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A great week’s fishing holiday for Rob with new PB mirror carp and the new lake record catfish!

This week we had the great pleasure of welcoming back Rob and Aga to the venue. For Rob, this was his 10th visit to Beausoleil in 10 years so to say he knows a bit about the place would be a massive understatement! Normally Rob fishes with his best mate Simon but unfortunately he couldn’t manage the quarantine so missed out this time which was a great shame. As this is our 10th season, it’s fair to say Rob has been a part of our Beausoleil journey. We might only get to meet him once a year but we always pick up right where we left off… with loads of banter and laughter!

Aga does not fish but loves the peace and tranquility of the place. Her agenda for the week is one of total relaxation and a couple of good books. With the whole lake to himself this year, Rob was able to fish a little bit differently to usual and cover a wider range of spots.

Rob with Helix at 31lbs
Rob with Helix at 31lbs
Again your advice on tactics, hook sharpening and your stunning venue turn a great holiday into lifetime memories.
Thanks to you and Ren for the opportunity to be part of something completely magical during these difficult times.

New lake record catfish!

When I rocked up on monday morning to do my oxygen check, there seemed to be a level of focused activity in the Big Double swim. As I got closer, I noticed a very large object suspended from the tripod in the catfish weigh sling… Turns out that my timing was perfect as Rob had just banked a mahoossive catfish!

The weight on the scales read 126lbs 2oz but that included the weight of the sling. Now that is very heavy! How the hell he and Aga lifted it onto the scales between them I’ll never know! I nearly did myself a mischief when I helped Rob lower it down to the mat for some photos! I’ve seen a few big catfish over the years but this was just huge and easily the largest fish I’d ever seen. The photos are good but they still don’t convey just how big this creature was.

Rob with the lake record catfish at 121lbs france

Once he was safely returned, we popped the sling back onto the scales which settled at 5lbs so this gave us a number of 121lbs 2oz which is a new lake record by 3lbs 2oz, and yes, every ounce matters, it is a lake record after all ? If I remember rightly Rob’s previous catfish PB was 78lbs so he’d just beaten that by 43lbs 2oz…. now that’s crazy!

Rob with new lake record catfish of 121lbs
Rob with the new lake record catfish of 121lbs 2oz

Rob had the pickup from an open water spot and it took just under an hour to land. On the rig front it was all down the classic supple braided 2 x 20mm bottom bait rig fished using the Beausoleil lead system. This rig continues to remain very popular and successful with anglers for both carp and cats, here and on many other waters.

It was fabulous to be able to share the moment with Rob. It’s fair to say he was in bits afterwards. Before I left that morning, Rob had another take on the only rod left fishing. This one was much smaller… still 68lbs !

Finally in the 40’s club

It’s been a long held ambition of Rob to catch one of our ‘A’ team over 40lbs. He’s had the grass carp at 40lbs+ before but a grass carp isn’t a king carp so it didn’t really count for Rob. Last year, Simon caught a 40lbs mirror and the big common at 43lbs which was a fabulous piece of angling. If I remember correctly Rob had carp to 39lbs but narrowly missed out on the big milestone. By Wednesday he’d come tantalisingly close (again) with Cut Tail at 38lbs 9oz. Would he come so close and yet so far again?

Rob with Lily at 38lbs 9oz
Rob with Lily at 38lbs 9oz

Rob had to be patient but finally, on Thursday, the carping gods smiled upon him when he banked Gerrard at a new top weight of 40lbs 1oz (yes the 1oz matters!). It’s fantastic to see yet another Beausoleil original break the 40 mark. We’ve been monitoring his progress since he was 26lbs!

Rob with a mirror carp of 40lbs 1oz
Rob with Gerrard at 40lbs 1oz

Despite being a little bit under the weather, Rob continued to fish on and caught several more cracking specimens during the week. It’s wonderful for us to see that even after 10 years, Beausoleil can still generate so much emotion. Rob was, as usual, very diligent in his whole  approach and very accurate with his rig placement. The Garlic Specials were the bait of choice for the week, along with our carp pellets and particles.

Now, we’ve developed our “100% Veggie” bait package specifically for targeting the carp. However, the Garlic Specials are still boilies, and our cats love boilies. If you use PVA bags of crumb and freebies (of the Garlic Specials) in the bait boat, then you may well have a catfish pickup, just like Rob did. If you’d prefer to target the carp only, don’t use boilie crumb at all. Spread whole boilies, carp pellets and particles (if you’re using them) evenly over a much wider area (6 square meters) as a rough guide. This will force the carp to spend more time grazing over the area and therefore increase the chance of a mistake and be less attractive to the big cats that like a nice tight pile of bait. Rob switched from one baiting approach to the other and went from catching 2 cats in the first 48hrs to only carp for the rest of the week.

Rob with a 28lbs 3oz common carp

Until next time

Rob and Simon are off to another venue next year but Rob’s still hoping to squeeze in a week at Beausoleil at some point. In his words, “two years is too long to go without a week at Beausoleil”, and I reckon there’ll be a few scores to settle ?  Big congrats to Rob on his new PBs, we’re delighted for you mate and thanks to Aga for the great photos!

PS: Next fishing report on 3 October

Catch report & Feedback from:

Rob and Aga
Dates at Beausoleil: 12 to 19 September
Number of anglers: 1

Brief details of your catches:

4x Mirror Carp: 40lbs 1oz, 38lbs 9oz, 38lbs 9oz, 31lbs
1x Common Carp: 28lbs 3oz
2x Catfish: 121lbs 2oz (lake record)

3 small carp (10 to 14lbs) and 1 kitten

What did you find were the best swims/tactics/baits?

Carp pellet + particles with garlic boilies hook baits

How was the weather?

Hot and clear

How did you find the accommodation?

Superb as normal

What could we do to improve your holiday?

Nothing

Would you recommend our venue to a friend?

Absolutely

General comments

Once again, Matt and Ren are super hosts. Listen to Matt’s advice, it will only improve your results.

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