Course Fisherman 1998
GRAHAM MARSDEN has found a new water in northern France. It's well stocked with massive fish, so big that Graham didn't believe the claims at first, but he went with some mates and had a great time and a personal best.
Earlier this year, while surfing internet sites for fishing content, I came across an interesting one called Le Domaine des iles. It was the web site of a carp fishery in northern France which, it was claimed , was 'host to over 1,000 specimen carp between 25 and 60lb, with hundreds in the 30 and 40lb bracket.' The web master was Englishmen David Elford, representing French fishery owner Bernard Caron.
As you can imagine I was intrigued to say the least. Now was this another
inland sea, a vast lake or reservoir that necessitated a satellite assisted
GPS instrument to find your way from one bank to another, where you had
to wade knee-deep in mud if the water level was down? No, nothing of the
kind, Domaine des iles is a privately owned 100 acre estate with the main
lake no more than 25 acres. Okay, so whats the catch? There must be one,
I thought, I had never heard of the water before, and if the claims were
only half true surely the grapevine would have been knocjing on my door?
The more I investigated the more I realised that this could be the water
we had been dreaming about. Not only did it appear to give a good chance
of catching a forty-pounder, there was a realistic chance of a fifty!
And without the pain of a day's travelling through France (it is only
two hours or less from the ferry ports) and having to contend with the
daunting task of finding fish in an inland sea whilst possibly wallowing
in ankle-snapping clag.
Fingers Crossed. I did enough research to give eight of us enough confidence to book a week's fishing, with two of the party dropping out at the last minute due to personal reasons. So Eddie Biddy, John Charlesworth, Terry Knight, Bob Rosier, Bill Miller and I arrived at Domaine des ilesbristling with hope but with fingers crossed. There was also an underlying , deep-seated dread of having let ourselves in for a massive con. We have heard of carp waters before, not only in France but elsewhere in Europe, including Britain, where the stocking of a barrowload of doubles and one forty-pounder (that died or was removed the week after) has provoked a description along the lines of - 'massively stocked with carp to 40lb', which is sufficient to keep them out of the clutches of the Trade Descriptions Act, but qualifies them for a starring part in Billy Liar.
Picture Proof. I felt better the moment we arrived at the motorised gates that opened when we were spotted by the video surveillance camera that was monitored from within the house. The owner Bernard Caron, his charming wife Odile, Barry Teague and Paul Wheeler who, along with David Elford, assist Bernard with the English end of the business, were there to greet us. We were escorted to the large conservatory that looks out onto the lake, where we looked through photo albums whilst sipping a welcoming drink. The albums were marked 30s, 40s and 50s, and were full of pin-sharp photos of immaculate carp held by proud captors. There were superb A3 size enlargements of several forty and fifty pounders - Bernard said he didn't have time to bother with the thirties! We were informed that there would be an instant computer-printed A4 size picture for anyone who caught a forty-plus carp and an A3 enlargement to take home.
Closer Look. Obviously, we couldn't wait to have a closer
look at the lake, so, at Bernard's invitation, I jumped into his big Toyota
Land cruiser with Bernard, Barry and Paul, with the rest of the party
following in their own cars, and took a guided toor of the estate.
The 100 acre estate, of which 60 acres is water, is flanked on the south side by the canal de la Somme and the Riviere de la Somme runs along the northern flank, with high fences elsewhere, making the estate extremely secure. The canal was formed in about 1850 during Napoleon's time, when the strips of land that branch from the oddly shaped lake were used to grow vegetables and transported by canal to the towns and cities. Later raspberries and strawberries were grown and peat was dug and exported to England. The Caron family bought the estate in 1964 from a french actress and Marcel Caron, Bernard's father, stocked the lake with carp in the 3lb to 5lb bracket, which were there merely to entertain guests who fed them with bread and other scraps.
