Failing to plan is planning to fail, so follow these tips and advice to successfully prepare for your fishing holidays to France.
At Beausoleil, we are lucky to welcome a large variety of anglers for their fishing holidays. We see beginners who have only been carp fishing for a year through to highly experienced carp and catfish anglers that are making their umpteenth annual trip to France.
I remember all too well all the questions I had before my first French trip! I was lucky enough to be invited by Jon Finch to join him and his mates for their annual trip to Abbey Lakes. It was only with their support, guidance and advice that I ended up a very happy man with five fish to 46lb in the last 18 hours of a 7 day trip…. talk about last chance saloon! I think the greatest lesson I learnt from that trip was that all lakes are different and some can be vastly different to what you have ever experienced!
Whether you’re a regular visitor to France or it’s your first time, planning your carp fishing trip to France is a complicated business. What I want to do in this series of articles is to just give a few pointers that hopefully will help you in preparing for your trip. I’ll be focusing just on the fishing and not on the logistics part of the trip.
Part 1: What to take with you
Part 2: Key tactics for fishing in France
1. Consider carefully what you are going to take with you.
My best advice? Don’t take too much stuff!
The more you take, the less mobile you’ll be. Believe it or not, mobility is key when fishing a week long session. At Beausoleil for example there are 4 anglers max at any time and 11 swims to choose from. The fish rapidly work out where you and your mates are and after a few days, will avoid these areas. Moving every 2-3 days keeps you ahead of your mates and the fish.
The less gear you have to shift, the more chances you can give yourself. I’ve moved 3 times in a day before now to get it right. If you stay in one swim all week and blank then you only have yourself to blame. It’s not just a weight or volume issue either. Paring down your kit to exactly what you need helps you be more organised and therefore able to react to situations quickly.
Things to consider thinning down include:
► Spod rod. If there is a boat on site or you’re fishing within throwing stick or catapult range then this would be the first thing to leave out. They do make a good choice as a cat fishing rod though!
► Marker rod. While they are a useful tool, many experienced anglers simply lead around to find the features and count the drop to know the depths. Personally I use both techniques as a marker rod, at Beausoleil, is very useful when rowing out buckets of bait for the catfish.
► Leads. Now obviously you’re going to need some but how many? Some weedy venues such as Abbey require you to dump the lead on the take in order to stand any chance at all of landing the fish. At Beausoleil this is not necessary. My personal preference is for 3oz inline pear leads and half a dozen will usually suffice for the week.
► Hooks. French fish are generally larger with big mouths. I would never consider using anything smaller than a size 6 unless I knew I would be Zigging. By sharpening my hooks, I can make a pack of Size 4 Widegape X last for an entire week! Go through your collection and weed out what you don’t need (see more on this subject below).
► Hooklinks. You only need two spools of top quality braided hooklink, one of 25lb and of 45lb. I wouldn’t fish anywhere in France with hooklink lighter than 25lb. I’ve even had that fail on a catfish a couple of times. 45lb is a good choice for catfish. Don’t think that’s too heavy for the carp either. I had one client fish exclusively for carp with 45lb Kryston Quicksilver and he had 8 x 30s on it! If zigging is the order of the day, then 8lb pro clear is a good choice. Leave the rest at home. For my review of the best hooklink materials, click here.
► Pop-ups. As the years have gone by I’ve honed my selection down to one or two sure fire winners. Don’t make the mistake of mixing a selection into one pot either or the flavours will get really messed up!
► Bait. If you have something that you’re confident in, then stick with it. If you don’t then ask the fishery owner what they would recommend. Fisheries want you to catch fish so the advice will be good . We have our own highly nutritional Beausoleil boilies and they are made in small batches fresh for each customer. We also supply 41% protein pellets which have low oil content making them suitable for use all season.
► Carp care. Don’t forget your antiseptic and, before you start packing, check what else the fishery is providing. For example, we supply a euro size carp weigh sling, four carp/cat cradles, 100kg scales, a weigh bar and a 7ft catfish sling as well as carp barrows.
2. Choose the right hook patterns and sizes
Everyone has their favourite hooks.
However what you are used to in the UK could be a poor choice for a lake in France. If the lake you are going to has catfish in it, when they are active they will pick up your carp rig. You need a hook that will give you a chance of landing anything from a 20lb carp to a 90lb cat.
I use a Korda size 4 wide gape X for all my boilie fishing. Now this hook may look insanely large if you’re used to a size 8 or 10 curved hook for example. My logic is simple: the size 4 will land everything you hook, the size 8 won’t. Don’t think it will give you more chance with the carp either as a French 20lber can go like a train!
The size 4 is also harder to eject due to its size which helps converts more pickups into fish on the bank. Forget everything you’ve heard about fish seeing the hook or feeling the weight of the hook, it’s just a marketing myth. Many estate lakes that have silt are quite murky and the fish mostly feel their way about.
The only time I drop a hook size is when I’m fishing smaller baits such as 14mm popup or 15mm boilies, but I still use a size 6 wide gape X. Some French venues are very open but very weedy. At Abbey Lakes I was able to use ESP size 8 Big T raptors on the zigs but only because I dumped the lead on the take. If the lead did not eject then the fish was lost.
3. Is it time to re-spool?
If you haven’t re-spooled for six months then before your trip is most definitely the time!
