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Matthew Fleet - French Carping At Old Oaks
'Evening mate. I hope you're well, I've just been browsing online and I've seen a common carp that has blown me away like no other common carp, it is resident in a lake in France called Old Oaks. mate we need to get it booked and have a go for it. '
Many more texts followed and after some research the decision was made and it was booked; the only date available was in September 2018 so a long wait was in store
Saturday September 8th 2018: the day had finally arrived, and in the early hours the long journey began and I set off once again on another French adventure
I eventually arrived at the venue late afternoon, around 4.00pm, and was greeted by the lake's owner Medi. Myself and the other members of my party had drawn for swims earlier on in the day, and I'm delighted to say that I came out first.
After completing a lap of the lake with Medi my decision was made to go into swim one. The Saturday we arrived the weather was still very hot and the warm temperatures were set to continue all week. Medi told me that swim one was the shallowest swim on the lake, plus it had produced the lake's biggest resident the Long Common more times than any other swim on the lake, this information had a big bearing when I was making my decision on picking a swim.
I won't bore anybody reading this blog with what happened from the Sunday until the Wednesday; the simple answer is nothing did, the fish were simply stacked up in front of the other lads who were located to my left at the other end of the lake. Being honest I felt slightly dejected watching them both enjoy some action but I was also pleased and delighted for them as one of them achieved a new French PB.
Just before I settled in for the night on the Wednesday I checked the Met Office weather app on my phone, a new wind was forecast and it was to arrive Thursday morning, blowing into a small bay on my right. This gave me a real sense of hope and my thinking was one or two of the Old Oaks residents may just get on it.
I hardly slept a wink that night and watched the clock slowly tick by as I awaited first light. Around 9.00am all was looking good and Mother Nature had done me a big favour and the wind had arrived; it wasn't as strong as forecast but it had arrived nonetheless. All had changed by 11.00am and the wind was picking up speed. I sat drinking coffee, watching the bay as the wind began to hack into it then suddenly a carp leapt out of the water, then another, and another and another.
My third rod was being used as a floating rod with the other two placed on spots which were being fished throughout the duration of my stay; without hesitation I grabbed my third rod, attached a fresh pre tied twisted multi rig onto it which presented a Nashbait Amber Strawberry pop up, and aimed it at the area where the carp were showing.
The rod couldn't have been in the water for longer than fifteen minutes when it was away. After a spirited battle I slipped my net under a mid 40 mirror. The carp continued to show so I slipped the first capture into the retainer sling and got the rod back on the spot, thirty minutes later and it's away again, yet another mirror and another mid forty.
I grabbed my second retainer, made sure my second capture was safe and got the rod back out, amazingly it was away again, after another long hard scrap my third capture hit the net, this one was slightly smaller in the way of a mid thirty.By this time all my slings and net were occupied so some weighing and photography had to take place. It took me a good hour to complete this and by the time I had finished the carp that had arrived had moved out.
What a manic spell of action; it was all I experienced during my week long session, but three fish, two going mid forty and one a mid thirty, is nothing to turn your nose up at,and I was more than happy!
