Mike was our very first booking when we took over here and when he contacted us he said that this would probably be his last French fishing trip so we were determined to make it memorable for him. Mike has fished all over the world and been to France on numerous occasions.
Mike flew into Bordeaux airport on Saturday evening from Newcastle via Amsterdam and on the 2 hour journey from Bordeaux he told us that his PB for a French carp was 42lb. Knowing that there were a few fish in Lac Lucie that were bigger than that we had everything crossed that it would be a successful week for him and he could finish his French carping with a new PB.
Mike took advantage of our bait package, choosing the maple syrup flavoured boilies and adding some pop-ups to it. He also had a bag of spicy fish boilies from us and had bought some of his own pineapple flavoured hook baits with him.
On the first day Mike was up early and ready to get everything set up. He spent some time watching the lake and the weather and putting his bait exactly where he wanted it using a spod rod. He then cast out and waited. Nothing happened for several hours and then we got a phone call. We had agreed that whenever possible we would go and photograph his fish for him so were thrilled when the phone rang. What a start with this stunning 41lb mirror, followed an hour or so later by a 25lb common. Not quite beating the PB but a good start to what turned out to be a great week.
Monday saw a sunny start to the day but it was chilly and did turn a bit cloudy in the afternoon. Perfect conditions really for the fish. Mike wasn’t fishing nights – his days for camping out were long gone he said – but was down by the lake early and planning his next moved. At lunchtime we got another call and he sounded a little out of breath so we rushed down to the bank to see an amazing 50lb 8oz common being brought out of the net. A cracking fish and a very happy Mike. A further 2 fish were landed later that afternoon.
It rained on Monday night but Tuesday stayed sunny most of the day and Mike had another common which weighed 32lb first thing in the morning but then had nothing for the rest of the day. He decided in the afternoon to move his gear round to the side swim – referred to as the log swim to see if there was anything to be had from fishing at a different angle.
Wednesday saw rain pretty much all day and whilst Mike has done some hard fishing before he decided that sitting in his bivvy all day watching the rain come down was not for him any more so with no fish showing all morning he packed up at lunchtime and spent the afternoon in the dry and warm of the chalet just relaxing.
Thursday was the perfect fishing day, sunny intervals and short showers, just the weather that Mike likes to fish in. By lunchtime he had his second mirror of the week out weighing 26lb and then at mid afternoon another common just over 50lb.
Early in the evening we were called again as he had caught another common from the shallows, another fish that had beaten his previous PB weighing 42lb 8oz.
Friday saw another day of sunshine and showers but again not much showing in the lake. Mike was loving the wildlife on the lake though and had seen a black kite swooping down, a deer walking round the bottom end of the lake as well as a kingfisher flying round the margins.
Only one fish for his final day though, making a total of 10 fish for the week with another mirror weighing 40lb
So, having caught a sturgeon in Canada in 2023 weighing 400lb and being 9ft long, Mike has now finished his European fishing with a PB of 50lb 8oz. We are thrilled that he picked Lac Lucie as his last venue, especially with him being our first booking and our first guest on this lake this season.
Final tally for the week 0 babies, 0 at 10lb+, 2 at 20lb+, 3 at 30lb+, 3 at 40lb+ and 2 at 50lb+. A great week for a single angler and we wish him all the best for the future and hope that he continues the fishing back in the UK.
