I’d heard good things about Domaine de Boux from some notable Anglers whom were kind enough to pass on some extremely useful information about the feeding habits of its inhabitants. Upon arrival it was clear from the outset that this particular week in July would be a challenge…..the water was low and the weather somewhat “changeable”!!! Phillippe the Owner told us that the previous week had only done one fish to four Anglers which seemed incredible…..did they have any hooks or were we in for a tough time!?!?
The desired swims were a considerable distance from the waters edge but were also a good few feet drop down from the forest bank which was now raised…..the picture below illustrates this along with the thick MUD! Nice!
However, we hadn’t come all this way to whinge or moan……we wanted a few bites and a chance of a real lump and not to mention the fact that we were lucky enough to have the whole Venue to ourselves! We took advantage of this and placed H-blocks along the cleaned off spots on the far bank in 4ft with a good helping of Haiths Euromix accompanied with Maize, Sweetcorn, Tuna, Mini Pellets, Micro Pellets, Hemp Pellets, Hemp, chopped Boille, whole boillie, barrels and T1 Cow Cola…..very carpy indeed! We also placed markers in deeper spots at 8ft and 12ft to ensure we had all areas covered…..it wasn’t long before the fish started to give themselves away with crashing and bubbling all over the lake except anywhere near our markers….typical but not an issue as we were both confident and up for the challenge.
Rigs were kept simple with 2oz running leads straight through without any leaders onto fluorocarbon d-rigs with an array of baits to try and suss out what they wanted……these were boated out two at a time with the use of the fish finder to ensure we knew what depths we were dropping onto. Although I like to use the markers for topping up spots…..I generally fish off of these and vary the distance throughout the week in order to trick the more cautious prizes.
It seemed to take all day before we could settle down and enjoy a well earned beer or three…..Lee’s a dab hand with the wok and with the use of the powerful 3 burner Coleman stove, we were soon tucking into a delicious Thai chicken stir fry…..we would sleep well tonight! It wasn’t long before the eyes closed when the first rod was away……we had a policy of spreading our rods out so that the action was shared but we fished our own rods and rigs/bait…..don’t like the idea of sharing fish as I like to roam about when I get a hunch and wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflicts, so taking it in turns was not on the plan and we always have a wager for the biggest fish!
The first fish of the session came to Lee’s rod on the 4ft middle spot across to the far bank…..it was a good start to have one over 30lbs and evidence that the advice we had been given was accurate…..Happy Days! 
The desired swims were a considerable distance from the waters edge but were also a good few feet drop down from the forest bank which was now raised…..the picture below illustrates this along with the thick MUD! Nice!
However, we hadn’t come all this way to whinge or moan……we wanted a few bites and a chance of a real lump and not to mention the fact that we were lucky enough to have the whole Venue to ourselves! We took advantage of this and placed H-blocks along the cleaned off spots on the far bank in 4ft with a good helping of Haiths Euromix accompanied with Maize, Sweetcorn, Tuna, Mini Pellets, Micro Pellets, Hemp Pellets, Hemp, chopped Boille, whole boillie, barrels and T1 Cow Cola…..very carpy indeed! We also placed markers in deeper spots at 8ft and 12ft to ensure we had all areas covered…..it wasn’t long before the fish started to give themselves away with crashing and bubbling all over the lake except anywhere near our markers….typical but not an issue as we were both confident and up for the challenge.
Rigs were kept simple with 2oz running leads straight through without any leaders onto fluorocarbon d-rigs with an array of baits to try and suss out what they wanted……these were boated out two at a time with the use of the fish finder to ensure we knew what depths we were dropping onto. Although I like to use the markers for topping up spots…..I generally fish off of these and vary the distance throughout the week in order to trick the more cautious prizes.
It seemed to take all day before we could settle down and enjoy a well earned beer or three…..Lee’s a dab hand with the wok and with the use of the powerful 3 burner Coleman stove, we were soon tucking into a delicious Thai chicken stir fry…..we would sleep well tonight! It wasn’t long before the eyes closed when the first rod was away……we had a policy of spreading our rods out so that the action was shared but we fished our own rods and rigs/bait…..don’t like the idea of sharing fish as I like to roam about when I get a hunch and wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflicts, so taking it in turns was not on the plan and we always have a wager for the biggest fish!
The first fish of the session came to Lee’s rod on the 4ft middle spot across to the far bank…..it was a good start to have one over 30lbs and evidence that the advice we had been given was accurate…..Happy Days!
