Fantastic new stock arrives at Les Levades...!!!

For the first real post of 2010 it's great to bring you some exciting news from one of the venues...

We have just received the photos of some of the new stock which has recently gone into Les Levades.More to come later on this week, but for now feast your eyes on these beauties.....

The fish weighed in at 33-08, 40-00, 37-04, 42-14, 37-00, 28-06, 39-00, 32-02, 29-10, & 39-12.

This stocking is part of the winter 2009/2010 management programme for Les Levades, during which time the lake has been drained, all the silver fish and tench have been removed along with all the small carp.

95% of the carp are now over 20lbs with plenty over 25 and these new fish bring the lake up to a similar standard as Les Croix, so Levades is now really worthwhile considering for your 2010 carp fishing holiday.

There are more photos to come, so keep an eye on the blog  !!!

January 2010 - A month to forget ....!

Although the weather here in South West France has not been anywhere near as bad as in the UK, it has been bad enough to make one want it to end and forget about it ASAP !

The lakes around here have been frozen on and off for most of the month, and when it has not been cold it has been wet and miserable !

We are hoping that with the end of the month very close now, we can turn the corner and look forward to the beginnings of spring !

Crazy Weather......!!!

After the pre Xmas freeze, we have this week had  temperatures in double figures day and night with the warmest day on Tuesday  when the temperature reached a balmy 17 C !


Happy new year to all of you !

Brrrr.... !!!

We have just come to the end of 8 days of very cold weather, it started last Saturday and has just started to thaw today, there was ice on the lake by Monday and by Wednesday it was solid. We had snow on Friday and Saturday which settled and produced around 5 inches.

From Wednesday to Friday it was sub zero with the coldest night being Wednesday at -7C

Pleased to report that it is melting now and that daytime temperatures of 6-10 degrees are forecast for the week ahead. We normally get one short sharp cold spell sometime in December or January and I will be very happy to have it over and done with !

Maybe just might be worth getting the rods back out after Xmas !!!

Autumn 2009 photo gallery is now online - click on the top level of the Les Croix Galleries to the right of this post.

Nice end to a session

I had planned to fish until Friday but l almost didn't fish the last day, as the wind had turned round tho the east overnight and it was very much colder than the rest of the week with very bright sunshine, less than ideal - but as this was really the last opportunity I decided to give it a few hours jst to see if the change in conditions had switched the lake off or not. My experience has always been that an easterly wind in winter is the kiss of death, and this has applied everywhere I have fished.

Not a single fish showed during the session, and I had most of my gear packed up when I had a slight drop back on the left hand rod which resulted in a cracker of 24-00, again one of the 49 Dec '07 stock fish, one that doesn't come out too often, but which is again looking like it will be a super fish in years to come. It weighed 13lbs when stocked, so 11lbs weight gain in 2 years.

With some very cold weather forecast for the weekend and the early part of next week, it looks like this will be the first shutdown period of the year - hopefully it won't last too long, because I know I will want to have the rods back out as soon as Xmas is over !

2 (pre) Christmas Crackers !!!

A bit more activity out on the lake today, most of it up to my right in the shallow water. With the air temperature having held at around 10C overnight and continuing mild today, it seemed that a few fish had moved up into the shallower water, propbably looking for a few crays to munch on.

With my rods still fishing in the centre of the lake and everything quiet it was looking like I might have to reposition the rods but at 3.00PM I was away on the middle rod  and after a tremendous battle which lasted a good 15 minutes I netted the fish in the top photo at 28-08, a lovely specimen, and sure to be a 30 next year.

I had just slipped the fish back into the water when the left hand rod screamed off, and after another hard fight of 10 minutes or more this one rolled over the net cord, one of my favourite fish in the lake, one that does not come out too often - maybe 3 times a year, a superbly shaped fish with the frame to make a real monster in years to come, she weighed in at 38-02, my first 30 of the week and well up in weight from the low 30's of the summer period. If she comes out in the spring she will definitely be 40+.

It has been noticeable this year that a lot of the fish have piled on weight and this has coincided with a big increase in the number of crayfish in the lake after they bred successfully in summer 2008 and we found huge numbers of young crays in the margins.

Closer and closer.....

We came another step closer  to the first 30lb'er from the 2007 stockies, when today I slipped the net under a gorgeous specimen of 28-04. This one weighed in at a "petite" 13-00 2 years ago when it was stocked into Les Croix so a weight gain of around 15lbs in 2 years....not bad !

The fishing has been a little on the slow side, with very little activity, just the odd fish showing and no pattern to this activity, but nearly all the carp I have caught have come from one spot in the central area of water, with the other rods remaining quiet.

Also landed another super looking fish of 25-12 this morning, which was one of the original April 2007 stock from the Auvergne, this one has only gained 7 lbs since then, but is a very nicely proportioned fish nonetheless, and should go on to be a good 30 within a year or so.