2 weeks ago we finally had some rain. In fact we had so much rain that the lake level increased by over 12”. That’s a lot of cool water on top of a head of fish that have had settled conditions for weeks on end. As a result of this I felt that it would take a few days for the fishing to settle down. The 2 guys who turned up to fish that week were given this information and I strongly recommended that they fished at the top end of the lake, baiting lightly and sticking with the areas where fish had been caught in the previous few weeks.

They chose not to do this and, instead, fished the bottom of the lake. They also often fished with the sort of bright coloured bait I advised them against. They struggled. Why do so many anglers do this. As an owner I want people to catch fish. My advice is based on what happens over many weeks but a number of anglers, within minutes of seeing your lake, think they know better. It’s such a shame for everyone. Still as they say you can lead a horse to water…………

Late August 2009

The fish continue to stick at the top end of the lake. Water levels are now as low as they have ever been. However this doesn’t seem to be affecting the fishing with a fair number of fish coming out to our own, carp company iclandic red boilies during the dark hours. There is very little action during the day but, as I said earlier, given the temperatures and the cloudless skies this really isn’t surprising.

We had a week where we had 2 individual anglers on the lake. These 2 guys were both shown around the lake and both given all of the appropriate information. One took note of what I had to say and enjoyed his week so much that he is already talking about coming back (see the picture of Andy with a fish that was a pb for him and very close to being a 30lb). The other chose to fish an area that I advised him against and struggled. Andy’s near 30 came after tracking the fish for over 2 days in a snaggy area of the lake. It was a great example of hard work paying off. From an owners point of view it’s so much more rewarding than watching anglers who just cast and sit.

We have just looked after 2 lads, Tony and Stuart, for a week. The fishing was reasonably difficult but they fished the lake well. It was clear as the week went on that the fish were not going to move from the top end and they were only prepared to feed on dark coloured baits. Corn and bright boilies seem to scare the fish away.

For all that the fishing was reasonably difficult Stuart caught a fair number of small fish along with a pair at 28lb and 29lb (it would be great to see the photo’s lads). Tony, on the other hand, kept getting into fish but kept losing them. Better luck next time Tony.

Mid August 2009

The weather is beautiful with temperatures in the high 30’s and clear blue sky’s,. Not surprisingly there is very little action during the day. This has been going on for weeks now and we are still suffering drought conditions. The holiday makers won’t thank me but we really need three or four days steady rain.

How about this? Matt, on a return visit (see pictures from last year) was fishing an open gravel patch with no snags. He had a single bleep one night which he, inevitably, ignored. Later, when he reeled in, he had a straightened hook. Any ideas?

Early August 2009

The last couple of weeks have seen some interesting developments. A couple of guys came over to carry out a bit of work for us in exchange for a crack at the carp. The work didn’t leave them much time for fishing. However they followed the fish around the lake and eventually managed a good night that included a new lake record at 33lb.

Shaggy, the captor of the fish wants to name the fish. I have never given any of them names before. However as he captured it I relented and the fish has duly been named "Mollie".

The fish have all now moved right to the top of the lake. There are presently a few anglers fishing including a couple of young lads. I suspect that the fish will remain at the top until it gets quieter.

14th June 2009

I was working on a corner of the lake yesterday and couldn't work out why there were grass fronds all over the lake. I guessed that a deer or wild boar had dropped into the water and stirred things up somewhere. How wrong can you be? I took the dog for a walk this morning and could hear huge splashes  from one corner of the lake. On investigation I found a carp thrashing around among some sunken branches.

My initial thought was that it was tethered but there was then a similar disturbance about 50 yards further out, and then another to my right, and then a pair of mid 20's swam straight towards me almost half out of the water. By now it had become apparent that I was witnessing  the annual spawning. I was a bit slow to recognise this for what it was because it's so late in the year. But, on reflection every time the water has started to warm up we have had a couple of days rain and its cooled again.

This is the first time I have witnessed the carp spawn in my own lake. It's such an exciting spectacle and, of course, when the only thing on their minds is reproduction it's possible to get very close to them. Fortunately there is no-one fishing at the moment although it is such a great thing to witness that I would always be happy to put down the rods and just wander around the lake watching what's going on.

There we are then, another diary update for you. I'm now off to practice what I just preached and watch my frolicking carp."
 

Late May/ Early June 2009

A couple of guys - Nick and Tony turned up to do a quick 24 hour session a few days ago. Nick wanted to fish and Tony to take photo's and generally chill out. They obviously chilled well as it took them 3 days to leave. During that time Nick had a couple of handsome fish including what turned out to be the lake record. There is some confusion about the precise weight that Nick will, no doubt, clarify when he sends me the photo's but it was a bit under 30. I would guess it's one of the 30's that were stocked last year that has dropped a bit of weight over the winter.
 

21st May 2009

The water is finally warming up and the fish are moving around a lot more at the moment. If the weather stays as it is - warm and sunny - I expect the fish to spawn before too long.


And as a complete aside, I know this is a carp site but I did a little 'fluff chucking' last night. It was a perfect evening for it, with rises all over the place. I caught one fairly early on, pulled out of 3 or 4 and then caught a second to round off an enjoyable little session.
 
These fish are 'stockies' but they give a good account of themselves on a light brook rod, and they don't taste too bad either...so if you flick a fly yourself it's always worth packing an extra rod - although you do need a license for river fishing.'

