One of the fish that I caught after locating a shoal of feeding carp

During the 2nd week of April I fished one of the new Angling Lines waters for 2012, Blue Lake.

Here is a video on some of the tactics that I used after I had found a shoal of carp that I presumed were on the feed in front of swim 4 at Blue Lake. Click here to watch Fishing the shallows for carp

In this video Jim Kelly explains his tactics for catching 36 carp and also you see some of the fish that I landed out of the shoal in the shallows. Click here to watch Angling Lines testers video for 2012

To see more of my 2012 Diary click here or for more of my tips click here

Carp fishing in France with over 35 lakes Angling Lines tel 01773 590077 / 08448 117562

Paul Cooper

I have recently returned from my trip to Blue Lake with my fishing colleague Jim Kelly. We both had a very successful trip landing 69 fish between us, Jim’s being the larger amount of 40 fish.

Jim with a nice Common caught on HG42

There were 4 other anglers on the lake during a stay at the venue, all were on a well known bait from another well known bait company, but their captures did not amount to more than 25 fish for the 4 of them. On the last day, Friday, I gave 2 of the lads Tony and Paul, some of our HG42 and HG47 to try out for the night as they had not had a run for 2 days. That night they landed 15 carp, and lost at least another 5. They were ecstatic and I am sure will be changing bait and companies in the near future.

The full article can be read on the Blue Lake page of Angling Lines

Jim has also completed a blog on the Angling Lines web site which you can read in full by clicking here.

Carp Fishing in France with over 35 lakes

Tel 01773 590077 for booking details

To see more of Paul Cooper’s 2012 Diary click here for field testing tips click here

Paul Cooper

I have put together a video on how to preserve food and boilies for either a long session in England or for a French trip. With the price of meat being almost double in France than compared to English prices it is always worth taking a few days supply with you.

to see more of my tips click here

To view this video click on the picture below

Boiles being vacuum packed

Holiday date: Sat 17th Mar to Sat 24th Mar 2012
Name of customer: Ian Shaw

Now for bait, i would like to thank paul cooper for bringing to my attention the quality baits hg range on his “planning a trip to blue lake” video diary. Fantastic bait which i will be using in the future! I took with me 10kg of hg42 (5 each of 15mm and 20mm) and the same in hg47. Simon of quality bait over made my order by 3kg which he gave to me free. Cheers. I also took matching pop ups and a glug.

To read more of Ian,s feedback report on the Angling Lines web site click here

What tackle do I need?

Do I need a tripod or can I use bank sticks?

• This is a very important bit of research that you can do, as every lake is different. By reading through previous articles and feedback reports you can usually gather what the banks are like at the lake. It is no good turning up with bank sticks only to find that banks are made up of hardcore, rocky or simply not suitable for using bank sticks.

• As I am visiting Blue Lake in April, I know that on some of the swims I will need a rod pod, so I will take a rod pod and bank sticks- - - - - - - - to read more of this article and see the video click here
• Carp fishing in France with over 35 lakes

Here is part 3 of the video diary which has been published on the Angling Lines Blog, which goes through in detail what documents and legal requirements are needed for travelling on the Continent, when carp fishing in France.

Click hee to go to The Angling Lines Blog

Click on the photo above to read the article and view the video.

Carp fishing in France with over 35 venues

Paul Coopers 2012 Diary

47lb 5oz a new lake record

I,ve just returned from one of Angling Lines new venues, Monument lake. This is going to be a top venue for carp fishing in France, with 5 acres of water and a good head of big carp it surely is going to throw up some surprises in the future.

I arrived at the lake on Saturday 17th March to fish the official last week of Winter. The beginning of the week was difficult as the temperatures had dropped dramatically to around freezing with heavy rain.  I managed a couple of upper twenty pound carp but after my 3rd move on the lake and into the 5th day, I managed to locate some feeding fish. I set the trap with all my rods being baited up with either Hg42 or HG47 bottom baits on my version of the blowback rig.

one of the 25+ carp

Within the next hour I had a run on one of my island rods and has that reached the net off shot a second island rod. Having dealt with the first carp a mirror of 25lb 7oz I was onto the second rod. The fish had run into a snag just of the island so off I trundled to release the carp from the snag, leaving Paul Brooks to look after the rod end. With a bit of persuasion the carp swam off up the lake. I returned to the rod and after a long hard fight landed what is at present the Lake record of 47lb 5oz. The 47 came out on the new HG47, what a coincidence!

I went onto to capture a few more fish with my total captures being 12 carp averaging in the upper twenties.

Click here for Paul Cooper 2012 Diary

Click here to read the Angling Lines catch report

Carp fishing in France with over 35 venues

Paul Cooper

26lb mirror

Just before dark on 28th February I dropped down to my local syndicate lake to check on the water. I was standing talking to one of the other members, Phil Russel when we I noticed a vortex just under the surface of the water in the near corner of the lake. The water could only have been 18 inch deep over thick silt but there was no sighting of a fish. We stood watching the water when out came a mid twenty mirror, shortly followed by a simular sized common. Darkness was creeping in and we both left the lake.

I returned the following morning shortly after 9am and put a couple of rods with the new HG47 out in the bay where we had seen the fish. I only had to wait for a couple of hours and I was into a mirror which graced the bank at 26lb. A few quick pics and I packed up. I had arranged for an afternoons barbel fishing with Jeff Dace.

A quick change of rods and tackle and I was ready to go.

I picked Jeff up around 2pm and we set off for the River Dove at Tutbury. By 4 pm we were settled into our swims. Now Simon had asked me to try out a new  barrel shaped boilie that he was putting into production, which is Halibut pellet based. I had a range of these boilies with me but decided to to try the 16mil. Within an hour I landed my 1st barbel of the season, a strong fighting 11lb specimen. I missed a couple of other chances but that was the only barbel of the day.

Looks like another winning bait.

Paul Cooper’s 2012 Fishing diary

Paul Cooper

Are you preparing for a carp fishing trip to France in 2012?

Via a series of Blog posts & a video diary Paul Cooper will take you through his preparation routine.

Blue Lake(Part 2)

Bait

It is now the beginning of February and I’m already thinking about what bait I will be using for the Blue Lake trip and what quantities I will require.  This to me is the most important aspect to a successful fishing trip………….

Click here to read the full article

Click here to see part 2 of the video blogs

Carp fishing in France with 35 lakes

Angling lines tel: 01773 590077

Via a series of Blog posts & a video diary Paul Cooper will take you through his preparation routine.

I have been travelling over to France with Angling Lines for over 10 years now and every trip is different. This year I will be fishing a number of Angling Lines waters, one being Blue Lake in April this year. My fishing companion for this visit will be Jim Kelly and there are a number of pre-holiday procedures that I shall be going through before travelling…………………….

Click here to read part 1 of the blogs

Click here to see the video of part 1 of Paul’s Diary

There are over 35 lakes on the Angling Lines web site so have a look around at Carp Fishing in France

Angling Lines - 01773 590077