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Changing …. for the better!

I’ve fished Les Fortinieres several times, the last two trips with groups of mates on what you would call serious fishing trips. I’d intended to do the same on my next trip (September 2011) but wife Liz and daughter Karen got the hump, and made the point that it was some time since they had last been to Les Fortinieres and if I was going, so were they. My family holiday fishing is completely different to my so called serious fishing, Liz and Karen like the odd trip out, we like to sample the local restaurants, and generally chill, this means that although I take the fishing reasonably seriously it is only part of the holiday.
I hadn’t fished Les Fortinieres since Paul and Debbie had done some adjustment of the stock, removing all the cats and any carp under thirty, I couldn’t help but wonder what effect these changes would have on my week.

For once the journey down was uneventful, no hold ups on the peripherique and we even had enough time to stop at the nearby supermarche in Buzancais before arriving late evening. Paul and Debbie were there to greet us, it was great to catch up and whilst Liz got the kettle on I went through my usual routine of going out to look at the lake and checking the catch log. Good news all round, the lake looked stunning, and it was fishing well.
If I’m honest I’d not prepared as thoroughly as usual for my French trips. I’d been a bit all over the place with other projects in the last few weeks and time had caught me out. So I had all the basics gear wise and plenty of bait but didn’t really have a game plan as such. In the past the fishing had been very productive, the last trip producing over 80 fish to four of us, and mentally I’d come expecting the same, so lob a few baits out, and wait for the buzzers to scream.
As usual I didn’t fish the Saturday night, but I did find time just before it got dark to get in the boat and scatter some bait, Trigga Ice ATS, in the open water in front of the house swim where I’d seen fish top earlier soon after arriving. Paul also confirmed that there’d been plenty of fish there all day, so an early start, and a few fish in the morning seemed like a plan to me. I went to bed early and didn’t need any rocking.
As planned I got up early and soon after first light was making my first cast. All three rods out and a cup of tea in hand I settled back wondering if I’d get the tea drunk before my first take. Five hours later and nearly midday and I’m still wondering. It’s fair to say I was a little bit puzzled. Everything had looked perfect, but no action on the rods. The highlight of the morning had been a bacon baguette, French bread, English bacon some combination. As I’d sat there I’d seen fish top regularly, the problem was they were all over the place, I reckoned they were feeding, certainly very active, but not focussed on any one area, which left me also unfocussed, basically I had too many options and couldn’t decide where to set up base camp. In the end I decided to move out of the house swim, and go left to the front corner swim, I just thought it gave me more options. I pottered around for and hour of so getting the bivvy up, and generally getting sorted, by mid afternoon I was organised and decided to do a bit of stalking.
I love stalking Les Fortinieres, there are some fabulous areas to sneak up to, often you can see the fish stirring up the silt, creating huge sub surface disturbances as they search for food. My normal tactic is to fish one rod, with a tiny inline set up and short fluorocarbon hook-length. A PVA bag with a few crushed boilies in it completes the set-up and the whole lot is gently lowered into the edge. The reel clutch is slackened and the rod just lying on the ground. It’s magic fishing and I just love sitting well back, waiting for the water to explode, and the clutch to scream. The tactic didn’t let me down and late afternoon I’m calling Liz to pop round with the cameras etc. to photograph a lovely 30lb common.
Early evening I went out in the boat again and baited up my main swim, concentrating the bait on the open water area about midway across. Back to the house for an evening meal, then hopefully a successful nights fishing, but after the morning session I wasn’t so sure.
It was a strange night, the activity around the lake was spectacular to say the least. I got little sleep listening to some right lumps crashing out, there seemed to be fish everywhere. I had loads of line bites, but it was 3-30 a.m. before an actual take, a mid thirty mirror, I was well pleased. Just as it was getting light a second mirror graced the net. I should have been well pleased, but as I stood in the early morning sun, looking out across the lake I wasn’t. I suspected that the potential had been there for a right result, and I’d not quite got it right.
If I think I’m fishing well and catching I’m a happy bunny, if I think I’m fishing well and not catching usually I’m a patient angler and I’m ok, but if I think the fish are having it, and I’m fishing like a plonker I’m not so happy, and that’s how I felt that Monday morning. I was thinking that I’d been too casual in my preparation, and too casual in my fishing, and I was paying the penalty.