Hungarian Restoking. The main lake was stocked again in 1994 with 125 carp from Hungary averaging 30lb to 35lb, with the best fish weighing 60lb. In 1997 a further 200 carp from 15lb to 25lb were planted in the back lake, and 250 carp averaging 5lb were stocked in the stock pond. The policy from this year has been to transfer all fish over 25lb caught from the back lake to the main lake, and to remove to the back lake all the carp caught from the main lake that weighed less than 15lb. This year some 35 carp topping 40lb have been transferred to the main lake.
Impressive contents. To date the main lake is home to approximately 100 carp over 40lb, of which 15 of these top 50lbs. One mirror is around the 60lb mark, and there is a common that is close to weighing 70lb. Bernard doesn't know the count for thirties, never mind the twenties, but he says there are about 300 to 350 grass carp to 30lb, lots of pike to about 30lb and the water is well stocked with bream, tench, rudd, eels and perch. The water is open to pleasure fishing and the average catch is 25lb in about four to five hours.
The down side. The bas news, for want of a better way of
putting it, is the carp fishing can be temperamnetal. It can be very hard
at times, especially if you are in a peg that is not favoured by the wind
during your visiit and there are no vacant swims to move to. But thats
the luck of the draw in any fishery, and is there anybody who really expects
fishing for 40lb-plus carp to be easy? So, although we were fired up with
enthusiasm, it was tempered with an experience that knows that in the
cold light of day someone was going to be disappointed. A baitboat was
a distinct advantage too, to gain the distance required in some swims
and for accurate bait-dropping in others. for me, I rate baitboats for
there bait and freebie placing accuracy as much as there long range fishing
capabilites. The swims numbered 1 to 15 are mainly double swims, but a
maximum of 15 anglers are allowed on the estate at any one time. 
In the swim. Anyhow, we sorted out the swims we were going to fish, with a pair in each of three swims. Eddie and I were the lucky ones as far a comfort was concerned, having swim 1 by the lodge, Ed fishing along some pads on the left and open water to the right, and me by a willow, fishing open water to the left and under the branches of another willow along the dam wall on the right. The good news too, was that you can drive right up to every swim on the lake and park your car within a yard or two of where you pitch your bivvy, which is extremely good news if you're getting on a bit! It didn't help matters that hardley anything had been caught the week leading to our visit. I think there had been one forty-pounder and a couple of twenties. The weather was too good to be true for late September. Warm, but not too hot. and with hardly any wind to speak of. That is if you like sunbathing. But for fishing it was crap. We got the bivvies and the rods set up and, although I was tired after the long haul from Northern England, soon had a bait and a handfull of boilies in the baitboat and launched on its first voyage to the willow about 120yd away. This was the claimed hotspot. The other hotspot was close to the pads, which was where Ed placed one of his baits. I dropped another bait 20yd from the willow and the third straight up the middle in open water at about 100yd. Ed fished his second bait 20yd or so from the pads and his third almost under his feet.
We
were to fish these spots for most of the week. Ed experimented with differant
boilies while I stuck with Heron Baits Fish and Liver, fished on the bottom,
which were air dried and resisted the attention of the eels. Almost everyone
who had experience of fishing the water said that heavy baiting techniques
were no good. The secret was to feed just 20 to 30 boilies around your
hook-bait each time you dropped your bait in, and if you had to use particles,
use them very sparingly.
In any cases there is a rule forbidding the use of more than 1kg of bait
per day. Reel line in every case was 15lb, with 15lb braid or mono hook-lengths.
I used one 18mm boilie hair-rigged to a size 4 Rod Hutchinson Rig Hook.
The rig was a no nonsense helicopter rig, with a 12in hook-length of 15lb
fluoro-carbide Invisiline from Sufix, which is a very expensive mono that
is virtually invisible in water and incredibly smooth. I also Back-leaded.
