Ian Gaskell shares a "Regular Joe's" Guide to Carp Fishing in France with the Family
Carp fishing in France is famous for the potential to produce that dream fish of a lifetime. But, with so many venues and tactical choices it can be tough to know where to start. To help you plan your own successful trip, I went after some straight-talking advice from my brother Ian and my nephews Shaun and Liam (you'll know Shaun and Ian from our guide to Silver Fishing in matches). The aim is to set us “regular Joe” carp anglers up for success - rather than writing for celebrities and sponsored heroes. Along the way we’ll get a taste of that legit dream fishing trip experience.
Ian and his lads have got a bunch of trips under their belts and below you'll see just some of the memorable fish they’ve logged on French trips - so it's over to Ian to report on his, Shaun & Liam's experiences...
PG, Fishing Discoveries
Shaun Gaskell with "another" French 50lb Carp from Trips with the Family
Ian Gaskell
60lb "Moulin" Carp Captor
The TL;DR version of our Carp Fishing in France Experiences: You don't need to pack sacks of particle baits, large bottom baits or even powerful casting rods for "Le Moulin" and similar French venues. Tony, the owner, supplies great quality baits, prepared to order and most casting ranges are modest; with 2lb 12oz Test Curve rods also great for successfully landing fish.
You'll Find Success on a VERY SIMPLE RIG
When you book the lake, you have it to yourself - so there's no chance someone will jump in your swim if you take a break from the water. BUT, you should stick to the cooler months of the season if you want to fish during the day.
Fish up to 65lb are on offer - and I've been lucky enough to account for one of exactly 60lb.
↓↓↓Read on to discover hard-won insider tips for your own trips ↓↓↓
A Tank of a Common Carp for Liam Gaskell
Ian Gaskell with one of Moulin's big-shouldered, hard-fighting fish
Shaun with a "chain-mail scaled" Common of 45lb
Setting yourself up for Success When Carp Fishing in France
Venue: Le Moulin De Graffeuil – Limoges – Haute Vienne region - central France
The lake is just less than ten acres and is a typical French ‘dammed stream’ lake – narrow at the top end and widening and deepening as you progress down the lake until you reach the dam. There are 6 preconstructed swims, all situated on one side of the lake – swim 1 at the top end where a forty metre cast will see you reaching the far bank channel and three feet of water. At swim 6 at the dam, there is 12 feet plus depth in the middle and is around 110m across to the far bank. The lake is set in 80 acres of mixed woodland and pasture. The rental includes use of a well appointed gite, and you can opt to sleep there or fish 24/7 down at the lake.
Liam and Pike: The Background shows the surroundings you can expect at Moulin
The lake contains 300 plus specimen carp of 20 pounds or more. The average size of carp is running around the 36 pound mark (this is approximate information and is not up to date – the average is likely to be higher now).
The biggest carp caught to date is 65 pounds.
Early Lessons: Abundant Natural Food, Temps/Times of Day, Spawners & Predators
Our first experience of carp fishing in France was as part of a family holiday and took place in late July. On arrival, a tour of the lake given by Tony, the owner, gave rise to high optimism of a productive week with specimen carp known to inhabit the lake. But that was not at all how it panned out. The lake and setting were outstanding, but a few factors were against us, as casual, occasional carp anglers on a family holiday. The weather was hot all week, as you may expect, and fishing through the daytime was difficult to say the least. Fishing through the night would undoubtedly been more productive, however this could not be compatible with the fact that this was a family holiday.
Additionally, there were a huge volume of spawners from the previous season – fish in the pound to two pound bracket. These were ravenous feeders and were prepared to attack any bait/rig combination that was tried. Even size 2 hooks with 25 mm double boilies were attacked and when retrieved, these baits had often been ‘filed down’ to half their original size. Even with such a large hook, these small fish were capable of accidentally foul-hooking themselves under the chin, in the cheek etc, such was the frenzy around the rig/hookbait, at times.
We settled on concentrating on fishing for the big carp from early evening and fishing a few hours into dark. Even so, we remained unsuccessful until the last hour of the last night, when my youngest son Liam lifted into a tearaway take and landed a 28 pound plus mirror carp. In the context of the entire week previous, this seemed to be just reward.
It is worth remembering here, that Le Moulin is not a completely typical French commercial specimen carp fishery. It is a highly productive lake where the fish introduced into it grow big, and fast, largely on the back of all the natural food available in the lake.
In other words, the fish are not at all dependant on where/when the next batch of pellet/boilies/corn is going to be introduced.
It is more the case that the angler has the job of ‘forcing’ the carp off the abundant natural feed on offer in order to catch them on their baits and rigs.
