The real reason for putting a few words and pics together is due to the amount of going's on prior, during and after this trip. I'll try to explain....
I always keep in touch with the Carp Forum thread and Teillats (Cross Channel Carping) website as it's back in the day when Ian and Ali Bell used to frequent said place on a regular basis and put me onto the obsession on hooking up with one of those 70lbs+ Commons! There was always going to be three of them at or over this mark although Ian kept on telling me that another monster had not been out for years and could be something really special!
The time soon rolled round when we start pulling together the bait and tackle to abide by the 5 x luggage rule that we always manage to achieve give or take the odd bucket or two. My mate Lee rings me up on the very day to depart Northampton for Dover and tells me that the Channel Tunnel has been on fire and chaos reigns down the M20! Nightmare start!
I finish off my emails and get straight onto the traffic web-sites to check out the latest situation. It doesn't look good with diversions in place to avoid the car park of lorries on the M20. Anyway, we manage to leave at a sensible time and decide to take it easy. To our amazment we stroll down the M1 and onto the A20 and into Dover without one queue! Result!
We are really early and decide to park the cars and enjoy a few cans and maybe meet and chat to a few Anglers on our trip. We are met by a loud bunch of heavy weights from Kent whom fish the Brook and have plenty of names in their mobiles...we were hoping that they are waiting for the Dreamlakes or Les Quis coaches but then find out that they too are early and are going to Teillats! Great! But then we get chatting to them and end up as loud as them and have a right laugh that actually continued throughout the entire trip....Happy Days!
The coach pulls up on time, the ferry leaves a little late and we are soon enjoying another beer in the bar on another trip to France. Just as we are about to leave the bar I spot a face I recognise...it's Joss Faulkner from Poacher baits and I say hello and introduce my mate Lee. Joss says hello and points out that a right scum bag is standing over at the bar with a nice looking bird and a few unsavoury characters...it's only Pete Docherty! Lee goes striaght up to him and gets his photo taken...now knowing Lee like I do...it's difficult to ascertain who's more out of it! I'll let you decide but it was very funny at the time I can assure you!
Pete 'n' Lee (please excuse the dodgy mobile quality)
The through the night journey is always a killer and seems to go on for twice as long even though the coach is comfortable and spacious. We eventually arrive and are greeted by Jake the new Baillif whom appears sound as a pound and take the customary walk around to show newbies all the swims on offer prior to the draw.
We draw 4 and 5 and have to make do with our 4th and 5th choices as Biffo's and Bailiffs point have gone. Here we go again and decide on the field bank as it always does a fish or two and can throw up a real whacker every now and then.
We hump the gear round and settle into our swims and look forwards to the week ahead. I decide not to throw any bait in and pub chuck three rods without any marker work so that I can get the camp set-up and prepare the bait and tackle so that rigs and fishing strategy can be well thought out when all of a sudden my left hand rod bursts into life!
The takes here can be pretty violent and striaght away I was bending into a good fish that was definitely plodding and not a cat. Now I've not landed a carp from Teillats in eleven consecutive day's and nights from previous trips and was very hasty and unprofessional with this fight. To add to this, I've only had fish up to twenty on my new Century's and was shocked at the power of these rods as the hook pulled right at the net!
Gutted! The fish could not believe it was no longer attached and simply lay there suspended in the water before gently lowering itself and waddling away. Lee was speechless and I was doing a Fairbrass! Must've been at least.....well it doesn't matter...we'll never ever know and this is the sickening thing about Teillats as you know what can happen here.
Right, time to dust yourself down and get on with it...it's only the first few hours and there's a whole week ahead. One of the Kent lads also named Lee had struck gold in the draw and took new Biffo's, a really fancied swim. He hauled! We thought that he was on his way to Billy Flowers record of 60 fish but had a slow finish and ended up with about 40 too 57lbs. Great Angling Lee you worked really hard and deserved the money Mate.
Back to our fishing. It took another few days to receive any action and I tried pub chucks and baiting excellent known spots heavily and light without any showing. Clearly the fish were in and around Biffos and Bailliffs point although we did mange to sneak a few with my mate doing his best Common at 38lbs...well in pal.
Lee's 38C
My 27M
Lee's 37M
It was a great relief to catch that fish as I was beginnig to recall the sinking feeling of leaving with a fat zero against my name that I experienced the previous year. I do try and enjoy just being there but having lost one early doors was glad to relax and really enjoy the moments. Here's a couple of shots that will stick in my memory....
Jon's 47lbs'er just before dusk is always a perfect time for a biggun.
Every morning was misty around my camp.
Only a couple of nights left and I was as confident as ever that tonight was the night for that special capture. Right on cue at midnight my right hand TXI let out a piercing scream with the Mag tech spool absolutely flying! Lee was over in a heart beat and I was into a very promising aqua train. At first I wasn't sure if it was carp or cat due to the run it went on so when it snageed me up I had nothing else on my mind but to get the life jacket on and winch myself out in the boat to it.
The moonlight was incredibly bright and the stars were brightly lit up and it was an awesome feeling being out in the boat with a large fish being bullied up to the surface. The fish suddenly appeared and right then it became obvious that a cat was the culprit. Bollox! I don't like these things but after another twenty minutes of being towed around the bay in the moonlight became a tad happier at the pleasure it had given me with the fight.
50lbs Pussy
That was to be the last of the action and was dreading the long pack up and journey home however we had a great craic and will definitely be looking forwards to the dream of holding up one of these next year....
The Generals Mate
PS Forgot to mention about the "Special" one that Ian Bell used to claim had not been out for a while. I clicked onto my weekly visit to the web-site and surprise, surprise an unkown fish had come out at 74lbs+ that's now 4 x 70+ Commons to boast about! Truly a place where dreams do come true for those who try!
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