Andy and Karen have been together for a few years but have never fished together before they came here. Andy has always loved catfish and has fished for them in France before but had not had his rods out for about 8 years and Karen has fished in Australia but has been caring for her parents for the last few years. Having tied the knot a few weeks ago the happy couple decided to spend their honeymoon with us. For both of them it was as much of a holiday and break from routine as it was about the fishing and it was important for them to get away, take their time with everything and enjoy the peace and quiet of our little piece of paradise here in France.
Andy had heard of our lakes through the catfish association he is a member of and had seen the Passport to Catfish video that had been made many years ago about the catfish that have been caught in the Kingfisher lake. He was determined to catch a big one and had all the gear with him to enable that to happen….as long as they were taking the bait.
Arriving in the rain on Saturday afternoon after a tour of one of the nearest supermarkets, we showed them round the lake and chalet and gave them the bait they had ordered. They got the bivvy set up but then called it a day and spent the night in the chalet after the long drive from the Isle of Wight. After breakfast on Sunday they got to it, setting their rods up with Karen fishing to the dam wall and aerator and Andy to the middle and the far bank. Andy had bought some of his own bait too by way of tins of tuna, sweetcorn and kidney beans, rolling them to snowball size balls and leaving them to dry out in the sun. They also had spicy fish boilies, pellets, maize, parti-blend and chilli hemp so were hoping the cats would be hungry.
It was 6pm before Andy got the rods in the water and they cooked some kebabs on the barbecue down by the lake and were just enjoying the sunshine and peace and quiet along with a glass or two of wine.
Monday morning when they came up for breakfast Andy had caught something, unfortunately not a cat but a mirror carp weighing 38lb, but at least it was something and they were off the mark and as Andy said on more than one occasion ‘it is what it is’.
Karen loves shopping and exploring French supermarkets so on Monday they went out to stock up on some more bits and wine and came back and got the rods back out. No other fish were caught on Monday but they slept out all night in the bivvy in the hope of catching something else at night. Autumn is coming and although the days are generally still nice and warm and sunny, the night temperatures are dropping and the two of them were a little cold by the morning.
On Tuesday Karen caught her first ever catfish in France – a small kitten in its 20s but was a good practice for her and she was thrilled with it. Andy was not so sure as she managed to tangle up every line in the process of brining it to the bank.
Andy kept up the baiting and eventually on Wednesday evening, after a long slow battle he managed to land the heaviest catfish that has been out the lake since we bought the property. At 88lb this was the best way to have a photo with it.
There were no more carp or catfish but the happy couple enjoyed their time by the lake, watching the kingfishers with a glass of wine and enjoying the peace and the stars at night time.
The final catch summary is 1 carp at 38lb, 1 catfish at 20lb+ and 1 catfish at 88lb. We think that this week has renewed Andy’s passion for cat fishing and we have enjoyed their company and thank them for choosing us to spend their honeymoon with. We hope that they will return to us again sometime and until then à bientôt…