First of all the technical mistakes.

1) If you are going to a venue a long way from home, you need to make sure you have everything you need to cope with a wide variety on angling environments, I hadn’t. Paul and Debbie are two of the most hard working enthusiastic owners I have had the pleasure to meet, and they are working hard to make Les Fortinieres one of the best carp venues in France, this has involved some stock adjustment which involved draining the lake, removing all the cats, the numerous silver fish, and any carp under thirty pounds. The result a stock of superb carp, with the potential to grow very big, but it had also affected the water environment, and there were changes from my last visit, the main noticeable one being the quantity and types of weed I had in front of me. Nothing that under normal circumstances would create a major problem, nothing you couldn’t bring a fish through, but enough to muck up presentation etc. particularly the blanket weed. As my preferred hook-bait options normally involve baits that end up on the bottom I hate blanket weed with a passion, but with a bit of care and rig modification it can be fished over. My normal technique is to lengthen the hook-length, use critically balanced cork dust baits or snowmen and PVA nuggets wrapped around the hook to hold the baits up after the lead had hit bottom. I’d not brought any cork dust baits and I’d not brought any PVA nuggets I was annoyed with myself, but had to make do. So all the rods would be on snowmen doubles and I would have to PVA string a second pop-up on to act like the nugget.
2) Cast out "v" Bait boat. A few years ago I filmed an episode of a Sky TV programme called Carp Crew with Kev Green. One of the themes of the programme was that although I could easily cast to where I was fishing I would be using a bait boat to enable me to get my hook-bait out amongst feeding fish without spooking them. I was in that classic situation again. I could bait the area in front of me, but because I was the only angler fishing the lake it was easy for me to move the fish to quieter un-fished areas of the lake. The solution was obvious, slowly bait boat my rigs out …. Slight hitch to that plan my bait boat was approximately a 1000 miles away in Yorkshire … another bit of tackle I’d not brought with me! I was doing well!
3) Swim selection. Although I was only 36 hours in to my week, I was starting to muck things up by chasing fish, baiting an area, fishing for a while, then moving, baiting an area etc. Thinking about it, I could carry on doing that all week and never really get it right, with the fish always one step ahead, I needed to get my fishing head into gear, make some decisions and stick to them.
I stood chatting to Paul, and one peg screamed out to be fished. The main swim on the far bank, would give me the option to cover both halves of the lake, so I could bait more than one area, and basically double my chances of attracting fish to my selected areas and holding them there. It was less social and further away from the house, but I reckoned I had underestimated the fishing so far and I needed to do some "proper" fishing if I was to do well. Looking at the rest of the week, we had plans to go out a fair bit, so I opted for being in what I hoped would prove to be the right place for what fishing I was doing, rather than the easier more social option … I was sure Liz or Karen wouldn’t mind getting up off the sun loungers and walking all the way round the lake to take pictures!!!!! It was time to move everything across to the far bank. I chose the hottest time of the day to move, and the barrow had a puncture, When you are not getting it quite right, stamp collecting can seem like a great hobby.

