With a van full of khaki luggage, buckets and anglers we caught the 10pm ferry crossing from Dover to Dunkirk. We enjoyed a fine supper in the self service restaurant and relaxed ahead our long drive. It was 1.30am, French time, when we hit the open roads in France and we made good progress along largely deserted dual carriageways. I soon got used to driving on the wrong side of the road and Dougie, my navigator, was asleep within minutes!                              

Dougie the navigator!

We avoided Paris this time and went via Rouen, Dreux and Orleans. Much better! We stopped for a coffee and to stretch our  legs and once more for a power nap before completing the 625 mile journey to St. Mathieu. We had time to call in at the bar for a beer and a bite to eat before arriving to a warm welcome from Andy and Tasha at 2pm.

A lovely starter, Limousin steak and chips, desert, coffee and wine for just 12 Euros. The owner then treated us to a tot of his home made plum brandy!

All of our fish fell to Baitcraft boilies. We have great confidence in them.

 I was so knackered that I just put one rod out and was soon in a very deep sleep. This was short lived as before long I was woken by a very excited sheep farmer with a very bright head torch, Dougie! “Bomber’s caught a big carp, come and take the photos” This became a bit of a recurring theme over the next couple of days, as Bomber took full advantage of the conditions and landed a procession of splendid big carp. The highlight of Ian’s first efforts was when he landed a 40lb+, a 50lb+ and a truly magnificent 60lb 8oz common all in the same night!            

Bomber's awesome 60lb 8oz Common Carp!

Tasha likes to be called on the walkie- talkie if a whopper comes out, she comes to monitor the growth of her babies and oversee the carp care. (Unsupervised we normally drop kick them back in to the lake you understand) This particular night Tasha clocked up a fair old mileage to and fro, but always with a smile and congratulations for the lucky angler. Dougie got in on the act too with a whopping great mirror carp of 53lb, a cracking fish!               

Dougie with his 53lb Mirror Carp.

Bomber was so elated with his results, and being a true gent, he moved his kit to no carp corner so I could move on to the fish and hopefully get a bend in my rod too.  This is one of the best aspects of our Carptrek trips, we do try and share sport around a bit. Bomber has benefitted from these tactics in the past and was quite happy to reciprocate, good man! All sorted in my new swim I cooked us our supper quite early, a hearty meal of lamb shanks and mash washed down with a drop of Merlot, so that we were ready for bite time at dusk.  The fish did not let me down and I filled my boots over the next couple of days, my most notable fish being mirror carp of 54lb 2oz and 55lb 8oz.         

A 54lb 2oz Mirror carp for me at 11am

Followed by a 55lb 8oz whopper!

For Friday night Dougie stayed put in the middle swim as he had been catching steadily, Bomber moved back into his original swim and I didn’t fish. I needed a good night’s sleep ready for driving home safely in the morning. We packed the bivvies away; we just slept on our bedchairs like roughie toughies, and stashed them and all of the cooking gear in the van so that we could leave quickly in the morning to catch the 8pm ferry from Dunkirk.  Predictably Bomber caught another very big common, an absolute corker and another lake record at 64lb. Common carp are attracted to Bomber as they match his hair colour (he caught a monster common on our last trip too) Whereas I tend to catch very sparsely scaled carp to match my very sparse hair. Dougie catches two tone fish to match his barnet! This is quite obvious from the pictures above.

 

Our last fish of the trip. Bomber with his magnificent 64lb Common Carp.

   Catch Results 

 5x 30’s to 38lb 12oz
 3x 40’s to 49lb 10oz
 4x 50’s to 55lb 8oz
 2x 60’s to 64lb 8oz
 
 

Contact: e-mail: simmo315@btinternet.com     Tel.  01869 343315 or 07775 782315