I'd been keeping a close eye on the weather and the very few reports back from the lake which were mainly from the Forum......for what ever reason, the web-site is well behind, not only on the lake reports but also from a rule perspective......more on this later as I want to set the scene on this particular trip and on those previous trips I'd been on which were a mixture of blanking and the odd fish or three. Essentially the draw can make or break your trip depending on the conditions and the mood of the fish, I'll elaborate.....each previous year bar one during mid-Summer I've witnessed high pressure resulting in fish being grouped up in Bays or one or two particular swims.....the one year we had low pressure, the fish were well spread out with the vast majority of Anglers catching a reasonable number of quality fish. This trip was to be consistent high pressure so getting into one of the Bays looked a good bet.....it turned out to be a reasonable assumption, although which Bay? With the closure of the Crescent, due to the abundance of thick mussel strewn weed, the swim affectionately named; "Shithouse Bay" looked a great option and became my no. 2 choice as "New Biffo's" will always be my no. 1....until I blank in there of course!!! No. 3 was "Nice Andy's" which was next to the closed Crescent with No. 4 being the "Bailliff's Point"....just needed a good draw!
The first picker came out with the last ball.....unlucky for some No. 13! He would have to take what's left! Next ball out.....No. 1! Bollocks! That's New Biffo's gone! I had the 5th pick and pulled out ball no. 5! Excellent! The House of Poo Bay was mine.....staggered that nobody fancied it from the first 4 picks....oh well, at last a good draw!......just needed to get the mountain of gear around the other end of the lake, crack open a Strongbow in the warm sunshine and get fishing....Happy Days!
Home for the week - The Shithouse Bay.
Saturday's at Teillats is normally a write off for me although the previous year I had one and lost it within an hour!....hook pulls can be a nightmare here as the mouths are softer than your average carp coupled with the fact that the weight of these fish are above the average size! I'd pre-loaded each rod with 20ft of 45lbs Quicksilver attached to 16lbs Big Carp Fluorocarbon, 2oz running rigs with 18" of 15lbs HiQ2 rigs with an "A" bait and Cell snowman critically balanced on a D-rig.....these were instantly "pubchucked" with Solar nuggets and forgotten about whilst I took my time, relaxed and then slowly set-up base camp in what was now a glorious mid-Summers day that would continue right through the week...God help those on the Field Bank!
I hadn't fished this swim before so was keen to get the boat, fish finder and prodding stick out to have a real good poke around to build a clear picture of likely spots and where to avoid the treachorous weed which was not only in front of me but also on the far bank where the Crescent was closed. I literally had the priviledge of fishing around 75% of that end of the lake! The remaining 25% was unfishable due to the weed....God it was thick and menacing with those razor sharp mussels that would make short work of any mono, lead-core or even heavy braid! This would surely be the best test for my Quicksilver and I would need to fish locked up so that no carp could get a head of steam up.....only a big cat would cause me a problem!
I soon found a few nice spots.....two fairly close to the left hand marginal tress in 9ft of water on gravel and one silty area in 15ft of water and not too far from the underwater world of weed in front of the plateau near the Crescent. I conservatively scattered a few mixed handfulls of "A" bait and Cell along with a mix of pellets that covered the spots and reeled in for dinner....this would be the first and last time that I'd reel in for dinner as I like to team up with my neighbour and ensure that my time here is utilised to the max! I'm convinced that bite time for us is in sync with bite time for them and the less swim disturbance around 5pm and 9am the better.....Just one bite here can be the fish of your dreams and I always have a "keep it in the water" policy just in case the General's Mate at 80+ fancies a nibble while I'm fetching my pie, beans and chips!
A quick drink and a few cracks with Jake and I'm back to the swim for my first sortee of rowing my traps out for the first night on my own....ie usually my partner in crime holds the rod or rods whilst dropping baits out....but this time I had to improvise.....using fluorocarbon can be a nightmare with an open bale-arm with line spooling off and able to tangle with anything in it's way! To overcome this I routinely submerged each reel in the margin and removed each bobbin and rotated each hockey stick and let the line pass on top of the buzz bar opposed to through the alarm! I also made sure that the snag leacer knot had passed through the tip ring before having the confidence to row out 150yds to the furthest spots! This takes alot of patience although I was soon into a routine and was soon comfortable doing two at a time in the dark.
