Fishing at Les Fortinieres
Les Fortinieres is a very pleasant place to fish, the bankside conditions are excellent, even in bad weather, and local insect life etc. is much like England. So normal preparations as for any fishing holiday.
Les Fortinieres is a shallow lake, and long range fishing is not required from any of the pegs, so standard carp gear is fine.
Rigs wise there is a ban on all leaders, which isn't a problem as you don't need them.
My friends and I have done really well with tubing/lead clip set-ups and a fluorocarbon hook length.
I personally use Korda lead clips and lightly pushed on tail rubbers, the tubing is ESP 1.75mm Anchor Rig Tubing. Leads usually in the 2oz - 3oz range depending on the peg and range being fished.
Les Fortinieres is a very popular holiday venue, and rightly so, but it does mean that the fish see a lot of angling pressure so a couple of things to bear in mind.
Bait wise. I have to declare an interest here as I am sponsored by Nutrabaits so I use their products and can therefore really only comment fairly on the gear that I use, but the general principles apply whatever company you buy from.
I have done very well at Fortinieres using a combination of Frozen and Ready-made Trigga Ice. I don't know why a combination of the two works better than just one or the other, but it has on several lakes, so I'm happy to go with it.
I also always bait up with a range of sizes, and usually fish doubles on the hair, often different sizes. I've also caught well using a bottom bait/bright pop-up combination. My favourite three pop-ups being Pink Pepper, White Spice, and Pineapple/N Butyric. A 12mm pop-up with a 16mm bottom bait is possibly my favourite combination. The pop-up just balances the bottom bait, and sits beautifully on the bottom, the perfect combination of visibility, smell, and taste.
Small PVA bags of crumbed boilies, cast to bubbling fish can work very well on Les Fortinieres.
Quantities. How long is a piece of string? Many years ago I was given the advice by a very successful carp angler, when I asked him the same question. The advice … you can always put more in, but you can't take it out. It is very good advice, and particularly so when you have at least a week in front of you.
Generally on arrival I try to find out as much as I can about how the lake is fishing, likely weather etc. combine that with time of year, number of anglers fishing etc. and then make my decision. Debbie and Paul are the perfect hosts, and they want you to catch. On arrival I really look forward to that first walk round the lake with them, and their up to date knowledge is invaluable. I don't rush into things, and I often don't fish the first night, or if I do I use very little bait. I want to get a feel for how the fish are behaving before making decisions that could effect the whole week. If I had to sum up my usual approach in one sentence it would be…. Regular application of bait all week, rather than pile it in at the start.
Particles and Pellets. I would discuss their use with Debbie and Paul. I have done well with Trigga Ice Pellets, and Hinders French Mix, but time of year and other fish species can be factors that negate the effectiveness of mass baits, so by all means consider them, but personally I would not want them as the mainstay of my baiting tactics.
I hope this has been of help, particularly if you are visiting Les Fortinieres for the first time. It's a fabulous venue, the perfect combination of excellent facilities and angling potential. Have a great holiday!
Brian Skoyles
My preferred rig systems. Korda Lead clip, ESP Anchor tubing, Lightly pushed on tail rubber, and flat sided leads.
Anchor tubing. In my opinion the best tubing by far
Light “creeping” bobbins will help let the line settle on the bottom.
High Viz/High Attract alternative baits and pop-ups, great in combination with main bottom bait. Use the sprays to increase the attraction even more
Close-up of my preferred Korda lead clip system, ready to have tubing pushed into the top.
Doubles and Combinations work really well
Freezer bait ideal for daily baiting up. I always bag in advance and transport in “Daily bags” so I know what I have as the week progresses.
From experience a combination of freezer baits and ready-mades seems to be the most effective option, but no idea why.
Quantities … I regularly hear claims of anglers using huge quantities of bait … “I got there and put out 50 kilo's boilies, spodded pellets for three hours etc”.
I've had some huge hits in France and I've never used those sorts of quantities. What I do aim to do is have enough bait to keep topping up the swim every day. I would suggest something like 2 kilos a day of your chosen boilies, and similar for the particles and pellets, perhaps less, in the colder months.
Quality … It never fails to amaze me how many anglers spend a lot of money on booking the lake, gear, and getting there, then skimp on the quality of their bait. Remember on popular French waters the fish you are fishing for can be as pressured as many English fish, so make the quality of your bait a priority …. No old pellets and particles, no bargain buckets of faded ready-baits labelled specially for France.
Angling Pressure/Swim Resting … This is a key element of my approach. Think about the big picture. On popular holiday waters, the fish often get fished for 24/7 from early March till November, and sometimes longer. They never get a break, they can never relax, so they are always on their guard.
If you can break that pattern it can have a huge impact on your results, so, I rest the swim on a regular basis. Now this approach isn't easy, especially if you have saved up all year, and have one week to live the dream. It isn't easy to wind in and not fish, but it can make a significant difference to fish confidence and I'm convinced that on some sessions I've caught more, by fishing less. It's worth a thought!
Unhooking mat … There is the potential to catch very big fish, so firstly check if the water provides mats for your use, and if not get the biggest and best you can. Some of these big fish can get upset when you catch them, and they can take some holding. A big soft mat really is a necessity.
Weigh Sling/ Scales etc. … For the same reasons, get a top of the range sling, and scales that will weigh up to the maximum for the lake. If you get lucky, you want to know what it weighs. I also have a large garden hook, and rope for hanging the scales from as I'm a wimp and can't stop the scales shaking.
