A scorcher of a week for Wayne and Ian who achieved all that they had come for on their first trip to France
This week we welcomed Wayne and his lovely wife Kim and family friend Ian to the venue for the first time. After an agonising 18 month wait and so much uncertainty it was a massive relief for them just to be here.
Tuition to start the week
Due to the heat, we decided to go straight into a tuition session after setting up in the Big Double. Wayne had done a serious amount of homework and was well equipped and well prepared. For Ian this would be an adventure into the unknown as he’d never done what I would call “proper” carp fishing before. With so much ground to cover in so little time in the end I had to place a couple of rigs from the boat in the dark but we got there in the end.
WHAT AN AMAZING PLACE! This was our first fishing trip in France and we could not have asked for anything more. In an idyllic setting, it is an extremely cared for fishery resulting in fantastic carp and cats. Matt and Ren were excellent hosts, very helpful and knowledgeable and could not do enough to help. I would definitely recommend the lesson. We really can’t express how much we have enjoyed the trip. We would definitely recommend Beausoleil Cat and Carp to anybody looking for a fishing trip in France and we will be back for a second visit soon.
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Silent night (well for me!)
When my head hit the pillow, I was out for the count. I was only a few meters away from the rods and never heard nothing. I was surprised to hear that the bobbins had been dancing all night and at least one rod had been taken walkies by our sneaky carp. Unfortunately the guys didn’t actually connect with anything that night, which is very unusual after a tuition, but the session is not about one night. It’s about helping the guys become more complete anglers so that they can get the best from their holiday and any other waters they choose to fish in the future.
The Royal tour
On Sunday morning we spent a good few hours in the boats covering as much ground as we could. Beausoleil is absolutely jammed packed with features that you simply wouldn’t know about unless you did a detailed survey of the lake bed. I found two massive holes in otherwise dead areas of silt that have been excavated by the fish that I’d never found before! The guys absolutely loved what we are now calling the “sucky sucky stick”! It’s as good as having underwater video equipment in terms of being able to tell where they’ve been eating and where they haven’t!
Job done for Ian
When I met Ian, he said that this may well be the one and only time in his life that he ever gets to fish for big carp. He only had one objective, to catch one and then he’d happily go back to what he knows and loves… fishing for roach! On Tuesday, the grin on Ian’s face was three miles wide. With a new PB mirror of 37lbs it was job done! As he’d not had any previous experience of catching anything as big as this. Ian got Wayne to do the trophy shot.
Box ticked for Wayne
Wayne also had a very simple objective for his first carp fishing trip to France. He wanted to catch one of each. On the same night that Ian banked his carp, Ian banked his first ever catfish. By Beausoleil standards it was below average at 65lbs , but it meant the world to Wayne and that is all that matters and all focus was now on catching a carp.
How hard can it be?
As we’ve said many times before, Beausoleil is not an easy water and Wayne was working away at the problem and trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. Tuesday night, Wayne came agonisingly close to achieving his goal but suffered a hook pull when the fish rolled on the line and it levered the hook out. With the weather set to go from roasting to very wet and stormy, I hoped that this would be the break they needed. The trouble is, when the conditions are tougher, everything has to be spot on on all fronts!
Pulling out all the stops
I was back at Beausoleil on Thursday and it still wasn’t happening for Wayne. After a quick survey of the lake I could tell where the oxygen was better and now we had a new plan. It was a case of upping sticks and heading for point A. The fish had been very active here but the rest of the lake was very quiet. Once the guys had moved, I got riggy with it and went through everything with a fine tooth comb to get everything perfect. Then it was just a case of rowing out some rods, applying some bait and waiting for the magic to happen. I hadn’t been home long and I got the message I was hoping for: Wayne had struck gold with Hyphen at 39lbs! I think the massive grin on his face says it all really. Wayne managed 4 takes in total from the 3 spots I’d found for him.
They’ll be back!
It was a tough week’s fishing but the guys learnt an enormous amount during their time here and really enjoyed the challenge. This was a completely different fishing experience so a big thank you to both of them for putting their trust in me. It was great to see that Ian enjoyed the carp fishing way more than he expected 🙂 We very much look forward to their next adventures at Beausoleil.
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