poaching from river lot

[gagnaccarp]

whilst on my carp fishing trips around the lot region I have been to various tackle shops for my carp gear and boilies (when im desperate) and as soon as I get to talking to any French person who is any way interested in carp they always ask me if I know anything about their missing carp ,which were taken from the river lot and transported to private lakes mainly English owned from the eighties onwards,is this just a myth or did it actually happen ! we are not just talking about a few 20 lb fish here ,100 's of the best fish 20 -70 lb fish

It was actually legal to move fish until a few years ago but now there is a huge fine, but ethically you must be a right scumbag !

One name keeps popping up but I don't want to mention it as I don't know if its fact but an actual team was employed to catch as many as possible and local fishermen were hired also .

Last year I talked to an English bloke who was looking for a swim for a session and I mentioned a stretch of the river lot at luzech where when I was on holiday 15 or 16 years ago I hired a villa and the garden went down to the river and by chance I had my fishing tackle in the boot,(mrs wasn't to happy) anyway I saw a group of carp ,4 of them and they were all over 50 lb easily,i reckon the biggest would of been 70lb,this bloke I was talking too said that the biggest few had been nicked not long after I was there.

So , im not surprised that a few of the French fishermen view us with a bit of suspicion ,id be a bit cheesed off if someone had deprived me of the chance of catching so many of the best fish .

[newmarket]

I dont think its any secret that a lot of english lakes are full of the descendants of robbed french fish ?

Hence the term wrong 'uns ....

[guyholman]

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.

Edited June 22, 2014 by guyholman

[grangemilky]

Ask Kevin Nash 

[carpepecheur]

Ask Kevin Nash 

 

Interesting comment - would you care to elaborate?

 

The problem is not restricted to the Lot. Even much further South, thieves are actively stealing carp from easily accessible public water. Thanks to concerned anglers like Guy something is being done but a lot of damage has already been caused. When I am out I like to make my views known to anyone who comes near my swim.

 

[milkprotein]

sad to say but where there is money there is crime. I am sure if you asked any alke owner they could tell you all the names of their local fish thieves. I certainly have encountered them in my 20 years of fishing in France. The only way to stop it is to fish lakes that don't stock illegal fish and for owners to say no.

[carpepecheur]

It is quite simple really - fish the thousands of free public waters and rivers in France which offer much more of a challenge and fun than paid for armchair fishing.