Island Lake Report May 2007

Just the other day I arrived home from another French sauté and I really don’t think the enormity of the venue we were fortunate enough to fish has sunk in yet. The venue was Island Lake in the central area of France, just around 70 miles below Paris and around 4 hours from Calais.

Background
The fishery was started around 2002 by two brothers, George and Tommy with the aim of creating one of the best commercial big fish venues in France, a venue where with a bit of skill and luck you might just catch the fish of a lifetime. A heavy investment of time and money has gone into creating the fishery and with the help of long-time friend and experienced carp angler Mick Hall they are well on their way to creating something truly special. Prior to the venue becoming a fishery it was solely used for duck shooting which took place from the island. A 20 acre gravel pit with plateaux, bars, bays and the large island from where the venue gets its name. Averaging 10ft deep and with the weed treated it is a true carpers dream. Each swim has its own cabin which is ideal for storing all your kit and even saves you from using a bivvy in a couple of swims if you wish. Each cabin has 2 basic single beds and a few shelves for cooking and storing of food and bits of kit. There are 2 very well maintained toilet / shower blocks on the venue, one behind peg 13 and the other just inside the fishery gates. Currently you will have to fire up the generator to get running water but the plan is for electricity to be connected in the near future (when the French get round to it!). The track around the lake is well maintained but you need to drive carefully as the pegs are tree lined and you may not see someone until the last minute. The cabins are cleaned at the end of every week, as are the shower blocks but obviously it helps if we the anglers keep them well maintained ourselves.

Home for the session

The Bailiff - Mick Hall
Onsite bailiff Mick Hall is an extremely experienced angler in his own right and his knowledge of the lake is second to none. He is always on hand to give valuable advice if needed and knows all the venue’s features like the back of his hand; so please don’t hesitate to ask his opinion as to where the hot spots are and how to approach the swim you are in. Mick himself has been carp fishing since 1978 and was one of the first anglers fishing the great lac Cassien in the mid eighties with his friend Kevin Maddocks and nephew Mick. He has a personal best of 59lb which he caught from Cassiens south arm in 1986. Mick has fished all over France and has caught literally thousands of fish from there so you can guarantee he knows what he’s talking about. Mick is onsite I believe around 16 weeks of the season as he goes back home from time to time to be with his family.

Discussing the features in front of swim 13 with Mick

The Fish
Having sat down with Mick and discussed the fish stock it is believed there are around 180-200 carp present. Most of these fish are in the mid to upper 30lb bracket with a good head of forties and at least 5 different 50s to 54lb 8oz (mirror) and 54lb (common). There are a few mid to upper 20s also present but these are vastly outnumbered by the 30s. The long term plan for the future is to maintain the current stock density and replace individual fish if any should be lost. These will be replaced by fish of a very similar weight so if a fifty is lost it will not be replaced by a twenty. The beauty of the fish in the lake is incredible as there is such a variety in the appearance of them it is truly awesome, there are some beautiful dark commons heavily scaled long mirrors, big fat gutty fish and a few that are almost leathers.

There are also a couple of large catfish in the venue, some large Pike and Bream to double figures (not too many). There isn’t any Sturgeon or Grass carp which to me at least is a bonus. There are Poisson Chat present and some Crayfish so hard hookbaits are handy. Alternatively Tiger nuts catch well, artificials or meshing are also effective methods.

Reggie my pet crayfish for the week looking mean

More About The Venue
There are 14 swims on the venue with several of these being doubles so if you like company they are perfect, if however you like peace and tranquillity and your own company then there are four or five single swims. There are several bays on the Island Lake and the fish definitely seem to like getting in these at times. From some of the pegs you get your own little bay to yourself. The swims all had to be cut out when the owners took over the venue and log cabins were placed in each one. You will often see Mick cutting the grass and maintaining the empty swims during the week (something we take for granted but requires constant attention). Each peg has its own dustbin for all the rubbish which Mick collects up at the end of the week. There are fire extinguishers in the cabins just in case. A large table and bench are also in the swims so you can sit and eat whilst watching the water for signs of fish etc. Each swim has its own rowing boat and I even had a life jacket in mine. Mick will also supply you with a mountain bike to get around the lake if you would like one. The pegs are well spread around the venue and you are definitely in with a good chance no matter which peg you are in. I have fished quite a few places in France where if you’re not in certain pegs you will struggle, from what I saw on Island Lake you are in with a great chance in any peg. The venue is fully secure with a coded entry padlock on the gate to ensure all your gear is safe if you leave your swim for a while.

The bed in the cabin

The boat in swim 12

Local Facilities
The venue is around 5 miles from the town of Bray. There is a post office and patisserie in the local village (around 1 mile away) and a Champion supermarket in Bray where you can stock up on almost anything. There is also a local restaurant in the village that deliver Pizza to the fishery on Thursday, Friday and Saturday if you fancy a night off cooking.

