We welcomed back Jon (AKA Rambo), Rob and Greg last Saturday onto our Kingfisher lake. The trio fished Lac Lucie last June and thought Kingfisher would be more of a challenge for them. They are all highly experienced and very enthusiastic carp anglers and fish a lot in the UK. They look at their week in France for as much of a social as well as getting some good fishing done.
They arrived with their rental van packed to the rafters and the three of them squeezed in along the front seat, after a very warm journey down from Caen. After having a quick beer with us they went and unpacked the van so that they could go to the supermarket for supplies, making sure that this year they got enough beers for the whole week so they did not have to go out again.
By early evening they had all got one rod at least set up and settled down at the new bench in the social area between the swims for a beer. Sunday morning they spent some time going out in the rowing boat, getting the lie of the land and capturing some great content for Jon’s social media platforms. Greg saw the first fish and it appeared to create the trend for the rest of the week. A stunning little common at a weight of 5lb 15oz. This and the four subsequent fish under 10lb that were caught over the week were quickly transferred from the ‘keep-net of shame’ to our stock pond, to be allowed to grow in peace and quiet away from the big kids in the pond, (see the scars on the 5lb 14oz mirror that were probably made by one of the cats) apart from Jon’s little roach of course which won the ‘smallest fish of the week’ award!
So that’s the tiny babies of the week out of the way! For most of the week the weather was kind to the trio and generally after breakfast they had a few lazy hours and maybe a quick dip in the pool (although the recent low temperatures has meant that it is a bit chilly still), before a few beers and some lunch and then down to the serious fishing. There was very clear evidence that the fish were ready to spawn and trying to get the bigger fish to feed was not easy.
By Monday evening they had had 4 carp up to 35lb 6oz and 2 cats up to 48lb 12oz out between them and were wondering where all the big ones had gone. They still spent some time making sure they captured the perfect photograph though and Nigel witnessed Jon’s art direction, with the other two getting a tad frustrated at times we are sure!
One of the things the guys told us was that they do not necessarily come to France fishing for the big fish, although that is always a bonus. They do like the opportunity for a social and having the picnic table between the first two swims and the chalet is a bonus, and they also like to catch a variety of carp, not just big pasty ball mirrors. And they certainly managed to do that this week with some lovely scaley mirrors, some pristine long commons as well as a few big cats.
They all took it in turns doing a bit of stalking down in the shallows and this paid of on a few occasions and also seemed to spook some of the fish up to the other end of the lake ready for the serious fishing.
On Thursday at breakfast they were telling us that they thought we ought to make a video of someone waking up in the double bedroom in the chalet and looking out over the lake. We have always said that this room has to be one of the best places to wake up, with the patio doors stepping out onto the balcony looking down to the deepest part of the lake and enjoyed it ourselves when we fished there in 2018 & 2019. No sooner was it said than done, as Jon had bought his drone with him and it was sent to us by 12 noon that day with Greg in the starring role.
Thursday was the last of the nice weather and on Friday it didn’t stop raining, nearly all of the day and the three of them were not looking forward to packing up wet tackle into the van for their drive home. However the change in the weather also bought out a change in the fishing and some larger fish came out and finally something over 40lb. This meant that the trophy that Jon had held for the last few years had to be passed over, and to his brother, Rob. To say that Jon enjoyed taking this photograph would be lying but you can tell that Rob was thrilled, despite the weather.
We had assumed from their conversation at breakfast on Friday morning that they would be packing up the van on Friday evening and getting their heads down in the dry and warmth in the chalet ready for the drive back north early Saturday morning for their ferry. So we were surprised when more photos were sent through to our WhatsApp group that evening with Greg catching a 28lb mirror for the second time from exactly the same spot and Rob catching a small mirror but this shows just how committed they are! And Greg had both the first and final fish of the week and finished with a 42lber.
They finally packed the van up at 5.30am on Saturday morning and came round for breakfast, somewhat muddy and weary having chased a couple of fish round the snags a few times in the night. But we have had another great week with these guys here, catching over 30 fish between them, albeit not the biggest ones in the lake but some stunning specimens. We really hope they will come back again next year as we have thoroughly enjoyed their company and good humour and of course sharing a beer or two with them. And finally a big thank you from us for all the tagging and great social media content you have produced over the week.
So the summary of the week was 1 tiny roach, 5 babies, 9 at 10lb+, 7 at 20lb+, 6 at 30lb+, 2 at 40lb+ along with 4 cats and 2 kittens.
