For a lot of us, that annual trip across the Channel is something we look forward to for months. The prep starts early — tying rigs on the sofa, loading the freezer with boilies, sorting out end tackle that probably didn’t need sorting. By the time you arrive at the lake, you’re itching to get the rods out. You grab the barrow, pick a swim that looks decent enough, and before you know it, the first cast is already in the air.
I’ve done it myself — more than once. And every time I’ve rushed, it’s cost me.
Carp in France behave just the same as the fish we catch at home. They’re not a different creature. What changes is the context: bigger fish on average, a lot more bait goes in through the season, and venues that see angling pressure almost every week from March to November. You can’t blag it. The basics matter even more.
That’s why the anglers who keep things simple, stay observant, and react to what’s in front of them often do the best. The ones who struggle usually make the same handful of mistakes.
Here are the biggest ones — and how to avoid them.
1. Rushing to Start Fishing Without Locating the Carp
This is the classic. You’ve been in the van for hours, you’re knackered, and you just want to start your holiday. But casting straight away, without spending any real time looking for the carp, is probably the quickest way to waste the first 24 hours.
Most lakes — whether in Kent or Champagne — will show you something if you’re patient. At first light especially. You might notice a solitary bow wave pushing off a shallow corner, fizzing tiny pinprick bubbles over silt, or a fish quietly showing itself tight to a snag while everyone else is brewing up. Even birds can give it away. I’ve seen coots erupt off a margin for absolutely no reason other than a big carp cruising underneath.
Despite that, a lot of anglers still choose a swim because it’s comfy or because “someone had a few out of here last week”. The anglers who take a slow lap, sit on their hands for an hour, and really study the water are the ones who start ahead.
If the carp aren’t in front of you, nothing else matters. No wonder rigs. No magic bait.
2. Not Understanding the Lakebed Before Casting
Once you’ve actually found the carp, the next job is understanding what’s under your rod tips. This is another step many anglers skip, usually because they’re too eager to get three rods fishing.
French lakes can be messy. One spot might be firm clay, the next a soft, stinking silt pocket, then a strip of low weed, then a clean, polished gravel line. I once led around on a lake near Troyes and found four different bottom types within the same small swim.
A couple of casts with a bare lead can tell you a lot. A crisp “donk” means firm ground. A slow, sinking feel often means silt. No drop at all is normally weed. It doesn’t need to be over-complicated — you just need enough info to choose the right rig.
For example:
- Chods or hinges over choddy or weedy areas
- Combi-rigs or longer booms where the bottom is soft
- Straightforward wafters or bottom baits on clean clay or gravel
Plenty of anglers end up fishing the right area but with the wrong presentation, and that’s why nothing happens.
3. Not Applying the Right Baiting Strategy
This is a big one, and it goes wrong in two completely opposite ways.
A lot of anglers put in too much bait far too early. You see it every week. The barrow hasn’t even cooled down from the walk round and someone’s already spombed out 10 kilos. If the carp aren’t there — or they’re nervous after a busy week — that mountain of bait can spook them or sit there untouched.
On the other hand, once the carp finally move in, some anglers don’t feed enough to hold them. Big, well-fed French carp can clear a modest baited spot in minutes. I’ve watched fizzing stop dead, only for someone to put the marker out and find the patch stripped clean.
The trick is to react.
Not guess. Not force your pre-planned approach.
Start lightly until you’re absolutely sure carp are present. Pay attention to liners, little slicks coming off the spot, or how quickly bites come. If they’re clearly on you, top up sensibly. If it goes quiet, resist the temptation to hit it with loads of bait “because you brought it with you”.
Let the fish make the decisions for you.
4. Ignoring Weather, Wind, and Changing Conditions
French lakes vary massively in size and shape, but carp still respond to weather in the same way they do at home. Wind pushes food and warm water. Cold winds can absolutely kill an area. High pressure often pushes carp into the upper layers. Low pressure can switch them into proper feeding mode.
The tricky part is that a lot of holiday anglers don’t get on the bank regularly enough back home to stay tuned into those patterns, so it’s easy to misread things. If you would like to understand how weather can influence carp behaviour you can read our expert article here.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen anglers stick in a sheltered corner because “it looked nice”, even though the wind had been pushing into the opposite bank for 48 hours. Meanwhile, the angler tucked away on the rougher, less comfortable bank has three fish in the net.
Carp follow comfort, safety, and food. If you keep those three words in mind, the lake starts to make sense very quickly.
5. Not Bringing the Right Tackle and Rigs for Different Situations
This one is surprisingly common. Some anglers turn up with one rig, one approach, and expect it to do everything. It rarely does.
French lakes throw up all sorts of situations. Flat, hot days where surface gear is the only thing that gets a response. High-pressure conditions where the carp sit midwater and zig rigs out-fish everything. Weedy or choddy areas where a chod or hinged stiff rig is the only safe option. Mussels, snags, and gravel seams where abrasion-resistant line is vital.
You don’t need a truckload of tackle — just enough to adapt:
- A couple of bottom-bait or wafter rigs you trust
- A chod or hinged stiff setup for rough ground
- Zig gear
- Surface gear for calm periods
- Stronger line options for snaggy areas
The anglers who catch consistently aren’t the ones with the fanciest kit — they’re the ones who change something when it needs changing. We recommend reading our article, which covers 4 carp rigs for 95% of situations – click here to read it.
6. Ignoring the Lake Owner’s Advice
This one still amazes me.
Most lake owners know their water better than anyone. They’ve watched every pattern for years — how pressure moves fish, where the hot depths are each season, which spots switch on after a wind, even which rigs tend to get picked up better.
Yet loads of anglers turn up, listen politely, and then do exactly what they were planning to do anyway.
You don’t need to follow every word, but asking the right questions makes all the difference:
- “What depths have been working this week?”
- “Are they spending much time in the margins?”
- “Is it worth baiting heavy or keeping things tight?”
- “Any swims you’d avoid right now?”
Combine that local knowledge with your own watercraft and you’re miles ahead of most anglers before you even cast out.
Conclusion: French Carp Fishing Rewards Awareness and Adaptation
Carp in France behave exactly the same as carp in the UK. The difference is the fishing pressure, the bait going in, and the sheer amount of angling activity these lakes see through the year. That means the basics matter even more.
The anglers who do well are the ones who take their time, figure out where the carp actually are, understand what they’re fishing over, adjust their baiting to the situation, watch the weather, carry the right tools, and use the lake owner’s experience rather than ignoring it.
Get those things right and you’ll give yourself a genuine edge — whether you’re on a quiet UK club lake or sat behind three rods on a French holiday venue.
Article by Richard Patterson – seasoned UK and French carp angler
