifey lets me go!) Only had 1 session so far with no joy but prepared to try try and try again as its only 35 mins away.

No worries mate. So what do you grow fish for? Pleasure or you do you have a lake? (ignore that - just checked out your website so I know what you do now. Cant you persuade Montbel to buy some fish to restock?!!) I'm newly back in fishing mode and I can take work with me because I always have loads of reading to do and never seem to have the time at home. So I can justify spending hours/days in a bivvy seemingly doing nothing because I Am actually doing some work too I was speaking with a fly fisherman today who knows the lake very well and fishes for pike with the fly (and he is a rare type because he is all for no kill for pike too) so we will be spending some time there together I LOVE living in France

..and maybe we can meet up and do a bit

Cheers for the info - so whats the lake record? I spent a few days there last weekend and got one run which was dropped after about 10 seconds so probably something small picked up the bait but i never expect to bag up - just chill I also intend to mix a bit of piking as I know there are many there. Which section do you fish? Montbel or Leran side? cheers guinness PS - its only 35 mins away from me so I intend to fish there fairly regularly PPS - got my PB (44 pounder) at Salagou last month so very happy

forgot to ask - what did you catch whilst there? And any tips on bait tackle etc?

LOL i hope i dont cath one of those planes or

thanks for the info fatfish. Do you ever intend to fish it again? I have only looked so far at the other end of the lake and was there this weekend but at the moment it is full to the brim! SO pretty unfishable for carp because of the underwater trees. Havent seen so much water there for years! Cant wait for them to drain off some for irrigation and the canadair to come and scoop a load out too! When i get my boat next week i shall then take a good look around and see if i can find your spots too. I knew there werent too many carp there. From what I've rread there was a competition back in 2003 and they ranged from 8kg to 16kg then. And 70% of the fish hooked got snapped off! A combination of their size and the snags! I intend it to be fishing/camping/relaxing (only 35 mins away from home)so not worried about getting lots - just a few biggies - hopefully

Cheers for that Yes i'm looking at an echo sounder too to help find the features. Also looking for a map of what it looked like after the pit was dug before it was filled. I think I have a lead on that one. I also have a hand held Garmin GPS and was going to use that to help. Not sure if there was an initial stocking as the french arent interested in the carp in these parts - they only want to catch what they can eat! But I am asking questions of anyone who knows anything there.

Hi all I live in the south of france and am about to start fishing a big lake nearby (600 HA) called Lac Montbel. Very few people fish for carp and most go for pike because they eat all of them! I have bought a dinghy because you could never cast the distance needed and will start to look for features, depths etc. I understand the carp feed heavily on natural baits like crayfish so must search out where the crays live. Does anyone have any basic ideas? Paul Cann has kindly given me some tips relating to another lake he fishes about 3 hours away but i wonder if anyone had any tips? I was thinking of using maize to begin with as it is not widely used on this lake. But I also want to tempt the carp with something similar to crays. What bait out there actually smells like crayfish? I realise i will need large, hard baits to stop the nuisance fish and crays but any other advice is appreciated. Its a huge lake as you can see the canadian airforce use it to fill up their firefighting planes! Any thoughts or ideas welcome. I intend to spend a lot of time there! Cheers Guinness