The first night was mad! Not from a fishing perspective, although a few lumps were out, but there was a party going on somewhere near the river.....fireworks, singing, shouting, loud music,......it was going off!!!! I was knackered and in much need of some sleep after all the travelling through the night, the 2hour delay we had, the Strongbow, the sun, some red wine and could feel a serious headache coming on when out of the blue I awoke to the welcoming sound of my receiver! I was out of the bivvy in a flash and into a plodder from one of the marginal tree spots......after a carefully played and spirited fight the first fish of the session was a 25lbs Mirror which looked like it had a few old war stories to tell as it displayed a serious battle scar on one of it's cheeks.....I was off the mark and pleased to open the account so early on......hopefully this will be the smallest.....and it was!
Old warrior - 25lbs
It was soon Sunday morning so I made an early brew and sat and watched the sun and mist and carp out in the lake....a truly special time that I would repeat each and everyday of the trip, I was lucky to have plenty of fish in front of me! I gave my receiver to Ed my neighbour whom was making his first visit to France, and went to fetch breakfast. Ed was also off the mark with the long Common at 63lbs! What an unbelievable first fish to have......just goes to show how awesome this water is....Well Done Ed! All the lads on the trip were sound and All put in the customary tenner for the biggest fish which Ed had one hand on.....staggering to think just how many fish are over this mark! More on that later!
The first night done a few fish and looked promising for the week....Bullseye was out at 50lbs from the field bank, a 40+ had been out from Nice Andy's, Ed's 63, a few Cats and plenty of cut-off's!!!! Jake made a point to All of using Quicksilver and I must've told most on the way down.....even still, people ignored this and lost God knows what......yeah you can convince yourself it's only cats BUT truth is you don't know.....trailers have always been a problem at Teillats NOT just in the extreme case of the weed this year.....so the simple moral of the story is....USE A SNAG LEADER! I've found 45lbs Quicksilver to be adequate.....if you find a better one then all the better......don't risk it!
Back to the blog....Sunday was hot and I spent alot of it watching the water and drinking beer and sunbathing and generally enjoying being alive! I'd noticed that fish were very close to the top and soon had a zig out amongst them to see whether I could tempt one!
Fish close to the top......surely they would take a Zig!?!?!
I know for a fact that back at home I would've been licking my lips in anticipation of a few takes but out there it seems that any bait on top or close to the top appears alien to them....really weird!... but I would persevere nevertheless. It soon became apparent that takes in the day were going to be few and far between due to the schorching temperatures. The day passed by too quickly and I was soon back out in the boat and topping up the spots with a good mix of soaked seeds, pellet, boillies and chops......I've done well abroad this year with T1 cow cola, tuna and sweetcorn soaked with the seeds and pellets so was confident in putting in a liberal amount this time......I was soon into some early night action!
Getting bigger - 32lbs Mirror
40.08 Mirror
Ed was kind enough to assist with weighing and taking some snaps whilst continuing to have some quality fish himself.....fish of 49m and 48c were backed up by a few 30's.....Nice Angling Mate! Not a bad way to pop your cherry in France methinks! The following day was kind of a Groundhog day where I'd been up most of the night rowing out baits, playing fish, setting up due to trailers, drinking tea watching the mist and sun and carp, having breakfast,......when all of a sudden the sequence was broken by a War Cry of GET IN THERE!!!! Must be one of the Commons was my immediate thought! I grabbed the camera and ran down to where the whoooping and a hollering was coming from......New Biffo's to be precise! Chris had started off slowly with only a 23m, small cats and a few cut offs.....he changed to 45lbs Quicksilver that I supplied him after his complaints and that night he had a 79lbs cat and then followed it with the most awesome sight in 27 years of carp fishing I've ever seen.....
The Digital Common - 73lbs 3oz!
The width of this fish has to be seen to be believed....simply jaw dropping! The whole episode was surreal beyond belief and a memory that is firmly etched in my mind forever! This is why I do this I thought......this is why I spend all my hard earned money and invest so much time away from family and friends for moments like that.....one day this will be me struggling to hold one of the biggest Commons in the World......I wish!!!