If you’re fishing a venue where you need to cast long distances, then your line needs to be in tip top condition, fine and supple (0.33mm diameter Pro clear for example). Beausoleil is very tough on mainline but casting distances are short. Loosing fish due to terminal tackle/line failures happens regularly. You need the toughest and strongest gear you can buy (not necessarily the most expensive!).
All lines are designed to do a different job. You need high abrasion resistance lines of around 0.4mm diameter (note I did not state poundage as this varies too greatly). GR60 for example is a personal favourite of mine and is rated at 15lb, it is however 0.4mm diameter and tough although not really up to stopping one of our big cats. In 2015 I trialled P-Line CXX X-tra strong. It’s only 0.42mm diameter but rated at 30lbs. I now use it for all my sub 90 yard carp fishing and on the river where stregnth and abrasion resistance is everything. l When I first fished Beausoleil, I used 20lb tiger line (fluorocarbon). While its sinking properties were to be admired, its price and abrasion resistance were not.
If you have any comments or questions on the above, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Enjoy, Matt.
hello!! i came across this website and found all of the tips pretty useful however i am stuck on something im hoping you can help me with, im fishing a lake this august called rock lakes its near Migné, France i dont know if you’ve ever heard of it but it stocks up to 55lb carp and 195lb catfish and my dilemma is the line im going to use, im 15 years of age and im going with my dad and his mate, they went last year and the catfish sempt dominant, my dad used 40lb braid and he got snapped! later on in the week he switched to 80lb braid and ended up catching a 105lb cat with his previous 40lb braided line in its mouth, see im after carp more than cats but you cant really decide which is going to take the bait at the end of the day so do i just prepare for the biggest fish in there and jeopardise the chance of catching some carp?? i mean dont get me wrong im sure 100lb+ catfish are a wonder to catch however i personally prefer carp.
i very much appreciate the time you have taken to read this and hope you have time to reply,
best wishes, Elliott.
Dear Elliot, thanks for your question. It’s great to see an angler of your age taking the time to research the problem and I’m glad you found some of the information on our website of use to you. I’ve heard of Rock lakes but I’m not familiar with it.
Firstly I’d like to offer my opinion on your statement that you believe you will compromise your chances with the carp because you chose to fish with heavier mainline. Honestly, this is not true. This winter I fished with monofilament as heavy as 60lbs breaking strain in my lake. It didn’t affect at all whether or not I caught carp.
I think the first decision to be made is whether to fish braid or mono. You say that your dad started with 40lb braid then went to 80lb. I’ve just read the Rock lakes rules and there is no mention of braid whatsoever. Personally I’d email them to ask for clarification on this. On our lake for example, braid is banned. Braid can be very damaging to fish flanks and should either be threaded through heavy large diameter tubing or correctly tied to a fish safe leader of some sort. I can find no reference to leaders on their rules so again I’d ask for clarification on this. At our lake all leaders are banned. I see that the lake is 13 acres in size which is a sizeable water. Ours is just 4 acres. Due to the size of the lake it’s possible that much of the fishing is done at longer range (100 yards plus). There is no way that you’ll be able to cast 80lb braid that distance but I see no reference to bait boats or rowing boats either. Will you be using a boat to drop rigs? If you’ve never used braid it’s a terrifying experience. I’ve tried some 50lb braid when carp fishing on the river and it is very unforgiving. You may suffer from hook pulls if you’re not careful. It’s also prone to wind knots (when casting) and can be absolute nightmare to deal with if it tangles. It’s also very expensive.
Personally I use mono for all my fishing and for Beausoleil we are now recommending anglers use 25lb Berkeley Big Game (0.48mm). The best knot for this line is the 4 turn blood knot and in our own line tests it broke 10 times at 25lbs or more which is plenty enough even for a massive catfish or a big carp. Your rod or reel will break before this. It’s very important to protect the last metre with heavy tubing such as ESP 12 bore or to use a leader if allowed. Catfish have very sharp spike on the top of the pectoral fins. They can use these to saw through unprotected mainline. Get some Drennan feeder gum and tie a 4 turn water knot on the mainline above the tubing then slide down to the top of the tubing to stop the tubing sliding up during the fight. The problem with using heavy mono is that you won’t have as much line on the spool as you’re used to. Ideally you’ll need 45mm diameter spools like you’ll find on the big pit Shimano’s and even then you won’t get much more than 200m on them. You’ll also be limited to casting distance but if you can use a boat then this problem goes away. You’ll find the heavy mono more forgiving that the 80lb braid and easier to use, the Big Game is also a lot cheaper at £6.99 per 500 yards. The further out you fish the worse the bite indication will be on the mono so that’s another factor. If you have regular size reels like the Shimano 8000’s or 10000’s, you may have to go braid otherwise you won’t get enough line on your spools to fish the distance you need. Another option would be to use 20lb Big Game (0.45). You’d still be within the fishery rules on 18lb minimum and if you protect the last metre well from those nasty sharp pectoral fins then you stand a good chance of banking a big cat and it will easily bank any carp that swims. At 0.45 you’ll get enough line on your spool for most situations and it will be easy to handle and cast up to 90 yards.
I’m sorry this is such a long answer but I hope that’s given you plenty of food for thought. Without knowing the water better and what gear you have it’s difficult for me to advise you better at this stage. If I can be of further assistance then do ask and I hope you enjoy browsing our blog and website. By the way I hope you’d consider our venue for your future fishing adventures! Regards, Matt.