Seven Days Carp Fishing at Le Fays

Etang le Fays (click for bigger picture)

The worst part about the 4.30am ferry to Calais was going to sleep before we left, I can never get my head down when I know that I am fishing the next day, needless to say, the journey seemed like it took an eternity.

In reality, it was only 4 1/2 hours from Calais and we arrived at the lake around 10.30am.

Arrival
On arrival we both got out of the van and I introduced myself to Mark and Clare, the owners who run the fishery (incidentally, you will not meet a more helpful and friendly couple). Mat who was fishing with me for the week had visited the lake previously, spending a week in November of last year there and had taken fish to 37lbs in a real cold spell, and with this in mind we both had great expectations. After a couple of cold one’s with Mark, Clare and the other guys fishing the lake that week, we had a wander round to see where we fancied.

Another view of Etang le Fays (click for bigger picture)

Incidentally, Etang le Fays is situated in the champagne region of France which is suitably apt as the lake itself is a real cracker, and at 17 acres in size is just about right and gives you the freedom to move around during the week if you so wish.

The bottom end of the lake, which is slightly shallower and older, looked spot-on and, after a brief chat, we decided to pick a double swim that gave us access to the four or five snags and small islands that are situated there and also gave us almost the entire end of the lake as there were only four of us fishing the week. On top of this, the sight of a few large fish topping confirmed our choice and 15 minutes later Mark was giving us a hand to put all of our gear (including the kitchen sink) into his boat and we set off to the other side of the lake.

Within three quarters of an hour, we both had three rods out and were slowly getting the rest of our tackle sorted out when a single bleep stopped me in my tracks. As I stuck my head back outside the bivvy, I noticed the left hand tip slowly pulling round, shortly followed by a one toner. Giving my best impression of Linford Christie out of the blocks, I was in; thump, thump, thump…grate, grate, grate slack line. Fish 1, me 0. On retrieval of the rig everything seemed in order and after stripping off 10 yards of line, which was chafed from the underwater obstacle, I was back out there, ten yards shorter this time to try and avoid a second lost fish.

28lb (click for bigger picture)

We both finally finished setting up, and were having another couple of beers when once again a single bleep made me look up. No waiting this time, I was on the rod, swept it up over my shoulder, thump, thump, a brisk backwards walk and she was in open water, after 10 minutes her head was at the spreader block and she was mine, a quick session on the scales and my first de Fays carp of the week pulled the needle round to 25lb. I was off the mark, and pleased, to say the least. The rod went back out and once again the waiting game started, although it was not quite as long before my next take, and unfortunately for me the soft mouths / plenty of welly combo to get their heads up and away from the snags was making things tricky, and the snags claimed another statistic for the week.

Both Mat and myself lost a fish each later that afternoon, mainly due to the line parting on an array of stumps which were not visible to the eye, but just before dinner a one toner on my middle rod and a serious scrap led to me landing my second fish of the day and at 32lb 2oz it was turning out to be a great start. During the fight my right hand rod belted off, which Mat was onto in a flash and as Mark was there to witness the event, we had a double photo opportunity, which is always nice.

34lb

By this point, we were both tired and decided to get some shuteye, and that was the last fish of the day for both of us.

Sunday
In comparison, Sunday was quite a quiet day for us both, Mat caught and lost one, but at 28lb it was a lovely fish and in the surroundings we were in it didn’t really matter to me that the fishing was slower than the day before.

Monday
We were up early on Monday as was the sun and it was really beginning to warm up during the day, meaning from 10am until 5pm it was fairly quiet. Mat had landed a fish of almost 26lb that morning from the small islands out in front of us and that evening, I had another from the stumps in front of me. This one went 28lb 8oz. Shortly after that I had lost another which felt like a nice fish. Until this point, we had really only been fishing as both of us do in the UK, single or double hookbaits with 15 or 20 baits around the hook, so we decided to up the amount we were feeding to see if this affected the run rate, so we put around 3 or 4 kilo’s of Elite’s Ocean Fruit and Monkey Fruit out in the hot-spots and sat back, something which would eventually work out nicely!

31lb

Over the next three days we had 10 fish between us, and lost three, the largest being another Mirror for me at 31lb and 7 of the fish being high twenties, with three at 28lb. Interestingly, whilst talking to Mark, he mentioned that the fish had actually been spawning the week previous and we noticed that the fish we had caught had mostly been quite spawned out, imagine what weight they would be at in October/November!

Thursday
It was now Thursday evening and the weather had gone from 38 degrees in the shade, to looking decidedly dodgy and the fresh winds and clouds were actually a very welcome change. By 7pm the sky was black and it was ready to absolutely hammer it down so we both made a sharp retreat to the our bivvies. Ten minutes later and it was hacking it down; lightning, thunder, wind, the lot but it was fine, nice, warm and dry I thought as I looked through the clear weather door on my cabrio. Thank Christ I am not out there, beeeeeeeeeeeep…… 20 minutes later and looking like a drowned rat, I netted another high twenty and got Mat out of his bivvy (which was tricky in itself) and on the camera.

Friday
All too soon it was Friday, the last day. Early that morning mat had a little mirror and I had also had one of about 16lb. We decided during the day to put the majority of our bait out for the afternoon and evening and got out in Mark’s boat to do it effectively. About 8 kilos later, we were in for the night, I had another 20lber, and got the rod back out, not long after and another ripper on my right hand rod, I banked my third thirty of the week, this one going just shy of 32lb, another cracking fish. A little after 11pm Mat had another belter and landed the biggest fish of the week, this one pulling the scales round to 34lb 8oz, that was to be the last fish of the week, in total, we had 32 runs and landed 22 fish.

Raindrops keep falling on…….. (click for bigger picture)

The lake itself also has a very healthy stock. Mark and Clare are actively moving small (4/5oz) carp in to the smaller lake on site, which will enable the larger fish to grow on even better. There are also a pair of osprey living at the lake, which feed daily on the small fish, an amazing sight if you have not seen it before. Also, with regard to facilities, they are superb, I think the shower is better than mine at home! Clare is also a superb cook, having sampled her dinners, I would definitely being going back as a fully inclusive next time, and as mentioned, Mark couldn’t do more to help you out with any questions about the lake, stock or just generally fishing.

I will be booking for next year shortly, and although I can’t make it, Mat is actually going back out in November to help Mark out on a working party, which I am sure is testament to how well the fishery is run by both Clare and Mark.

Roll on next year….I can’t wait!

Etang Le Fays

25lb

32lb (click for bigger picture)