Spring 2014 Photos

Here are a few shots from fish April & May caught at the complex. The Spring has been pretty productive with a good number of nice fish banked.

40lb common from the Croix Blanche

Ceri with a 40lb mirror from the Tortue which was part of a 61 fish haul.. Awesome!!

Some March Photos

Here are a few shots of fish caught during March on the complex. Fish between 11kg (23lb) and 18kg (40lb).

Self-take Photography Revisited

Last year I started to take my self-take photography seriously. After landing a 46lb Common at night and not being able to do adequate photos I decided to right things.

My first piece of equipment was the SRB Griturn air release. (See my previous blog post). The item was shown to me by Shaun Harrison and had loads of advantages over simple self timer shots. It worked well and let me take shots once the fish was calm and I was ready. No more dashing round and desperately trying to pose while the fish wriggled and flipped, and putting slimy fingers on an expensive SLR.

The Hanhel Giga T Pro 2…

But as good as the shots were that the system allowed me to get, it was somewhat flawed on a number of levels. Firstly it worked mechanically, an air release pushing a pin that would focus and trip the shutter when you stepped on the ball. On most modern SLR’s the shutter button is angled for ergonomy, and made of shiny plastic.This means that the pin can slip and not trip the shutter. Shaun’s idea of putting some velcro in the button went some way to solving this, but the very fact that the pin was not pressing directly down on the shutter made it very fiddly to set up and on more than one occasion it refused to fire.

It was very frustrating to set it all up pose with the fish but not be able to get a shot. When this happened I hadn’t much option but to release the fish (for its own well being) and forget a trophy shot.

I then read a piece by Elie Godsi on the Quest Baits blog about an electronic option made by Hanhel.

February Result

Dutch angler Ralf Verhoeven spent three nights in early February on the Tortue Lale, taking advantage of the unusually mild weather for the time of the year. I had myself seen several fishing showing while working on the venue, so it was of no surprise that Ralf was able to get amongst the carp.
Fishing on peg 13 he was able to place lines on both the plateau and the right hand margin. Both sectors produced fish. The best fish of his stay was a superb scale perfect common of 43lb.

Feels very Spring-like today!!!

A shot across the Croix Blanche Lake. The trees are in bud, the weeping willows starting to leaf, it really feels like Spring in the bright sunshine today.
The fish have been active too. So if you fancy a Spring time trip to France check out the website and give me a call. http://www.croixblanchelakes.com

‘Le Tour de France’ is coming this summer!

Any body in the Reims area on the 10^th July will be able to get a glimpse of the “Tour de France ” that is arriving in Reims that evening.

This year’s tour is of particular interest to people in the UK as it starts its 21 day journey in Leeds, going through York, Cambridge and London before hitting the shores of France.

The sixth stage will be run from Arras in the Pas de Calais and arrive in the famous Champagne city of Reims. The 194km stage will ride through the first world war battle field of the Aisne department, crossing in particular the ‘Chemin de Dames’.

As a homage to the Great War which celebrates its 100^th anniversary this year the route has been chosen to pay its respects to those who fell in battle.
the route passes within four miles or so of the Croix Blanche lakes as it heads across the “Chemin des Dames” after leaving Pinon, before going through Craonelle & Pontavert on its way to the finish in Reims.

FishingFerry.com

Need a crossing for your French fishing holiday?

We have teamed up with FishingFerry.com to offer you a 10% discount off your crossing to
France for your carp fishing holiday to Croix Blanche Lakes.

Highlights of 2013 at Croix Blanche Lakes

View of the Tortue Lake

The season 2013 was indeed a year full of contrast at the venue and dominated, perhaps more than usual, by the weather. We started the year with cold wet conditions that made fishing very slow throughout the winter period. It was stark contrast to 2012 when the lakes fished really well and I was able myself, to bank two forty plus commons including my PB at 46lb. But this year, no such luck, the cold and often frozen water made fishing, difficult to impossible.
The winter was long and hard and spring seemed to take an eternity to arrive. When it finally did, it brought with it prolonged rain, which kept the rivers & water table and thus the lakes, very high.
The first breakthrough came on the second week of May when a group from Germany, lead by my old mate Mark Gray had a superb haul of fish.  They had four carp over 40lb the best going 47lb to Adam Szlaga. The best catch of that week, which saw nearly 70 fish banked, went to Daniel Narjes with 27 carp to 44lb and catfish to 64lb.

48lb mirror in May

An Amazing Week!

Ceri Howells with his Tortue 50lb 6oz mirror

The last week of September has to go down as a truly amazing week’s fishing. Star of the week was undoubtedly, regular at the venue, Ceri Howells from Wales who banked an incredible 69 fish in the week including catfish to 103lb & carp to 50lb 6oz.

Fishing on peg 12 on the Tortue Lake Ceri used the unusual tactic of fishing with maggots. This can indeed be a deadly technique, which I’ve witnessed firsth and on other venues, but Ceri showed just how effective it can be for both carp and catfish, if used correctly. Using a large number on a piece of dental floss he tied this D rig style to the hook and then used a bait boat the place his rig and a handful of maggots & pellets on the spots. This caused a very intense feeding frenzy in the swim and on a number of occasions takes were almost instantaneous.

Brace of 48lb Carp from Croix Blanche Lake

A beautiful 48lb 3oz common

English angler Paul MacCloed had a cracking week’s sport on the Croix Blanche lake last week, when he banked a brace of 48lb carp fishing from peg 4. The Yorkshire based angler, on his second successful trip of the year to the venue tempted the two huge carp, one common of 48lb 3oz and one mirror of 48lb 6oz using Krilla boilies from Active Baits. Both fish were PB’s for the carper as part of a 22 fish fish haul from the venue, which included a good number of thirties. Oh Paul also managed a 12lb tench, his second double figured “tinca” from the lake in two trips.

An immacualte 48lb 6oz Mirror