The Story Continues
Father and Son, I think his was bigger than mine.
As you can see from the picture above, the carp here are in very good condition and are from some very different strains, some are long lean fish, some are short and fat, the colouration can be totally different also like these two, one being black backed with light greyish sides whilst others can be very golden. The one I am holding I 'nicked' from Darrell, he was playing his fish, which was fighting very hard making numerous attempts to get beneath the trees to Darrell's left side margin, when another of his rods screamed off!! I could only do the decent thing by striking, playing and landing the fish while Darrell continued his battle. It gave us the opportunity for a nice double shot though LOL!!
Anyway I think it must be time for the numbers, who caught what and how big, I will list the captures in quantity order and the order in which each angler caught them.
Darrell caught a total of 30 carp the sizes in order caught are, 31lb 12oz 22lb 23lb 20lb 25lb 22lb 21lb 20lb 19lb 29lb 19lb 18lb 8oz 18lb 18lb 5lb 29lb 28lb 24lb 20lb 19lb 36lb 25lb 23lb 21lb 27lb 23lb 23lb 22lb 17lb 17lb. That works out at two thirties, nineteen twenties, eight doubles and one single.
Perry caught a total of 13 carp the sizes in order caught are, 44lb 36lb 4oz 14lb 17lb 18lb 3lb 15lb 26lb 37lb 4oz 26lb 36lb 25lb 22lb. That works out at one forty, three thirties, four twenties, four doubles and one single.
I caught a total of 11 carp the sizes in order caught are, 36lb 29lb 4oz 23lb 35lb 31lb 32lb 28lb 25lb 26lb 8oz 24lb 25lb. That works out at four thirties and seven twenties.
Paul caught a total of 8 carp the sizes in order caught are, 34lb 26lb 32lb 26lb 19lb 24lb 24lb 34lb. That's three thirties, four twenties and one double.
Steve caught a total of 7 carp the sizes in order caught are, 21lb 20lb 26lb 26lb 20lb 36lb 8oz 30lb. That's two thirties and five twenties.
Pete caught a total of 4 carp the sizes in order caught are, 30lb 29lb 21lb 8oz 37lb 8oz. That's two thirties and two twenties.
That's a grand total for the week of 73 carp! One forty, Sixteen thirties, Forty one twenties, Thirteen doubles and Two singles.
What else can I say about L'etourneau? The lake is a nice looking water containing some fine specimen carp that fight very hard, the top lake (stalking lake) I think could be turned into another great water, I feel it is wasted at the moment, it's not as though it needs a great amount of work to transform it, just some bank maintenance with some dedicated swims. Dan is currently building some wooden chalets on site with a view to anglers with families spending the week in the chalet rather than a bivvy, this of course will appeal to some but not others, it's just depends on what you want from a fishing holiday in France. The lodge at the lakeside provides all the amenities you will ever need and Dan is very helpful asking if anyone needs smokes, beers, wine, batteries etc when he travels into town. The toilets and showers were always clean with plenty of hot water when needed. Dan is also happy for anglers to 'do there own thing' with baits etc as long as sensible care is taken in preparation and use of bait, I feel he could perhaps give a bit more detail about the lake when anglers turn up and perhaps walk the bank with the anglers to point out any features and spots that can be located from each swim. Although the food was adequate provided by Dan perhaps it could have been a bit more appetising if say the breakfast contained mushrooms or perhaps a choice of how the egg was cooked rather than fried and perhaps a dessert with the evening meal, nothing fancy but just something to finish the meal.
Overall I would recommend anyone to pay a visit to this lake I am sure you will enjoy yourself and catch some big carp in nice surroundings, here is a link to the website http://www.carpfishinginfrance.co.uk
Dan on the barbeque, how do you like yours? The crew salute you, cheers!