1st May 2009

Our first anglers of the year have now been and gone. And a deluge of cold water the week before made it a tough week. However, Ian and James fished well and as can be seen from the pictures, both had impressive fish (Ian with the day time shot).

Here are their own comments on the week:

Both James and I said what a great setting you've got there and hospitality you all showed us was second to none, it certainly made us feel at home even though we were in bivvies. The food was excellent and a nice change from the normal "camping food" of burgers etc. I would recommend it to anyone.'

Cheers guys.

March 09

We are off to the carp show to drum up some trade on 7th and 8th. If any of you are going we will be offering free holidays as prizes over the weekend so come and talk to us about how you might be able to fish the place for free.

Feb 09

Bookings have started well – although there are plenty of gaps in the diary so get on the phone. Have a look at the prices. I don’t believe there is anywhere in Europe where you could fish a place like mine for £150.00 a week.

Mid October 08

Just one other group fished the water before we closed for the season. This was a party of 6 who had a fairly tough time of it. The temperature plummeted in the few days before they arrived and this was always going to make it a challenging week.

And that’s exactly how it turned out. There were still a number of runs early on but some dropped fish and a lake whose water temperature continued dropping meant that it got tougher as time went on.

The lads battled on, trying a whole range of baits and tactics and, in the end, a few fish were banked, but not in the numbers that they or I would have liked to have seen.

I think it’s fair to say that this shows that La Ferme is a proper water. In tough conditions the fish become tougher to catch. That, as they say, is fishing.

And to that end think it’s fair to say that Phil and the lads were fairly philosophical about the week and that they enjoyed many aspects of it. It’s also true to say that the younger of their party would have had a pretty good time except for a lot of fish that were running into the snags.

By the way, how many fisheries tell you about the bad weeks! We all know that one of the things that keeps us going back is the challenge. This week was certainly that. Hopefully the summer will ease into autumn this season rather than end abruptly as it did this time around.

'August 7th
Early August continued as July finished - steamy with very high pressure. This didn't do the fishing much good and Charlie, our regular had a poor 24 hour session last week.

I had previously had an interesting couple of hours during heavy rain while I gave a youngster a brief lesson. It was obviously going to storm and as the distant thunder grew louder the fish went crazy. The youngster missed a number of fish and so, before the storm got too close, I decided to show him how it was done.

Within minutes I had a run and if the dog hadn't chosen that moment to stand between me and the rod I would (probably) have landed the carp who chose to use the 3 or 4 second delay wisely by heading, fairly rapidly, for an overhanging bush. Surely it was an angler who said don't work with kids and animals!

Last night we had another storm. A terrific, almost tropical storm that seemed to go on for hours. This was of little interest until I discovered, this morning, that Matt, a very experienced carp angler,
had a run at 2am and finally landed the fish at 5am, having been forced to fight the fish right through the storm.

He was convinced it was one of the lake's 40's until he banked it and sacked it in the certain knowledge that it was a 30. We weighed it early this morning and it's either one of the mid 20's that has gained a lot of weight, or one of the 30's that's been on a diet. And while we all know that weight shouldn't matter, we all know that really it does. So while Matt was delighted with the best fight he's ever had from a carp there was also a bit of disappointment that the scales didn't swing just a little further.

Just for the record he was fishing with a 2 3/4 lb test carp rod and 15lb line so the fight didn't go on for 3 hours because of any fear for the strength of the tackle.'

July / August 08

At the start of July we finished working on 'the jungle'. We cut enough trees out of this area to keep the bar fire going for many an evening and it is now ready to fish in comfort. This swim is the furthest from the house and is great for those who enjoy real solitude. It also gives easy access to the river course which seems to be a good fish holding area.

July was very hot and very dry. The lake is low and the carp sluggish. However, as we come into August we have already had a shower or two. Storms are expected in the next couple of days and we expect the fishing to pick up immediately.

We are not expecting too much angling pressure during August so September and October should be excellent months. I would write more but it's my day off - so i'm just off up the lake to wet a line, see you soon.' 

Steve

July 08

'One of 18 carp caught by Charlie a local angler during a 48 hour session last week (second week of July). He is convinced a good 30 slipped the hook just shy of the net. Better luck next time, Charlie

June 08

The poor weather has set things back somewhat.

The lake is fed by two streams. This is hugely advantageous from the point of view of water quality and keeping the water reasonably cool in the hot months. However with weeks of very serious rain the streams have been more like rivers as millions of gallons of cold water have poured into the top end of the lake.

Strangely this doesn't appear to have had too much of an effect on the fish. From the day I arrived back from the UK they have been actively wandering all around the lake. This was really gratifying as the original stock of fish tend to stay close to the snags, and there is always a worry that the new stock will take on the characteristics of the original fish.

What the cold weather did to their feeding behaviour I have no idea because I didn't get to fish until very recently. Once the weather started to change I started to feed the fish and also to decide where to have the first cast.

I have now fished two very short sessions. The first was no more than 40 minutes and the second about 2 hours (it's great owning your own fishery. A 7 ½ acre lake on my doorstep and I manage ¼ of a day in 6 weeks!). In that time I have landed 4 very nice carp. See the picture on the 'fish' page with the caption '1^st  fish to be banked'.

A small number of local lads are talking about fishing in the next few weeks but we still have very few bookings. I can see that plenty of people are looking at the web-site and we are already taking bookings for next year. However, you could still be among the first to get amongst this new stock.