19 July 2020 – Last minute fishing holiday turns into an amazing experience for James and Jo

When it came to fishing, James decided to take the opportunity to try a few new things. James is an experienced carp angler and does three or four weeks every year on the Linear complex but it was his first time in France and first time on a small pressured water. Like the majority of our new visitors, he chose to take a day tuition to get off on the right foot.

Time to try new skills

Beausoleil is an amazing setting to explore new skills that you don’t get to try on other waters. With James, we covered a whole range of topics from how to know when and where the carp are feeding, how to cast accurately and feel the donk to how to improve his rigs and hook sharpening.

James had never had the opportunity to use a rowing boat in his carp angling before, in fact he’d never used a rowing boat before. Beausoleil is a great water to learn skills that can be a vital part of your journey as you tackle more challenging waters. James took it like a duck to water and the spod rod never came out to play!

When it comes to rigs, I’ve seen time and time again that traditional inline semi fixed rigs don’t get results here because the carp are too wised up and will spit them all week long. James moved to my trick inline setup with the multi rig and it wasn’t long before he was into his first fish.

Every tuition I do shows me how much this water can equally test and help anglers develop and it was the same for James this week and it was wonderful to guide him along his journey.

A night to remember

After a few days of exploring the lake, enjoying the scenery and recharging the batteries, James  decided he wanted to have a proper crack at the cats. If you’ve not caught a catfish before then this is a great opportunity to experience just how hard Europe’s most powerful freshwater fish fight. James was well aware of the task at hand and after an eye opening first tutorial, didn’t hesitate to book me for a second night session to focus on the cats and hopefully bag a carp as well.

We spent a great afternoon and evening prepping rigs, rods and spots and got everything spot on for the night to come. What followed was quite simply the most spectacularly successful night’s angling James had ever experienced. The first take came from the open water cat spot and after a serious 25 minute tussle an 88lb specimen was hauled onto the mat. James and Jo were blown away by the whole experience and we spent the next two hours revelling in the sweet joy of a plan well executed.

Jo retired to the lodge while James and I stayed by the rods. In the small hours of the morning, James had three takes on the trot with just enough time to photograph each prize before the next rod went. Two low doubles and the sturgeon were all safely returned and we yet again hit the sack. The fishing fun wasn’t over though and just before dawn James found himself connected to another beast. All went very well and a similar sized 88lb specimen was the prize. It was a great night’s fishing and one that James won’t forget for a very long time.

Your own private fishing paradise

For a solo angler, Beausoleil is a wonderful fishing playground. There are countless features to find, different swims to try, a plan to refine every day and James spent the rest of the week exploring and enjoying all that Beausoleil has to offer.

One particular feature kept pulling him like a magnet. There’s a large fir tree round the back of the island and the carp love to hang around under there. It’s a difficult feature to fish to and there is a very large carp cave underneath the tree that has caused  many cut off’s over the years. A bait boat is very useful here and with the aid of my old Anatec, James was able to dot some solid bags to the left, right and under the tree. The carp are used to being fished for here and are very riggy so a stealthy approach is essential.

The plan paid off though and on the last afternoon, James bagged what we craved the most: a big old slab of Beausoleil mirror carp. Scalpel is a rare visitor to the bank and only got it wrong once last year. At 37lbs 8oz it was a new PB for James and to say he was over the moon would be a massive understatement.

Read James full review of Beausoleil here.

James chose Beausoleil because he wanted his wife Jo to have a wonderful holiday too (which she did!). They absolutely loved the gite. So much so that James spent most nights in the lodge rather than behind the rods. Beausoleil was the perfect choice for them and they had the holiday they wanted and needed. Not only we will be seeing them next year but they’ll also be returning in September. It was fabulous to meet them and we are already looking forward to welcoming them back!