Learning the Lessons for Family Carp Fishing in France at Moulin (so you can too)
Following this experience, we resolved to return and correct some of the pitfalls we had fallen into first time out (which means you're less likely to make the same mistakes). If I remember rightly, we returned the following year in October, and arrived with several of the factors which caused us difficulties first time round rectified. Firstly, Tony had drained the lake at the end of the previous year and removed all the small recently spawned carp and moved them to his on-site stock ponds and also to a variety of local lakes. Additionally, the introduction of black bass into the lake may well have contributed to controlling any further explosions of juvenile carp (this in conjunction with the existing perch and pike in the lake).
Secondly the October daytime temperatures were much lower and more carp-friendly and our results improved accordingly with an upturn in the numbers of big carp captured. This is an important lesson for carp fishing in France; if you want to fish during the day, you'll do best to choose cooler parts of the season.
Another change in our favour later in the season was the amount of natural food active in the lake was reduced, which made the carp more prepared to come and feed on the bait we introduced.
In short, we have visited the lake a further three or four times, and on each occasion we have improved on the results of the previous trip. On the last visit, all three of us managed to land fish of 50lb or more.
Liam with a 50lb "2-tone"
This time a Common over 50lb for Liam
Other Species We Caught During our Trips
Before digging into how we solved our carp struggles, it's worth noting the lake also holds perch, pike and black bass which can be targeted on lures. There are also stocks of rudd and roach. There are 5 grass carp in the lake, ranging from about 30 pounds to over 50. And one large wels catfish – exact size unknown, as it has been hooked several times but never landed….
Speaking of not getting landed, my youngest son, Liam is an avid lure angler and spends hours at this lake walking and fishing with a variety of soft plastic lures, plugs and poppers catching the perch and pike in the lake.
Liam with a lure-caught perch
Ian Gaskell
On one occasion Liam hooked ‘something’ whist perch fishing with a small soft plastic worm type bait on a very light 6 foot perch outfit. I was able to hear some of this episode unfolding from my position at the time but was unable to see. What happened was an unstoppable force set off from where it was hooked in swim one at the very top of the lake and head off down the lake, with Liam literally in tow.
He needed, he told me, to pass the rod around numerous trees on his journey but eventually the hook pulled around 300 metres from where he hooked it. A large carp? – probably. Hooked in the mouth having taken the lure? Or foul hooked – it would have been nice to find out.
Mystery of the Pike on a Carp Rig
Other more bizarre captures have included the one time lake record pike at 14 pounds plus - however, some filling in of the pieces of how this came about were required after the capture. Shaun had a carp rig sitting around 100 m away from the bank we were sitting on, when a very slow and deliberate take developed on that rod...
Upon lifting into it, there was precious little resistance forthcoming but after several winds of the reel-handle there was a huge swirl a few yards in front of our position - yet the business end of the rig was still 80 metres plus out in the lake. Confused, Shaun kept winding, still with no real resistance, until with the rig getting within say 20 m of the bank, the rod arched over and a substantial fish was attached.
On landing the double-figure pike, the hook was found to have penetrated the outside of the upper jaw near the scissors. Our conclusion after much head scratching was that the pike probably swam through the line quite close to the bank and managed to end up with the line between its jaws. On continuing to move, it registered the slow bite seen at our end,..
Shaun lifted and wound the whole rig nearly all the way back to the bank – with the line staying between the pike’s jaws the whole time, until he wound the hook into the side of the fishes upper jaw – and all this without it managing to bite through the nylon.
Grass Carp Surprise
Remember those handful of grass carp that are present at Moulin? Well Liam has caught one of those "Famous Five" fish – this one at just under 43 pounds (pictured below)
Liam with a Grass Carp of a shade under 43lb - One of only five in the lake
My eldest son Shaun, as well as a string of specimen carp into the 50 pound bracket, had an unusual capture of the reportedly singular tench that lives in the lake. And at over 8 pounds, is a fair fish in its own right.
Meet the only tench at Moulin! Shaun with his unique 8-lber
So, while accidental tench captures while carp fishing are fairly unsurprising - I don't know what the odds are of catching the only one in around 10-acres of water would be.
Memorable Captures While Carp Fishing in France
My biggest carp at 60lb - caught in totally peaceful surroundings (Note: each swim has dedicated net, fish-cradle, tripod & scales)
As for myself, I have managed a carp of exactly 60 pounds (pictured above) and the odd 50 pounder, but to be honest when you hook a carp at this place, they all feel big and I probably have more notable memories of catching a 44 pound scale perfect common which I caught through seeing fish move way up the lake in one spot several times in a short period.
Taking only a rod (there was a net, sling, cradle and scales all waiting for me at swim 2, as there is at every swim). I had cast hooked and landed the fish and returned to my more permanent spot in less than 20 minutes. If you haven’t either caught or seen a large carp at close quarters, the sheer scale of the thing is quite something – the photo’s never quite capture the true extent of it.
This is an undeniable part of the magic of carp fishing in France - and makes for some stunning memories.
