French River Carping

[Marcus]

I'm heading out for a weeks' carping on the River Lot in June, has anyone ever fished the french rivers for carp? I know the former record of 80lb came from the Seine I think but carp to 70lb+ are come out every year. Anyone experienced French River Fishing?

[the bear]

ive fished the seine many years ago mate,the things we tended to look for were the corn mills,the reason being they clean the corn with water & pump it back into the rivers,wich also means there"s always food & oxeygen going in,there are also back waters that run into these big rivers wich go from a 1/4 acre to 1 acre in size,its not the easy by any means but its great fun,ive only had carp to 23lb,but fight shear power awsome,make sure uve got ur right tickets as the police dont take any measing,good luke bud

[richk]

The Bears spot on mate esp re the Tickets as a lot of the Night Sections are not clearly marked so if in doubt - Move on!. A good source of info on the night sections is the Tourist information Bureaus as many of them sell the Permits as well. Also Sacks are banned on all Government Waters so dont even let the Guard de Peche catch sight of one even if its stuck in the back of the van. Good luck mate wherever you end up.

[Marcus]

Thanks Gents, I've got a week on a new spot we've found on the St Lawrence via google earth in the first week of June so am hoping for a hatful of twenties so I'm not too fussed with quantity for the French Trip, just after some wild french lumps ;-) I'd be interested in any previous you might have from former french river trips if you're happy to share?

[skilledhandz]

Were off to the Meuse in Ardennes this week should be interesting.

[Marcus]

Nice, let us know how it works out

[miffa]

Originally Posted by Marcus

I'm heading out for a weeks' carping on the River Lot in June, has anyone ever fished the french rivers for carp? I know the former record of 80lb came from the Seine I think but carp to 70lb+ are come out every year. Anyone experienced French River Fishing?

hi matey, ive fished the river lot around 6 times in the late 90s ,i know theres been a lot of rule changes made since my last visit,as you were able to fish anywhere you could get in,its a great place to fish,the locals are fine,had a few laughs down there,but also had some mental fish which had never seen a hook be4,manily all commons but some of the crew who i went with caught some big mirrors, im hopeing to go back next year my self so let me know how you go on,good luck

MIFFA

[RICHARD ALLEN]

I've fished The Tarn, Garronne, Oise, Seine, Mosselle and the Marne,I looked at the Lot, but thought it too busy where there is legal night fishing, although some other stretches fired the imagination. Had some good fish, but nothing massive, but have seen huge fish in all the above rivers, it's just the not knowing and the intrigue that keep me going back. Legal night fishing on the Oise in some departments with 4 rods, and two hours from Calais!!!!

[Marcus]

I know what you mean Rich, the not knowing keeps me going back to the St Lawrence! I much prefer to fish rivers than lakes where all the stock are known so most of my fishing tends to be river based. I've fished several spots on the Ebro, Grand River in US and both sides of the St L but have yet to try France, really looking forward to the challenge!