Cooler temperatures made for some tricky fishing, but our guests still managed to put some lovely carp on the bank.
Finishing with a flourish
To end the season, we welcomed back Ian and Debs, who had visited us earlier in the year with their best friends Jason and Katherine. Ian has only ever fished the lake during the main season, so I was very interested to see how he’d get on when conditions were tougher.
Ian absolutely loves his carp angling, and no effort is too much in his quest for the next bite. He’d planned to fish the nights in Point C and then hop round to the back of the island for the days — not a small effort by any means, and one that requires good organisation and plenty of gear.
Fishing at this time of year is very much a game of patience, and you need to bring your A-game. Now is not the time to let the carping gremlins get the better of you. You must have complete confidence in your rigs and approach, and play the game exactly right to succeed. This lake has beaten me up plenty of times at this stage of the season, so I know all too well what it can do to your head. I’m not sure Ian fully appreciated just how tricky it can be, but he didn’t seem fazed when we did the lake tour and shared a few insights into what to expect.
He started fishing on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t until breakfast time on Monday that he got off the mark with a lovely low thirty. Many anglers would have stayed put after landing one, but fair play to Ian — he stuck to his plan of swapping swims from night to day and back again.
Bites during daylight hours proved hard to find. We did see a carp roll, right on cue, on Saturday around the back of the island, but despite some precision Bushwhacker work he just couldn’t tempt one from there. The back of the island doesn’t see much angling pressure as it’s one of the farthest swims from the house, so I thought it was a good bet myself — but the carp thought otherwise. Fortunately, his nighttime fishing went much better, and on each of the following two nights he bagged another low thirty from open water in the small hours.
Ian’s very keen to catch every carp we have, so he was as pleased as punch when, on Thursday morning, he met the wonderful Lilly at 45 lb for the first time. Lilly’s a big carp and this was Ian’s third biggest at ours, which is mighty impressive. When he messaged me on Friday morning to say that he hadn’t had another, we both thought that was it for this year. Even though every bite had come in a short window, it doesn’t mean that won’t change — and change it did.
That afternoon Ian had packed down the camp in preparation for an early departure on Saturday morning and, with only the rods left in and just minutes to go before the dreaded wind-in time, he surely couldn’t winkle another out… could he? Well, that’s exactly what he did! This time it was the lovely Audrey making a mistake at 35 lb+. Another new carp to add to his collection 🏆
This made carp number five for the week, with an average weight of 36 lb 8 oz — his highest ever weekly average with us. Brilliant mate, just brilliant!
Bait & Rigs
On the rig front, Ian uses a multi-rig setup on a 25 lb Armourlink hooklink with a shortened kicker to allow for quick hook changes. His lead system was an inline running lead with a tell-tale made from the tag end of the mainline. For hooks, he used a combination of Twisters and Claws, both very strong and sharp.
Regarding bait, Ian likes to use tigers (he wants to avoid catfish at all costs!). Tactically, he relied on small, carefully laid traps of veggie pellets and particles, using just a scant handful over each rig—just enough to provoke a bite at this time of year.
While Ian focused on fishing, Debs enjoyed the warmth and tranquility of the house to herself. She looked after Ian exceptionally well, delivering food and drinks and even getting up to photograph his carp in the middle of the night. Now that’s love!
Eric & Friends
Before Ian, we welcomed Eric, Rick, Henk, and Monica to the venue. Eric has been fishing at Beausoleil as a solo angler for several years, while Henk and Monica have also visited before. Eric takes his fishing very seriously and planned to fish full-time, although he did agree—after some persuasion—to join everyone for dinner for one night. Henk now fishes only during the day, and since he and Monica fish as a pair, they chose the Point swims, which are convenient and have parking directly behind them.
Eric wasted no time getting off the mark. Okay, it wasn’t a carp, but Sammy always pulls back hard! The next night was more like it, with a common and a mirror carp weighing around 14–15 kg. Eric doesn’t weigh fish at night unless they’re particularly special. He also caught Sammy again.
The following two nights were calm. The fish were crashing out actively, but no bites were forthcoming. Even when you’re doing everything right, there’s still the same puzzle — timing, location, and baiting strategy. When I called round for a chat on Wednesday, Eric decided to dial back the bait a bit. The fish were eating much less now that the water had cooled. A carp’s metabolism is governed by water temperature and oxygen, they simply can’t digest food at the same rate. There’s no point feeding them bait they can’t eat. By adjusting the amount of free bait per rod downwards, Eric managed to catch one more mid-30 lb common before the week was out. All the fish came at night, so there are no photos to share this week. It was great to see them again, and we look forward to seeing Eric again next spring.
A flying visit for Tony
Next up, we welcomed Tony for his second visit with us. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, his trip this year was very short, as he had to return home on Wednesday. It was a shame, but at least he managed a few days’ fishing. As Eric found the previous week, the carp were showing, but bites were few and far between. I’ve experienced this myself at this time of year, and it can certainly be frustrating. For some reason, the fish were holding behind the island — an area that doesn’t see much angling pressure. If Tony had had more time, he’d have moved for sure.
Tony very nearly missed his autumn session altogether, so even though it was cut short, he was very happy just to be here — to be trying — and that’s what really matters. My public fishing has been rock hard of late. I had a brief window in September and part of October when everything clicked, but since then the carp have refused to play ball. That’s fishing at the end of the day: even if you’re doing everything right, sometimes it’s just tough, and there’s nothing to be done but enjoy being there. Very nice to see you Tony, and hopefully you can enjoy a full week of fishing next May.
That’s all folks!
This wraps up season 15 for us—wow, where has the time gone? We aren’t draining the lake this winter, but we are introducing six new carp from our usual source. We are big fans of the Czech Royale strain because of their shape, proportions, and intriguing lightly scaled patterns. They also adapt well to our water and have shown impressive growth rates. A couple of carp we stocked in 2017 are now pushing 50 lbs. We’re very much looking forward to returning to the lake for the winter, where we’ll be working, fishing, filming, and generally enhancing the venue for 2026.
A big thanks to all our visitors this year for choosing to spend their holiday with us. We look forward to welcoming some new faces next year. Have a great winter, and don’t forget—carp can be caught all year round. You just have to be brave enough to try!