On that occasion, I remember looking down at the fish I had laid in the cradle and thinking – ‘that’s a 44 pound common carp’ – exactly as Richard Walker had done back in the 50’s.
I’m not pretending I am Richard Walker or anything, but for me it was a memorable capture both for the fish and the way it was caught.
Gear & Bait: What to Bring vs. What you Can Leave at Home
One of the attractions of Le Moulin is the fact that there is no need to lug tens of kilos of bait along with you...
Bait that you WON'T need to bring with you:
Tony supplies his own custom made fishery boilies in 15mm and 20mm and in a choice of flavours at a reasonable price (there are similar arrangements at many French carp fishing venues).
The same goes for pellets, and Tony will prepare, to order, maize and partiblend
So aside from a few brightly coloured pop ups you need take no bait of your own at all.
Hardware that you WON'T Need to Pack:
As part of the layout of the fishery, each swim has a wooden construction hut with its own:
Inside each hut is:
Once again, this seriously cuts down on the amount of gear you have to transport.
Tackle/Gear to Bring for Small-Venue Carp Fishing in France
Rods
We fish with 12 foot 2 ¾ pound test curve rods. These are not casting tools, but are much better for playing even 50 or 60 pound carp on, and hook-pulls are rare.
Reels & Main Line
Standard baitrunner reels are fine and we use 16lb Exocet line which is thin for its strength. In the past we have used 12lb Berkley big game which is very much understated for its actual breaking strain. Use any line you are confident in and is robust enough for the job in hand. BTW, Don't skimp on fundamentals; do make sure your reels are properly loaded with line.
The lake does not have a significant amount of snags so ‘hit and hold’ is not really something that is required.
Simple & Successful Rig for Carp Fishing in France
At Moulin, there are fishery rules governing what type of rigs can be used and what may be used in their construction. We have found that simple is best and rely on one very uncomplicated rig.
Simple Rig Components
Rig Construction Method
The hook is tied via knotless knot to any uncoated braid – we use 18 or 25 pound supernatural in green or brown.
Once the knotless knot is tied, tie the spare braid to some 15 pound fluorocarbon using a double uni-knot (double grinner knot) making sure that there is around one to one and a half inches of the braid between the hook and the fluorocarbon. Tie this to a size eight korda swivel (the total hooklength should be between nine and 12 inches depending on whether you are fishing over deep soft silt or not).
On the main line - slide a fourteen inch length of dark matter tubing (or your preferred type) followed by a korda safety lead clip and tail rubber. The lake has a peaty tinge to the water, so we use the brown/olive colours. To the clip, you can attach a lead of between 2 ½ and 3 oz for Moulin. Also - see below for some small tweaks that can really boost your hook-up percentage...
Extra Details to Increase your Hook-up Percentage:
Using "kickers" (small, shallow-angled "elbow sleeves" of tubing; diagram below) over the joint between hook and braid helps to add more of a curve to the hook attitude (and increases hook-up percentage)
A tiny "mouse dropping" size pellet of tungsten putty where the fluorocarbon joins the braid in the hook-link helps to create good "contact" at the business end of the rig for better presentation and helping the hook turn and grab
Baits to Complete Your Snowman Rig
The best hookbait we have found is one of Tony’s 20mm bottom baits set up as a snowman rig with a small 10 or 12mm bright pop-up. Bright yellow, pink or white all work.
Soaking the 20mm hookbaits is something we do – take your pick of the many choices. Betaine seems to work well.
Tactical Advantages for Carp Fishing in France
Here's the big thing, when you go to Le Moulin you have the entire lake to yourselves. You can opt to fish when you like, for as long as you like and do other stuff if you want to. The thing is, you know the whole lake will be there waiting for you when you get back – no-one will have jumped into your swim…
Carp Fishing in France vs the UK
I can admit now to having stopped carp fishing in the UK for the last 15 years. The whole over-subscribed nature of carping in this country has, I’m afraid, ruined it for me – I’m not having a go here, but it is just something I prefer not to engage in - especially once you have sampled carp fishing in France, it’s hard to go back. I’m not just measuring that in fish size – it’s more to do with the fact that it’s easy to find secluded, uncrowded fishing through any price range from free lakes to exclusive private fisheries and all in between.
Investing in a week at Le Moulin (on any one of dozens of other similar fisheries in France) should be considered as, firstly, a good means to progressing your PB carp if that is of interest to you.
Or, if not, just having the exclusive use of a fantastic lake in beautiful surroundings catching whopping great carp is a good enough reason for going.
The only problem you will have is, of course, coming back to carp fish in the UK – and all that entails...
Ian Gaskell
Nice one Ian, Shaun and Liam, thanks for sharing all those cool insights (and how do we fudge a "business trip" to film with you for a week in France??? Hehe).
Right, feel free to have at it in the comments - and I'll try to field your thoughts and questions (or get hold of the specific person with the answers if I don't know myself).
Paul
PS. Hungry for more?
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