Carp fishing report from: Mick & friends - 20 October 2019

A wet and wild week’s fishing with two 40’s and some cracking upper 30’s!

This week we welcomed back Mick, Paul & Tony who last visited us way back in 2014. They’d done very little in the way of fishing since their last visit so to say that this trip was long overdue was a bit of an understatement! Beausoleil has changed dramatically since 2014, so it would be interesting to see what the guys thought of it. Good news was that they loved what they saw and could see how much effort we’ve put into the place in the interim years. After a good tour round, we left the guys to settle in.

New lake record mirror!

Any fishing trip that starts with a lake record has got to be a good start in anyone’s books. This time it was Tony that got lucky. The fight was slow and ponderous with the carp using all its weight to good effect. Tony really struggled at the netting stage and there was no way he was lifting this one out the water solo so Mick dashed round to give a hand. No prizes for guessing that it was Mr. Angry, and this time at a new top weight and lake record of 48lbs 8oz. The fish came from a bar that runs down the lake that does not see much attention as everyone is targeting the far margin. It was taken on a classic Beausoleil style snowman rig over pellets and boilies. What a result! Well done Tony!

Location, location, location

Tony wasn’t the only angler to get off the mark quickly. Mick had a 38lb mirror and Paul had a 32lb common so it was smiles all round. Mick’s carp came from a spot he’d found while boating about. It happened to be one of the new spots which was only found this year by Mark while on a tuition session. Beausoleil has always been spotty and this year has been no exception. The carp were very active in front of Mick all week but in the end he literally couldn’t get a bite from anywhere other than this one tiny spot. Mick banked some very nice specimens along the way this week with mirror carp of 38lbs, 41lbs and 36lbs.

First ever French carp

Paul had been to France a few times now. He’d caught a few cats from here before (the biggest of which as 80lbs+) but he’d never banked a French carp. Fortunately this trip his luck changed and he had a 32lb common followed by a 38lbs mirror. Paul was delighted with the results and swore to come back and try his luck again sooner this time.

Wet, wild and very windy!

It was prime carping weather this week with a low pressure system that held throughout the week. While it may have been good fishing weather it was pretty rough to be bivvied out in and on at least one occasion, the weather came on so bad that the guys had to make a dash for it and shelter in the house… yep it was that bad! The wind and rain were pretty relentless and sleeping through the storms did not come easily. At the end of the week the guys were all pretty shot and were really looking forward to a well earned rest and a few beers back in the lodge before the long trek home. Well done to the guys for sticking with it. There’s many an angler that would have turned tail and headed for home!

Rigs and Bait

The guys went with our home rolled bait as the mainstay of their approach but tended to fish either a pineapple popups or a snowman presentation over the top. They also put their faith in nine of our hand tied rigs which certainly did the business once again.

Back sooner next time

The guys had a great session and despite the rough conditions really enjoyed being back at Beausoleil. With family and work commitments, every fishing trip is very precious to them and it’s great to know that they’d love to return in a couple of years. It was great to see them and we hope that they can make a return visit sooner rather than later this time!