smufter

Managed to winkle out another lovely fish this evening... 33lb mirror again falling to Trent freshwater shrimp. I think I've just found my new favourite bait!! Wish I could work out how to attach pictures

We had no problems at all coming out and my daughter went through hassle free on her way back last Saturday. Think you'll be okay geezer

Drove down via Calais, took about five hours driving "sensibly". Drive back home on Saturday. Not looking forward to leaving, we love it here. Pat and Phil (and Lucy the dog) make you feel so welcome.

Only a couple of days left to go... had another 31lb common out this morning on freshwater shrimp. Absolutely stunning fish, lean mean fighting machine. No gutbuckets in this lake. Sadly I didn't get a photo as it took an age to remove the hook and I just wanted to get her back in the water.

Having a great time here at the moment. Biggest caught so far is a 32lb common, with a couple of 30's thrown in for good measure and a fair number of mid 20's. I did lose a "monster" a few days ago, slipped the hook a few feet from the net, had a tail like a shovel and was pulling like crazy. Weather is a bit hit and miss, quite chilly in the mornings. Best bait has been sticky baits krill but my lost fish was hooked on popped up corn. The 32 was caught on a lump of luncheon meat tried as an experiment, but no other takes on it since.

Just a tad over two weeks to go mate. I am soooooo looking forward to it. Son and Daughter also getting excited now, and wife just looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for the duration. I've told her we are expecting her to bang a nice liver & bacon in at some point though :wink:

My three and my Son and Daughers pair each.

Well it's getting closer!! Only 3 weeks to go and I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas. Bait is now all bagged up and in the freezer, new batteries in the alarms. Spent Tuesday re-spooling 7 reels. Arm still aches! Also tied quite a few rigs up too. Ended up having to buy a new rod holdall, bait "bucket" and carryall as the mice had chewed bloody great holes in them, but picked up some bargains off the 'bay. Luckily my brolly and rods were fine. Have been getting regular updates from the fishery, been a 38 and 31 out over the course of the last couple of weeks, along with numerous high 20's. Weather over there hasn't been brilliant but it's warming up a bit now. Fingers crossed that they don't go into late spawning mode while we are out there.

I went over to Shimano Technium Black a few years ago and will never use anything else. A bit more expensive than others, but it's performance makes it worth it. Spools up well, sinks well, and is as tough as old boots. I have my "everyday" spools loaded with 12lb, and my spare spools loaded with 15 if I'm fishing snaggier waters or fishing in France where theoretically I am going to come into contact with bigger lumps.

Currently spending a bloody fortune on "must have" bits and pieces of terminal tackle off the bay. Each item might only be a couple of quid but it's surprising how it all mounts up..... Determined to go at them with a bit more thought and effort this year rather than just relying on my good old tried and tested running rig.

It's gorgeous mate. Spotlessly clean (unlike the dump I went to the year before!) with lots of features to fish to. And the gite is perfect. Exclusive use of the lake, I had it all to myself last year. Managed to get the two weeks this year for £1,500.00 which I think is brilliant value for money bearing in mind there will be four of us fishing exclusively, and the gite alone would be worth that for a fortnight in July. The fishing is a bonus in my eyes. I didn't catch brilliantly due to a sudden heatwave (nudged 38 degrees one day) which got them spawning again, hopefully that won't happen again this year. Like I say above, my daughter Lydia is coming with us this time, she loves fishing all nighters (which I didn't do last year) so hopefully fishing the margins during the hours of darkness will produce a few lumps. Catch reports indicate that the margins generally give the best results. I also feel that I took the wrong bait last year, relying on my favourite coconut boilie that I use a lot over here. The lake has a lot of Sticky Baits Krill going into it, as that's the bait they loosefeed and sell over there. I am going to try the Trent Freshwater Shrimp as a "meatier" alternative but take a couple of kilos of Krill with me "just in case". Also going to fish pop ups a lot more over there (well certainly on one of my rods) as the lake has a little bit of silt in places. Can't wait mate.

Luckily they provide nets, slings etc. I'm more worried about my umbrella and rod handles!! Little mices will eat anything....

Sorry to hear that mate. I have not even looked at my gear since returning from France in July last year! All of it is lying out in the shed, I am hoping that I still have some of it left with the mice we have in there....

Nice to be back and I'll try me best mate..... You been pulling them in?

Yes mate. Wanna buy a motor?? lol! Been working very hard this year, absolutely knackered if I'm honest. Not been playing as much golf as I would have liked due to the weather, but really (really) looking forward to this two week holiday coming up. As I say, went last year but just with the wife, who doesn't fish... so I limited my fishing to early morning/late evening. This year, with my daughter Liddy coming along, will be doing a few nights. The kids are just coming the 1st week, driving home on Saturday 9th July, so just the two of us for the following week. I went about it halfheartedly last year because I was basically fishing solo (exclusive use of the lake) but will put more effort in this year as I have a bit of "competition".

How ya doing mush???

Hi all. Haven't been fishing much lately, but am off in 7 weeks to this beautiful place.... http://www.theretreatlake.com/ Went last year for a week, fell so much in love with it we're going for 2 weeks this year. Bait has been ordered (Trent Baits Freshwater Shrimp) and odd bits and pieces of tackle been purchased to replace stuff that is getting on a bit in the tackle box. Going with the wife, daughter Lydia and her boyfriend Tom, and my Son Harry. Really (really) looking forward to it. Hope everyone has been keeping okay???? Rob

Went out yesterday. Lovely day. A few spits and spots of rain but otherwise it was what I would have described as the "perfect" day for fishing. Not a bleep

Errrr........normally recognised by a hoodie over their heads, (even when driving), or a baseball cap on back to front/sideways, jeans with the crotch hanging down around their knees showing off a vast expanse of Calvin Kleins, wearing a bit of "bling" and white trainers.

Just me I guess. The local lads who fish down this way in their hoodies and trainers all tend to use Korda stuff

Anybody fancy this for £200.00?? My best mate can't make it next year. I have my daughter going along, as well as my Missus and another mate who makes my bait. So there is one fishing spot available. Would just need to contribute a bit to the ferry costs (not expensive) and fuel/toll charges.

Married huh????

I use some Korda gear, in particular n-trap coated braid (which I love) and I do posses a Krusher (although I haven't used it yet). I tried some of their dark matter rig putty but didn't find it as good as Heavy Metal so won't use it again. The only problem I have is whenever I think of Korda I tend to think "Chav".

Don't mess with the rest, go for the best!! (n-trap)

Another vote for N-Trap or Jel-e-wyre. http://www.atomictackle.co.uk/products/hooklinks/jelewyre