My Session
Kevin and I arrived at Island Lake around 6.30pm on Monday 7th May. Only four other anglers were on the venue as a group had cancelled their trip at the last minute. The four anglers were a party from Stoke and were set up in two double swims 4 & 5 and 6 & 7, they had already had a few fish to well over 40lb falling to Matt. We made our way round to peg 3 where Mick was crashed out in his cabin and looking a bit run down. He had been cutting the grass in a few of the pegs over the last couple of days and hay fever had got the better of him! Straight away though he jumped up and started to show us where he thought our best chances lay. We went for a look at pegs 12, 13 and 14. With pegs 13 and 14 casting to the back of the Island and peg 12 being just around a bay to the left of swim 13.

Mick had seen a few fish jumping in this bay for the last couple of days and advised one of us to give it a go. Having driven for over a thousand miles in the last couple of days and having been stuck on the M25 for 3 hours without moving, the prospect of peg 12 not only seemed good for the fishing but also the close proximity of the cabin to where the rods would be positioned. This meant at least I wouldn’t have to set my bivvy up until the following morning. Kev opted for swim 13 with the left hand side of the Island in front of him. No time for the rowing boat as the light was fading fast and I had just seen a fish of at least 35lb throw itself out of the water in front of me. I positioned one rod down the near margin of the bay, one down the far tree line of the bay and the other 2 rods out into open water. Thirty minutes after positioning the rods and a grinning Kev appeared which meant only one thing ‘fish’. I reeled in and drove round to his swim. He lifted the fish from the water in its sack and onto the awaiting mat. On the scales it went 30lb 8oz and fell for a Quest baits 14mm Crab plus Boilie cast down the channel to the rear of the Island where he had seen a fish jump. A great start and our confidence was sky high.

Getting to Grips
Tuesday morning arrived and I awoke from a fishless night. Mick arrived at my swim at around 8am and we discussed the swims features in depth and where might be the best places to place bait. Firstly the near margin rod was in an area where Mick had never seen a fish caught from. The rod to the far tree line was spot on and at the bottom of the marginal slope in around 10ft of water, an area from which one of the owners had caught three big fish in the space of a few hours and was a very productive spot. Next the 2 rods I had put in open water for the first night were nice and clean but not really on a feature or known patrol route. One was repositioned a rod length off the point of the bay and the other around 20 yards to the left on a bar in 8ft of water. The rod I had previously positioned in the near margin was then repositioned to my left at around 25 yards where there was a hump which rose from around 10ft to 4ft, a spot that without the knowledge of Mick you would never find. I was now really happy with all my rod placement and started to plan a baiting strategy. Accurate bait placement with the boat and small patches of bait had been catching the majority of fish with large beds of bait largely being unproductive. Great advice from Mick as it would be easy for him to say pile the bait in and they love it as this would help increase growth rates, very honest and refreshing that he wants the anglers to maximise their chances and wants everyone to catch. This strategy might not be the case in the autumn as the fish may start going for the big feed up before winter arrives.

A new PB common of 34lb 8oz for Kev. Top bloke and top company

Wednesday Whacker
Wednesday morning and still nothing to my rods. Kev arrived round at my swim around 6.30am and informed me he had caught another during the night and that he was sure it was a new PB common. He quickly rode round to Mick’s cabin and asked if he wouldn’t mind watching my rods while I went to take the photos. A beauty of a common lay in the sack and the scales read 34lb 8oz. Well done mate and well deserved for 18 years of carp angling and a first 30lb common. Back in my swim and I was down at the rods surveying the water when I had 2 bleeps on my left hand middle rod. A very cagy take but carp on none the less. A steady fight of around 5 minutes then followed before I had a heavy fish close in. The fish broke the surface around 20 yards from the bank and I could see a big mirror wallowing around with my Rahja spice hookbait in its mouth. In the net at the first attempt and I lifted her on to the awaiting mat. At first I had thought it may be around my PB but upon lifting it I knew it was bigger. I quickly lifted it into the scales and tried to keep my arms steady enough to get an accurate weight. Over 49lb but not quite 50. I quickly sacked the fish while I got the camera gear ready and fetched Kev for the photos. Matt one of the lads from Stoke arrived in the swim at the same time and he and Kev lifted the scales so I could get an accurate reading and photo - 49lb 4oz and a new PB! A bit of mouth care was placed where the hook point had gone in and I quickly got the photos taken before going in the water with the fish to release it. What a result first fish from the venue and a new PB.

