The First Session on Cedar - Ron Woodward & Trish, September 2006

Cedar Lake is owned by a British family and is the sister lake to the Island Lake, which is just a few miles away. It’s Tommy and George Young’s little piece of heaven in France (they have a bungalow there on-site) but they are allowing up to 4 anglers per week to share the venue with them. The lake itself is a well established gravel pit, approximately 4 acres in size, surrounded by mature trees, including horse chestnuts, walnuts, some beautiful weeping willows and the very tall cedars which give the lake its name.

 

There is a also a variety of wildlife on the venue with a pair of Black Swans, Egyptian Geese and a pair of Peacocks, which were rearing a chick when we visited. The lake has a number of original fish plus an additional stocking to improve the anglers’ chances. There are carp to over 40 pounds, some pike and zander but NO poisson chat and very few crayfish! The lake has not previously been fished commercially.

The lake is ideal for anglers wishing to visit with their partners – Euro Disney and Paris are only 30 minutes drive away and the venue is easily reached from Charles De Gaulle airport if you do not want a long drive from England. The ferry ports, like Calais, are about 3¾ hours drive away if that’s your preferred method of travelling to fish in France. The lake itself is only a couple of miles from a small town with a variety of shops including two supermarkets, bars and restaurants, a pharmacist, tobacconist and a tackle shop.

Angry Male Swan!

Shower Block

Inside one of the wooden chalets

During your stay on the lake you have the use of one of the two insulated Swiss-style wooden chalets set directly behind the 2 double swim platforms. These are about 10 feet by 16 feet, with steps down to the fishing platforms, and they will contain 2 single beds, kitchen and power points. Whichever option you choose, there is running water on hand, with a toilet and shower for each swim in the separate shower block a couple of minutes walk away.

Mick Hall & Big Ron

An additional benefit of fishing this lake is being able to take advantage of the vast experience of a good friend of mine Mick Hall, the bailiff, who has been fishing in France for over 20 years on large lakes like Cassien, rivers like the Lot and the Seine and smaller lakes like La Tombe.

On our visit to the lake we tackled the fishing with 15lb main line, standard hair rigs with a larger (size 2 or 4 hook), 2 oz leads and used Korda safety clips for quick release of the leads in the weed. We chose halibut pellets as hookbaits, as the fish had been fed on these during the winter, and made up PVA bags of the same pellets to fish next to the hook baits, with a handful of free offerings each time a hook bait was placed in the lake. This combination accounted for all the fish caught, the two smallest being 21 lbs and 27.08 lbs. All the rest were over thirty, up to 41 lbs. The fish were in beautiful condition and had obviously not been caught before, with full curtains and the only hook marks in their mouths being ours.

Trish with a nice 30lb+ Mirror

38lb Cedar Lake resident

41lb Cedar Mirror

 

The Beautiful Cedar Lake

To summarise, we thought the venue was ideal for an angler wanting to take his or her partner, with the chalets set directly behind the swims. It would also be great for two couples wanting to holiday together, or just for anglers wanting a bit of comfort! With the average size of carp we caught being 34.00 lbs and there being fish to over 40, it’s a water we would recommend. As you will see from the pictures the fish are in stunning condition and the lake is set in beautiful surroundings.

 

Tight Lines …..Big Ron & Trish