Back to the Shithouse! I'd taken loads of photos and drank a few celebratory beers on Chris' behalf and focused on my night ahead......there's still five bigger than that I thought and it's only Wednesday!!!! That night was probably the busiest night of the week for me with only one carp, (a 37M), to show for it.....it was busy for all the wrong reasons, cats, trailers and a bream.....I was in and out of the boat and bivvy all night and by the morning I was shattered.....I tried sleeping in the day but it was far too sweaty in the bivvy so I had to make do with Zig fishing and drinking beer! Life's a bitch! Jake stopped by for a smoke and a chat when out of nowhere I had one bleep and a nod of the rod on one of the 13ft Zig rods! I was in! Four days of persevering had finally paid off but having such a small hook and a long 12lbs Zig was not going to be easy to land! Luckily Jake was there to assist.....the fish kited and pulled line from the loose clutch...I didn't want to lose this one and I knew it wasn't a cat or a bream!
The fish felt big and when it decided to go round to the weed mountain to my right, I had no choice but to get in the boat with Jake and find another angle to avoid being cut off there and then! We managed to row out beyond the weed and luckily the fish was still on....it came up and then went back down....it looked like a decent fish but we kept quiet trying not to lose it or fall in as I had to stand up due to the length of the Zig! By now we had a crowd gathered in my swim....they must've thought I had a biggun'! It wasn't but all the same pleasing to have one on this method in the heat of the day......at just under 30 I was satisfied unlike the moans and groans from my unimpressed audience!
They do take Zigs! - 29lbs 12oz Mirror
I was really enjoying myself with plenty of action each night and now managing one in the day.....Ed and I would battle it out for top rod....he was a couple in front on nine and I was ready for a productive night of carp! I was not disappointed, the first being a stunning half linear of just under 40 and then an awesome pb Common of 43lbs 4oz! Well Pleased with this one as I'd pulled out of a good fish previously at the net and was devastated as I'd vowed not to lose any on this trip but sometimes you just have to take it on the chin.....at least I wasn't getting cut off!!! Famous last words.....later on in the night I had an absolute belter on a rod fished locked up! Must've been one of those big cats as every other take was simply pulling tight and kiting but this fella was having none of it! I didn't need to wind down on him as the line was already taught and up in the water.....there was nothing I could do but hang on! It ploughed through the Crescents' underwater world of weed and cut me off on the IQ! Ferocious stuff! The Quicksilver done it's job although on closer inspection I had to change it as it was badly frayed by the mussels in the weed! Big Pussy.... I thought! Hoped! I soon got the rod re-tackled and rowed back to the spot and sat down in the moonlight with a beer in reflective mood and flicking through my productive nights snaps.....
Half Lin - 39.08
PB Common - 43.04
39.12 Mirror
The last day and night rolled round all too quickly....I decided to sleep under the stars and packed the bivvy away after dinner and was well prepared for a final night of carp action.....if only I didn't need to bring the flipping boat back that evening! Jakes had all sorts of problems with people leaving broken row locks and/or bait covered boats in their swims on the Saturday morning so he makes sure that the boats are back Friday night....this I had an issue with because all my takes were coming at night and I was only having more action when they were repositioned.....the inevitable would happen!
I took my boat back after dumping my remaining bait and dropping my rigs on the spots and sat enjoying the last evening's carp showing display to finish and the action to start. It wasn't long before the trusty left hand marginal tree rod was pulled tight resulting in a nice 32M.....with the tackle I had there was no way I could put this back out on the spot so cast this near to a spot that I'd been baiting up throughout the week and which had already produced a nice 36M. The next action came around midnight to the silt area....a nice long common 33lbs.....this brought my tally to thirteen. Again I had to make do with casting and that was the end of the action.....I'm sure I could've had another couple with the boat but hey ho.....there were five Anglers that blanked and I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't on that one again! Ed finished with ten and was more than happy....Chris finished with the biggest fish and what a fish it was....one I certainly won't forget...Well Done! The tally for the week was extremely low...only 37 although a good few of us left with pb's and most agreed that seeing the Digital was worth coming for alone!
33lbs Common and 36lbs Mirror
The Lads!
Until Teillats 2010.....All the best!
