Fish Stocks

When we took over the property we did not have a good idea of what the lake contained as the owner we purchased it from did not know himself, a few days test fishing only produced small fish of several species including carp. To make a place that was right for Carp and Catfish fishing in France was not going to be easy, but we never expected it to be, so we did not rush into it, taking the time to do all the work required and to get the stocking levels right.

We set to work on the lake first as there were an awful lot of trees in the lake and old walkways going out into the lake and also to the island, once this was done we introduced our first stock fish in 2005 in the shape of catfish supplied to us by Personal-Best-Angling.com, some of these catfish are now in excess of 92lb, we also have two (that we know of ) Albino Catfish that have been born in the lake, these are only small at present but we hope they will grow on to be a good size and we are sure these will become a target fish for our angler's and friends.

In December 2005 we took delivery of our first carp, mirrors and commons to 33lb from one of the best fish farmers in France, these fish were to increase the stocking levels in the lake as there were only a few original good quality carp. The carp we stocked in December 2005 are now at the end of the 2011 season ranging from high 20s to 48lb plus.We have also introduced further carp to the original stocking from different sources, picked for their hard fighting qualities and looks, this was done so that we can build a very strong gene pool of carp so we can keep the balance right, there are now around 125 carp in the lake, an odd single and a few doubles but most of the fish are 20lb+, with a good number of these fish in the mid to high 30s and a few 40s.

We will continue in this way to make sure the fishery is as good as it can be. The lake also contains a few other varieties of fish including 1 sturgeon a beautiful diamond back at around 44lb, 4 Grass Carp to 32lb+, there are also roach, rudd, perch, pike and the odd zander, these fish help to keep the lake a balanced fishery.

There are no Poisson chat or bream in the lake.

© Woodpecker Pool 2012