49lb 4oz mirror which slipped up to a 14mm Rahja and plastic corn combination

The Action hots up for Kev
Kev arrived in the swim at around 8.15 and badgered me into putting the kettle on for his daily cup of earl grey (snob!). The water was just starting to boil when my left hand rod burst into life on the near side of the hump. A great fight followed and the fish swam right round into the bay. It is very rare that I tangle rods whilst playing fish but this one got the backlead caught on the second rod. A short while later and I had the fish subdued in the margin, Kev slipped the net under a deep bodied mirror and I quickly cut the leader off to release my other line. At 37lb 12oz it was another cracking fish and again fell to the ever consistent Rahja spice. This time with an artificial boilie as a snowman presentation (another Guinness I owe you Mr Harrison!). This was the one rod that I had baited up with any real amount having used around 100 baits and about 2 kilo of really sloppy method mix mixed with Rahja maximum attraction pellets to give a cloudy and wide spread attraction whilst not giving too much food.

12.30pm and Kev caught another 30lb common (like buses hey mate), this time going 33lb 4oz. 2 hours later and he’s in again this time a 39lb 6oz mirror falls for the Crab plus down the channel. 5pm and Kevs in again this one went 35lb 12oz and as the previous 2 had come to single 14mm Crab hookbaits with no free offerings. Kev was now starting to have one of those sessions that come along far too infrequently where everything falls into place. By the end of the week Kev caught 12 carp all on Quest Baits Crab Plus boilies, not a bad result to say it was his first session on the bait and I had advised him to take the crab rather than an alternative.

39lb 6oz and 37lb 4oz mirrors for Kev again on the 14mm Crab Plus

Last Knockings
We had planned a night out with Mick, Tommy and a group of their friends who were coming over for a Gentleman’s week on Kevin Maddock’s Mar Peche venue. I had got changed ready to go and was just on the verge of reeling in when my Amorphous and SS3000 burst into life. I had longed all week for a run on this rod and wasn’t disappointed. The SS3000 rattled and ground its way through the fight like a boxer that had gone one too many fights but I never stopped smiling at it all the way through. After a short but spirited fight I had a beautiful mirror of 43lb 2oz on the mat that was almost a leather but for a couple of scales this fish again fell for the Rahja spice but this time a double 12mm hard hookbait did the trick. I slipped it back before freshening up again ready for our evening out at the restaurant.

Just about to slip the net under the fish pictured at 43lb 2oz and almost a leather

Time to Go
Saturday morning always seems to come too quickly and before you know it you have packed up, said your goodbyes and are flying up the motorway in a mad rush to make as early a ferry as possible. The drive from Island lake to Calais took around 3 hours but I must admit I may have crept over the speed limit by a couple of miles per hour on a couple of occasions (well the French do insist on using kilometre signs and I may have thought they meant miles instead!). On the Sea France ferry at 3pm and as I had caught the biggest fish of the week it is now tradition that you have to get the beers in, I am sure the last time Kev got the biggest fish It was the other way round but it was well worth it. Plenty of other groups of carpers were there discussing their successes and given away by their Trakker fleeces and combat trousers. I hope you all had holidays to remember.

Three hours after getting off the ferry and with just the one near death experience on the M1 behind us we were pulled up outside Kevs house ready to unload all his gear. We both agreed it was a remarkable week and are now looking forward to our next adventure. Five minutes from dropping Kev off and I was home in time to give my baby son a quick cuddle before he went to bed.

Summary
Island Lake is a terrific venue where there is an extremely good chance of you catching a personal best. It is certainly not an easy water and you can’t go expecting to catch loads of carp. This is an out-and-out big fish venue that before long will probably be producing 60lbers with 50lbers almost weekly. If you fish effectively and get a bit of luck you could expect to catch around 6 fish in a week.

Always listen to Mick as he knows the lake so well and really wants to help you catch fish. Be aware that there are Poisson Chat and a few Crayfish present, although these did not cause us a problem.

I would advise rods of around 2 ¾ lb test curve and a minimum of baitrunner 4500 size reels. I personally used 12ft 2 ¾ Century SP rods with Daiwa 5000t reels and 15lb Berkley big game line and found them perfect for this venue.

37lb 12oz the result of accurate baiting to the hump using a sloppy method mix

During the 5 nights fishing I caught 3 fish to 49lb 4oz and Kev caught 12 fish with fish of 39lb 6oz, 39lb 2oz, 37lb 4oz, 35lb 12oz mirrors and a new PB common of 34lb 8oz being the highlights of his session.

Another couple of beauties to the crab plus

A total of 36 carp were caught between 6 anglers during the week with:

1 x 50
7 x 40
23 x 30
5 x 20

To me this proves that Island lake truly is a big fish water and the weights will only go up over the coming seasons.
Upon returning home from a venue I ask myself would I go again and with regard to Island Lake I would go back tomorrow if I had the chance.

Thanks to David and Bridget for all your help and guidance, without a doubt you run the most professional angling holiday business there is. Thanks to Shaun Harrison at Quest baits for again providing everything we needed at such short notice. Thanks also to Mick Hall a great help during our session on the Island lake.

Best wishes

Jamie Simpson