31.08 Mirror
I’d not had the best start to my session and am always grumpy when driving through the night and then setting up in unsuitable conditions and then having to boat the mountain of gear over and then finding one of my very expensive reels was in bits and pieces! Not happy and then to add insult to injury I had a splinter on the most awkward part of my foot that I couldn’t remove!!!……so it was nice to get my first take and put all my complaints to the back of my mind!
Only a 22lbs’er but very welcome and off the mark….Lee had another two during Sunday and another 30+ in the evening whilst I was making do with 20’s landing 3 to 25lbs…..I then decided to change to a 6mm plastic Solar Top Banana bait as my 22 mm’s “A” baits were attracting all the smaller carp and it seemed like the bigger fish wanted to pick at smaller items….again the advice was spot on.
22lbs Mirror
Only a 22lbs’er but very welcome and off the mark….Lee had another two during Sunday and another 30+ in the evening whilst I was making do with 20’s landing 3 to 25lbs…..I then decided to change to a 6mm plastic Solar Top Banana bait as my 22 mm’s “A” baits were attracting all the smaller carp and it seemed like the bigger fish wanted to pick at smaller items….again the advice was spot on.
22lbs Mirror
30.12 Common
25 Mirror
30.04 Mirror
Sunday was over in a flash and I was now feeling slightly better although still hobbling around with a now swollen foot…..Lee had plenty of sympathy….not!....and was now also hobbling around as he cut his own foot on a razor sharp swan mussel….oh the joys of Carp fishing….all we needed now was some inclement weather…. which duly arrived in the form of heavy thunderstorms and flash floods and scary lightning! To say we were petrified would be an understatement as we were still getting takes and winding them in under the water…..this was dangerous and begs the question of insanity and I feel extremely lucky to be alive to recall the tale. It was lucky that we were used to wading out through the shallower water to land the fish and was able to keep the rod submerged…..looking back We should’ve wound in the rods and got some much needed shut eye but at the time we thought it would pass quickly and not last for over 6 hours!
The tactics were now working well with small plastic hook baits fished on and off the spots which were constantly topped up with the “Munga”…
The tactics were now working well with small plastic hook baits fished on and off the spots which were constantly topped up with the “Munga”…
31 Mirror
36 Mirror and 38 Mirror
It was soon half way through the trip and we were having a blast despite the weather and all the issues with health and equipment…..I’d stupidly left my fish-finder in the boat which was now submerged under water, Lee lost a section from my prodding stick and lost one of my landing net blocks and then my weigh sling handle decided to break!!!! This adventure was straining all the gear and putting us through a stern test of trying to keep cool……it’s times like this when you appreciate your Mates as with sleep deprivation and being uncomfortable trudging through thick mud and constantly being damp is not for the feint hearted although the fish, food, drink and banter kept spirits up and we were perversely enjoying it!
At last the sun shone on Wednesday but with this the action dried up and we both struggled drinking beer in the sun and eating fresh baguettes with soft cheese thick ham and olives….hhhmmmm….it’s not all about the fishing and we were soaking it all up and the mud and bivvies were drying out. Thursday morning was glorious sunshine early doors so we took advantage of the photo opportunity and the fish duly obliged with non stop action…….
Rowing out the baits
At last the sun shone on Wednesday but with this the action dried up and we both struggled drinking beer in the sun and eating fresh baguettes with soft cheese thick ham and olives….hhhmmmm….it’s not all about the fishing and we were soaking it all up and the mud and bivvies were drying out. Thursday morning was glorious sunshine early doors so we took advantage of the photo opportunity and the fish duly obliged with non stop action…….
Rowing out the baits
37 Grassie
31 Common
More heavy rain and thunder storms ended the week with the dreaded packing up looking more and more daunting! Literally everything needed washing and cleaning so we began Friday night whilst there was a break in the weather. On the fishing front we had managed over 30 fish with 12 30’s to 38 but no big girls so we were a little disappointed as we had fished really hard and well with small critically balanced baits as well as large 22mm’s “A” baits on the deck but could only find the smaller residents. We persisted with the sound advice all week and fished at 4ft where we had the majority of fish but we also had good fish from the deeper spots and fishing single baits to bubblers. Would the final night bring us a lump or two??? Sadly not although I did have a few heart stopping moments when two mid 20’s ripped off early Saturday morning!
All in all a good week and an Adventure that we enjoyed no matter what Mother Nature threw at us and with all the bad luck with the equipment and minor cuts, splinters and bruises…..it was good to go home still friends and in one piece……Until the next adventure…Cheers!
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