Facilities. Although there are excellant toilet and shower facilities ( and sockets for baitboat battery charging!) at Domaine des iles for those who live in their bivvies, we had hired the lodge between us for the extra comforts it offered.The lodge is superb for families. There is a railway station only 15 minutes from the lake, and the train takes only 30 minutes to get to Disneyland. Some great possibilities there for angling dads who want a combined family/fishing holiday. There are also several well kitted-out smaller chalets, which are excellant for anglers. For a week's stay the lodge is £360 and the chalets £180.
First Fish. During the night Bob had a 12lb grass carp while Bill had a grassy of 16lb and a 21.12 Mirror. Both lost fish on a snag. On Saturday Bill had a 16.6 Mirror and Terry had a 23.8 Mirror. Saturday night was dead, but on Sunday the weather began to pick up, with a warm breeze breaking the surface. Not in mine and Ed's direction unfortunately, but getting closer. Bob had a 16lb and a 10.2 Mirror, with Bill losing another big fish on a snag. The wind was now pushing into Terry and John's swim and Tel made the most of it by landing a beautiful 30.8 Mirror. Monday, especially late Monday, saw a change for the better for all of us, evan in Bill and Bob's swim where the wind had almost died. Now it was tending to push more into mine and Ed's area. Evan so it was Bob with a 32.8 Leather who led the field. But not for long - I was called round to photograph a 40lb 2oz mirror that Bill held in trembling hands - a personal best by a long shot. I decided to go evan lighter with feed, and from that point on used on;y 10 boilies around each hook-bait. All I wanted to do was to catch a forty-pounder. If I did that I would go home a happy man. I'd got it into my head that I would have more chance of the bigger fish in the lake if my hook-bait was one of only a very few in any patch of bait I deposited. Less spook factor and more chance of the fish taking the bait.
Yes, Yes! The next morning, a little before daylight, I had a half-hearted run on the left-hand rod that I was fishing straight up the middle. It stopped just as I stood nect to the rods with my hand hovering. In that moment of indecision it took off again. I hit it and knew immediately that I was into a good fish. Not a fast run ripping line off, but a heavy, sandbagging of the rod in short bursts. I got it to the net that Ed was holding ready without too much trouble. Then I has a problem. Every time I trid to lift it high enough in the water to slip it over the net it just allowed its own bulk to sink it down again. But I won in the end and I knew it was something special when I had to give Ed a hand to lift it out and onto the unhooking mat - 46lb exactly. I did a little jig along the bank, shouting something like 'Yes! Yes!' like a big kid. But who cared? who the hell needs drugs when you can get highs like this from fishing?
Double Whammy. Later
that day, Tuesday, Bill had a 19.2 common, Bob had a 15.12 mirror and
a 12lb grassy. Later in the afternoon Tel had swung two of his rods round
to fish the bushes along the dam wall after seeing a fish crash out in
the area.
Not long after he landed a Mirror of 35.8. He sacked the fish and without
any delay cast the same bait to the exact same spot and within half an
hour was playing another big fish. This turned out to be a superb Mirror
in immaculate condition. It weighed an incredible 48lb. The two fish were
doused with water while the photographs were being taken, with John being
a little careless and allowing at least half a gallon of it go over Tel's
head. We were all very sorry for him and didn't laugh at all, not that
Tel cared in the slightest.
Mid Week Action. There was a flurry of activety on Wednesday, with Bob starting the ball rolling with two great fish, Mirrors of 28lb and 30lb 10oz. Bill landed a grassy of 12.2 then at 8am I chipped in with a Mirror of 33.8, again to the left hand rod up the middle.Only 20 minutes later Ed lost a big fish when the hook pulled while Bernard and I watched . We spotted the fish when it surfaced once and Bernard had the binoculars on it. Ed felt a lot better when Bernard claimed it was 'a yellow one' which meant it was at least a forty-pounder, if not bigger! Ten minutes later I had had a terrific run that made my stomach flip, it was so much more positive than the '46'. It was a 3lb bream! John had a 20lb mirror soon after. Eddie followed that with a seventeen pounder, closely followed by me having a dropped run (I told myself it was a bream). at 3pm John had a 19lb common, then Ed a 3lb eel, which closed play for the day.
