9 May 2015 – Catch Report from: Mick & friends

More big carp and catfish out this week but unfortunately the fishing gods did not smile favourably on everyone!

This week we welcomed another new group to the venue and I could tell they liked the place when they asked about re-booking 5 minutes after they arrived! For Mick and Joe this would be their 2nd carp fishing holiday in France and for Stuart and Paul it would be their first. Unfortunately some emails that we sent over to Mick were never received and so after check in we headed straight off to the supermarket to buy 150 eggs so that I could roll them some bait a bit pronto! I returned Sunday with trays full of still slightly warm bait and took the opportunity to spend a little extra time with the lads as it was their first trip. Paul had already had a nice upper twenty which smashed his previous PB by 6 lbs so he was well chuffed! Joe had had an encounter with one of our less gentile characters but after 20 minutes the 25lb mainline failed! Mainline failure continues to be an issue for our visitors. My first job was to have a look at Joe’s line and test it. It’s easy to do and is something you should do before spooling any line. In this case I used a pair of catfish gloves but a couple of clean bank sticks works well, just wrap the mainline round plenty of times so that it holds without slipping. Pulling slowly resulted in premature failure of the line. 25lb line should be hard to break and require a lot of force and this one broke far too easily.

Luckily Mick had a spool of 0.40mm 20lb GLT pro-clear. I tested this line in the same manner and it required much more force to snap it. On arrival, Paul had asked me about hook sharpening as it’s something that he’d read about on the website. He’d bought some gear and so I said I’d be happy to go through the technique with him. Hook sharpening isn’t for everyone but if you’ve got the time and patience, a  steady hand and good eye sight, it’s well worth the effort. I ended up doing the demo for all the lads and it’s no exaggeration to say that they were blown away with just how sharp it’s possible to make a hook. Once done I left the lads to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the venue.

As promised I returned Tuesday and was delighted to hear that Paul had upped his total to four carp but that magical 30 still eluded him. He’d been unlucky actually as every other carp is now 30lbs plus. Still he had beaten his previous PB four times so he was still buzzing! Stuart had successfully banked himself a big catfish that weighed in at 75lbs. He’d also got snapped up by another one and so I suggested he add a short length of mono tied in a stop knot above the rig tube to prevent it sliding up and exposing the mainline to the nasty saw like bone of the pectoral fin. Paul actually had a run while I was there but unfortunately it was cut short by a dodgy knot! Paul had made the mistake of using a blood knot to connect the hook link to the swivel and it came undone! There are only two knots to use at Beausoleil, the Palomar or the 5 turn grinner. The catfish of Beausoleil take no prisoners I’m afraid and any weakness in tackle or technique will be exposed! Back on the point swims Mick and Joe still couldn’t catch a break with a couple more losses to report. Mick did have a carp on but the hook pulled. On closer inspection the problem was easily revealed under the lens of a 20X mag loupe. The hook point was totally rounded and was literally pointless! You’ve got to check them properly every chuck boys!

At close of play it was Paul that had covered himself in glory landing nine carp including 3 x 30’s. Stuart had 3 more cats and the sturgeon, Joe missed out on landing himself a monster catfish but did managed to meet the Sturgeon. Unfortunately for Mick it just didn’t happen which is a real shame. All credit to Mick though, he took it like a man, it’s called fishing and not catching for a reason you know! It was an absolute pleasure to meet them, not only were they super friendly and relaxed but they also left the place spotlessly clean, 5 stars boys! We are very confident that they will be back for another crack next year when we hope the carp gods are a little more even handed with their favours 🙂