MB Baits does the business for North West Carp regulars

When North West Carp regular Kevin Sharrock, aka 'Kev' received the Angling Lines brochure and DVD through the post late last year, little did he know what would come of it six months down the line; and having just returned from his first French fishing holiday with friends Steven Plant and Richard Roden, all three from Leek, Kevin got in touch with NWC to tell us how they went on with Angling Lines.

“The DVD was a great idea” explained Kevin, “it shows the venues properly and goes into more depth than any piece of text ever could, and it really puts the customers mind at rest as I’ve often found that brochures can give a false slant on what’s actually on offer”.

“It was our first trip to France so obviously we wanted to make the right decision, as you hear some real horror stories, but after booking up for a session on Roseau with Angling Lines we were very impressed, they were great in providing flexible ferry times, adequate directions and keeping us up to date with how the fishing was going. Being first timers we decided to opt for one of the easier waters that provided food if we wanted it, along with hot showers and toilets. The venue was perfect and we had a full English every morning for about £3 and evening meals varied from Chicken and chips to Lasagne (all costing the same at around £5). Beer was more expensive at €4, but the local shop got you 24 bottles for 3 euros, so no problems there, and the showers and toilets were spot on.”

The Angling Lines Roseau venue

“Even though the owner was French, he was great in trying to advise us on the best tactics and methods, which were pretty straight forward. We picked up fish over small beds of baits at about 80yards. Spodding and PVA bags both worked effectively, but bait boats were deadly, with runs often coming within 5 minutes of dropping out a bait!”

MB Baits Snail & Shell

“We decided on Mick Ball’s MB Baits for the session; we’ve had lots of success on his baits over here and a quick look on his website shows its phenomenal success all over Europe, we’d have been mad not to take it! We weren’t disappointed; the majority of our fish were caught on the Snail & Shell which contains real snails and shells giving a real ‘crunch-factor’ something we were mindful of when targeting French fish which must feed heavily on crustaceans all year round. We also took Mick’s KFC pop-ups which we fished over beds of Snail & Shell and KFC Pellets mixed with hemp.”

Steve Plant with a 38lb 8oz specimen

“The catches on Mick’s bait were amazing; I think we amassed over 1000lbs worth of fish during our stay! We had a total of 63 fish ranging from 16lb to 38lb 8oz with over 25 twenties and 4 sturgeon amongst them. Only a few fish were caught in the dark, including a small common to myself on the first night, during which we had 5inches of rain, and I was just stood there in my boxers playing fish! The quality of the fishing was unbelievable, all the carp fought right to the death and hooking a sturgeon is a great experience, even though the ones we had were only upper doubles.”

Richard Roden holds a 34lb 4oz mirror for the camera

“It was a great holiday and we would love to return in summer when the weather is warmer and the fish will be feeding even more! We would recommend the place as an ideal venue to anyone looking for constant runs venue, and it’s only about two hours from Calais!”

“Steve, Richard, and myself would all like to thank Angling Lines for the quality of the holiday and the service levels provided throughout our stay, and of course Mick Ball for providing quality bait that always does the business.”

Kevin Sharrock with his impressive 34lb 12 oz Roseau mirror

Speaking to Mick Ball about their successes, he explained “It’s great to hear they had a good time, and to be honest, it’s no surprise. We’ve had some excellent catches across the continent reported this year, and the Snail & Shell just seems to get better and better the more people put in!” With carp caught to over 67lb recently on MB Baits products, you’d have to agree! You can find out more about Mick’s mail-order bait services at: http://www.mbbaits.com

Angling Lines are renowned for providing quality carp fishing holidays and have twice been voted best holiday provider by readers of Total Carp and Advanced Carp. Their Roseau venue offers waters of 12 acres and 2 acres and features around twenty well spaced swims for anglers to go at. The average depth is approximately a metre and the lake holds carp to just over 40lb. The fish average 20lb plus with the current lake record at 41lb. The small lake record is 47lb12oz, with fish averaging 15-20lb. The venue boasts excellent facilities and has its own on site bar and restaurant, toilets and hot showers. For more information and to get your hands on the three and a half hour DVD featuring over forty of their waters, visit: http://www.anglinglines.com
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MB Baits does the business for North West Carp regulars

Chris Knapper