Luck of the Suck. Ed and I debated the luck, or lack of it, that day, and I coined a new phrase, saying.'when you do everything right Ed, a big one is all down to the luck of the suck.'
Thursday, our last full day and night, was on us. The week was going too quickly. Bob and Bill had mid-double grass carp in the early hours. At 9:30am, Bernard took me, Ed and John to see the first world war museum, the Historial de la Grande Guerre 14 - 18, in the nearby town of Royes, and then a trip round the area, the Somme, where the great and horrific battles were fought. We saw rusted shells at the edge of fields where the farmers dump them as they still, to this day, plough them from the ground. The whole area is scattered with graves and memorials to those hundreds of thousands who gave their lives to keep us free. It was a sobering experience and one that makes fishing seem so much less important.
The Grand Finale. We arrived back at the lake at 4pm and found that nothing had been caught while we were away, At 5pm John had a 27lb Mirror, Terry lost a bog one on a snag at 10:30pm, and Ed landed a 15lb grassy at 11:30pm. It was 6:30am on Friday morning, well before daylight, when my left-hand rod went again, the one that fished the open water in the middle of the lake, not a fast screaming run, but slow and steady. I lifted the rod and tightened into the fish and knew without any shadow of a doubt that this was another big one. It just swam off in the same vein as the run - slow and steady, but with such power that there was no arguing with it. This fish was going to run in the 7ft depth of water till it decided it had had enough, not when I decided. About 30yd of line later it settled to sandbagging the rod, arm-jolting lunges that filled me with dread. Not because I thought it would break me, but due to the usual fear, that the hook would pull. Ten minutes later the fish was in and out of netting range time after time. I'd get it to within a yard or so of the net and then it would flip its massive tail and lunge to the bottom 5ft down. Then it would trundle away for a few yards, jolting the rod with short bursts of heaviness. We still hadn't had a good look at the fish but we had seen the huge vortexes it left when it drove away from the surface. and I knew what it felt like. This went on for another ten minutes while I grew ever fearfull of a tragic hook pull. I couldn't stand the thought of how I would feel if I lost this fish now, at this stage of the proceedings. So close, yet so far. Again I had it up to the surface, within two yards of the net, waves rocking the surface as it wallowed. I said to Ed, 'I'm going for it. I can't take any more.' So with a big heave I pulled the fish and it went straight into the net.
I dropped the rod, switched on my headlamp,
and grabbed the net handle with Ed and drew it to the bank. 
We
lifted the net high enough to see into it and looked down at the biggest,
nicest and best carp I've ever seen in my life. It lay in the bottom of
the net like, as John puts it, 'a pig with no legs.' A few moments later,
as we gripped each side of the Tee-bar and attempted to lift the weigh
sling, the cord snapped off one side, luckily with the fish barely clear
of the unhooking mat. Ed ran for his weigh sling and eventually the scales
settled at 52lb 8oz. Later, when Bernard arrived to photograph the fish
he said it was one of the carp that was stocked in 1964.
Before we left, Terry booked a week early next year and we booked another week for a party of eight. That realy is testiment to how much we had enjoyed ourselves. The rules of the fishery are reasonable and sensible, and Bernard runs the place firmly but fairly. Domaine des iles is a lake of exceptional character, there are plenty of huge fish waiting to be caught, and all you need is the 'luck of the suck' while you're there. To date (October) it has produced 57 carp over 40lb and 11 carp over 50lb. To book phone Bernard direct on 00 33 323 811055, or fax 00 33 323 811312, or write to him at Le domaine des iles, 80400 Offoy, France. Alternativley, phone Paul Wheeler on 0208 3935357. For those with internet access more details and pictures can be seen at http://www.domaine-des-iles.com
DDI
By Graham Marsden
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