FIRST FRANCE TRIP SOON - GENERAL ADVICE AND HELP NEEDED

[christoph22]

Hi my names Chris and me and a friend are off to France on the 17th July.

 

This will be our first trip so not sure what to expect.

 

Any advice such as food to take/what u can buy over there, fishing licences needed, special tackle requirements, fish behaviour compared to that of UK Carp... anything at all that would aid my first trip abroad and make it a memorable one would be very much appreciated

 

We are fishing Lac du Charlou by the way

 

Thanks again

[carpnovice]

hi chris and welcome first of you can buy most things in france but i would advise taking some supplies with u such as sugar as you cant find proper sugar there unless you speck or can read french also bacon is very hard to get hold of there

 

in regard to the fishing its mostly the same as in the uk just on a much larger scale the fish fight harder and longer and you will need a bit more bait than at home but i would again advise not taking to much as you will be bring most of it home

My first trip to france i think i took about 60kg of bait with me and brought most of it home again so i would only take a small amount now and buy more when im out there if its needed

try and find out some information on the lake like what bait is working and speck to some people about the lake in other words do your homework first as this can be invaluable information any way good luck and tight lines

[christoph22]

hi chris and welcome first of you can buy most things in france but i would advise taking some supplies with u such as sugar as you cant find proper sugar there unless you speck or can read french also bacon is very hard to get hold of there

 

in regard to the fishing its mostly the same as in the uk just on a much larger scale the fish fight harder and longer and you will need a bit more bait than at home but i would again advise not taking to much as you will be bring most of it home

My first trip to france i think i took about 60kg of bait with me and brought most of it home again so i would only take a small amount now and buy more when im out there if its needed

try and find out some information on the lake like what bait is working and speck to some people about the lake in other words do your homework first as this can be invaluable information any way good luck and tight lines [/quote

 

 

Ye thanks pal there is another forum i go on to pick up tips especially for that lake but its still a bit daunting, mainly cos its a 16acres pit which im not used to fishing but it should be a good challenge.

 

Im not used to big baiting sessions either and so only taking 15kg of boilies (10 of which are made especially by the lake owner-his own personal recipe of which the fish are used too eating) and 10kg of pellet. Its not a runs water so i think ill be ok with that amount of bait.

 

Do i need to buy a French fishing licence? or provide my uk fishing licence u think?

[carpquarry]

Hi Chris

As said you dont have to go mad with the bait and use whats at the lake if they do boilies/pellet. There are some very big fish in that lake have a talk to Paul the owner and he will give you the best method of getting into them, if they do food I would just pay and go for it, its not cheap in France to buy food so things that you may want to bring that are hard to get hold of are - bacon,baked beans,english sausages, tea bags other than that you get most things. I dont think you need a lic there but you can check with Paul. Have a good one and catch one of his 50s

[christoph22]

Hi Chris

As said you dont have to go mad with the bait and use whats at the lake if they do boilies/pellet. There are some very big fish in that lake have a talk to Paul the owner and he will give you the best method of getting into them, if they do food I would just pay and go for it, its not cheap in France to buy food so things that you may want to bring that are hard to get hold of are - bacon,baked beans,english sausages, tea bags other than that you get most things. I dont think you need a lic there but you can check with Paul. Have a good one and catch one of his 50s

 

thanks mate but im not sure i want a 50.... i wanna be the first to catch a 60 on charlou!!! haha

 

Thanks for the tips pal i really cant wait for a full weeks carp fishing in paradise!!!

[mrs_rusheslake]

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

[Guest planchon]

Hi Chris,

 

To save yourself the hassle, you are probably best to speak to the lake owner as recommended above, also best to use the bait sold on site and also go for the food package if one is available. If you do tend to snack a lot, take some crisps etc but concentrate on food that you don't need to put in the fridge and won't melt in case there is no fridge space. So all you'll need to concentrate on is working on catching the biggies.

[christoph22]

Thanks lads, theres just one other thing:

 

I'm used to playing doubles and the odd twenty.... How would i do things differenty when playing a 30 or 40! I will be pretty nervous as my first capture will probably smash my PB to pieces! still cant wait though

[moorsey]

Take your time and remember to breath.

Seriously, make sure your fighting [not bait-runner] clutch is set properly before you place the rod in the alarms. I have seen too many "experience" anglers lose fish by being straight-rodded as soon as they pick up the rod simply because the clutch is set too tight. Remember that you have plenty of time to tighten it but very little time to loosen it off.

[angelo_hunt]

Take your time and remember to breath.

Seriously, make sure your fighting [not bait-runner] clutch is set properly before you place the rod in the alarms. I have seen too many "experience" anglers lose fish by being straight-rodded as soon as they pick up the rod simply because the clutch is set too tight. Remember that you have plenty of time to tighten it but very little time to loosen it off.

 

I second that, if your unsure about your settings then it might be worth asking the onsite baliff to make sure you have it set right.

[simmo315]

If you plan to go regularly you could buy a 3 way fridge.

You plug it in at home to get the temperature down. You have it plugged in to your cigar lighter in your car / van and you run it on an LPG cylinder while you are there.

That way your English milk, sausages, bacon, steaks etc last all week. You can spend more time fishing and less time shopping.

I bought one from Go Outdoors in the sale and it is a godsend.

 

Have a good trip

 

Simmo