Late afternoon I used the boat to this time bait two areas, went back to the house for a much needed shower, and organised the barbi. A couple of beers, a large duck breast steak, followed by a big creamy concoction from the local Patisserie, and I’m ready to go fishing.
Back on the far bank, and rods out, for the first time in the week I felt as if I was fishing properly. I’d had a cast round in the afternoon before baiting up, so I had a clearer idea of where the weed was, and more importantly where the clear areas were. I was covering a lot of water, and the fish had had three helpings of my bait. I hoped I was as they say "Cooking with Gas".
Two fish before midnight, helped to enforce that opinion, and I eventually settled down on the bed chair a much happier angler, confident that I would have a disturbed night.
I woke as the early morning sun turned the mirror like surface of the lake a stunning orange … what had happened to my disturbed night?
I was stood in the peg possibly looking puzzled as Paul arrived with a couple of mugs of steaming tea. We stood there chatting, or rather me holding a monologue as to what was I doing wrong, when I’ve got a "one toner" on my left hand rod, that’s more like it. As we are taking the pics of a lovely 35/10 mirror, the right hand rod is also away, a mad scramble to put the first fish back and this time I have a 36/2. A bit later the morning was complete with a 37/12 mirror. "Cooking with Gas", the gas pressure might have dropped a bit overnight, but it was certainly ok from dawn onwards.
We had other plans for Wednesday and would be away from the lake all day so as Tuesday morning became Tuesday afternoon I wondered what to do. I would not be fishing overnight, but to keep to my overall game plan I would bait both main areas at the usual early evening time. I’m a great believer in giving fish a regular supply of food that they can get used to finding in the same place. I would be back on the Wednesday to do the night, so I wanted to keep to that baiting schedule, but as Tuesday afternoon progressed I had a bit of a dilemma.
From my peg I could see most of the lake, and all day at fairly regular intervals, right in the far corner, a real "whacker" had been launching itself out. The first few times it had attempted orbit I had ignored it, but as the topping became more frequent I couldn’t resist it, and wound in mid p.m. and moved my rods round to the house swim so I could cast a bait near to where the topping was taking place. It was only for a few hours, perhaps in to dark, but I reckoned I was in with a chance of one of the really big inhabitants, so nothing ventured, nothing gained. Soon after casting out it started to rain, and it rained all evening, I stuck to my plan till about 11 p.m. then gave up, thinking I was back to mucking about again. I vowed that on my return the following evening I would stick to my main swim and fish it properly.
Wednesday evening and I’m back from our day out, areas baited, rods are out and everything’s organised to perfection, but it doesn’t feel perfect. It’s hard to explain but experienced carp anglers will know what I mean, when I say that the lake felt quiet, there was no topping, nothing. Night came along with a fabulous full moon, and I just had to get the camera out but still not a fish topped, not a buzzer beeped, and despite the lovely conditions to sit out in, I retired to the sleeping bag.
Again Paul arrived with mugs of tea, and again I went through the "What am I doing wrong routine?" but this time no morning action, but Paul also commented on how quiet the whole lake seemed, it was I suppose just one of those nights, they just were not feeding. I wound in late morning and went for a shower, as we were out for lunch with Paul and Debbie, they reckoned they had somewhere very special to eat …. As the drive to Yorkshire is a very long one I never fish the Friday night so basically I had one night left.
I went though my usual routine late afternoon, baiting up rather leisurely it has to be said as Paul and Debbie were right the restaurant was a bit special. Unlike the evening before, the lake was alive, with fish topping and bubbling everywhere, it was just what I wanted, but would I be standing in my peg in the morning wondering what went wrong again?
The answer …. No I wouldn’t, I had an absolutely brilliant night, with takes at regular intervals, and it didn’t stop with the morning sun, it just got better and better. In that last 24 hours I had 8 thirties and 2 forties, its fair to say I was one very happy, if somewhat damp and slimy carp angler. I even forgave Paul his comment that I smelt of fish. Not sure it’s good business for the owner to tell his customer that he smells but on this occasion I’ll let him off! It had certainly all come together, it brought my totals for the week to 17 thirties and 2 forties, the perfect end to a fabulous holiday.
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Now if you’ve read this whole write-up, you might be questioning my calling it a fabulous holiday, after all my fishing had been a bit all over the place with some very good sessions and some blank periods.

Well in many ways that’s what made the week so enjoyable. The lake and grounds were as lovely as ever, the accommodation 5 star. Paul and Debbie were the perfect hosts, even if the Friday night excursion left me with a sore head and the Thursday lunch 5 lbs over my target weight.
As an angler visiting the lake regularly you can notice changes to the fishing. Paul and Debbie are working very hard to keep their lake as one of the top holiday carp fishing venues, and in my opinion they are succeeding, but as the fishery matures and the fish get older and wiser it changes from an out and out runs water to a more serious challenge, a water where the fishing is more complex, but the rewards that much higher …. Changes that for me, are very much for the better.
On the basis of my last trip, Les Fortinieres has moved on, after all how many waters can claim … no fish under thirty, but it is no longer a push over. So if you are lucky enough to have a trip to Les Fortinieres in the next year of so, don’t make the mistake of taking it for granted as initially I did.