05th February 2008 : Hello and welcome to the 2008 Diary. I will start off with news of a couple more winter anglers who visited in mid-January for a four day stint. It was a very mild January indeed and the lads took full advantage taking three fish well over 20lbs from the main lake and a few more from the stock lake. Lloyd reported that all the fish were in stunning condition and that the lads had unfortunately lost a couple of bigger fish. Shortly after this the lakes froze over during a cold spell and they remain frozen at the moment, Lloyd has purchased ice skates and a stripy scarf !! It would certainly be fair to say that the capture of our first 50 pounder by James Harrison back in September and the subsequent Carpworld article covering his week with us has raised our profile considerably, and we are very grateful to James for that. The knock on effect of this is that we are already pretty much full for the coming year, though there are still some places available, and those wishing to book for next year should do so soon to avoid disappointment. In stark contrast to previous years there is about a 50/50 mix with new and regular customers and it will be very interesting to see how the first time visitors get on. We are certainly now looking forward to our busiest ever year and the fact that we have turned quite a few people away recently, regular customers included, has rekindled our desire to get the next lake open. Work in this direction will be continuing some time in March when we are also expecting our regular Spring intake of Sparsholt College students. For the coming season we are stocking a range of Mainline baits that have done very well here in the past : FUSION : which probably caught more fish than anything else here a couple of seasons ago, PULSE : which seems to account for many of our bigger fish and the always popular ACTIV-8 : one regular here, Stuart Kennedy, fishes with nothing else, he holds the catfish record and has caught more big carp and catfish from Nenuphar than any other angler. With the lakes frozen solid at the moment we are not expecting any more anglers until the return visit of James Harrison towards the end of March, can he do it again and get our season off to a flyer !! Well this time he is coming with a few mates for back up and armed with a bit of previous knowledge it should be a very interesting week indeed !! I certainly hope so as I have fxxk all else to tell you at the moment !! Speak to you all soon.
26th March 2008 : As many of you could probably guess last weeks fishing did not go entirely to plan. March is a great time to fish but also a time when you would be best to choose your moment carefully rather than be tied to a week. James Harrison`s party arrived with high hopes but unfortunately in the middle of high winds coming almost directly from the North. These cold winds brought a lot of cold rain and were threatening to bring a lot of snow by the weekend !! They fished paired up on swims 1 and 8, James was of course on swim 1 and I think lost a couple on the first night, his mate managed a mid-twenty the next day but they left on Tuesday as they both had urgent matters to tend to at home. The other two lads on swim 8 fared a little better, they fished on until Thursday taking half a dozen fish, the biggest a 30+ mirror on the last morning. These lads had fished all week in pretty grim weather and decided to leave as a blizzard was predicted for Friday and Saturday, ironically the snow never came and these two days turned out quite warm and sunny !! Snow was definitely around, I drove home through a fierce blizzard on the Saturday but the worst of the weather just never made it into our area though it had been predicted. Weather taken into account I would say they did well to catch anything at all. The Sparsholt college lads, Nick and Harry (they should have sent us a Tom to complete the set) , arrived last Thursday and set to work having a general tidy up. James`s party reported that weed was already shooting up so they have spent the last few days weeding the necessary areas ready for our first visitors at the end of this week. It certainly looks as though the first couple of weeks of the season are going to be quite cold for the time of year and the fishing may be a little slow because of it, but it has warmed up enough for Nick and Harry to start fishing the nights so I will let you know how they are doing later in the week. Those on in the first couple of weeks please be aware that we have had loads and loads of rain over the last month and though the swims are not muddy some areas around the lake are and you will need some good waterproof footwear. Well that is about it for now, we are praying for no more rain this week, the freezers are stocked, everything is tidy, Lloyd and the lads are ready and raring to go, just dont know about the fish though !!
07th April 2008 : A mate of Lloyds fished during the last few days of March and did ok really, taking 3 mirrors including a 35 and a 37.Unfortunately the first proper week of the season has been a bit of a disaster really, the weather has been absolutely awful and the fishing has not been much better. Only 4 fish out in total, 2 high 20`s and 2x30+ mirrors, these fish all came out to the Allinson party of 2 fishing on swim 1and one of them had a 30+ on his birthday, nice prezzie and just about the only beacon of light during a grim old week.. We had a party of 3 who tried all week in very harsh conditions but went home empty handed having had only 2 runs and losing them both, and a party of 1 angler and a lady guest who went home on Tuesday as it was just too cold wet and muddy and having also caught nothing !! So that`s it, pretty depressing really, we feel sorry for those who were fishing as it has been really tough and it certainly seems like this was just a week or so too early. The Wall party who arrived on Saturday have disappeared under about 2 feet of snow, Lloyd says they should be ok as they had a very good stock of alcohol but he has equipped Hendrix`s collar with a small barrel of brandy and is making regular forays out into the blizzards to see if he can get any news, this week last year we were treating one bloke for sunburn !! We are today saying goodbye to the Sparsholt lads, Nick and Harry, and we extend our warmest thanks to them as they have worked very hard in some atrocious conditions and they did not even get the chance to fish in any sensible weather. The forecast for the next fortnight looks pretty poor with more snow predicted for the end of this week and this is really not what any of us in this part of France were looking for, snow melting will really drop the water temperature and we would expect the fishing to be pretty slow for a while. We realise this is not news those of you fishing over the next couple of weeks will want to hear but would rather that you were prepared for cold, wet weather, especially at night, though there really should not be any more snow after the end of this week !! Having said that, I spoke to one of the Wall party a couple of weeks ago and told him I reckoned there was little chance of snow during his week !! Perhaps I will put my weather forecasting career on hold for a while !! Of course the Wall party are not actually buried !! We have seen them but it has been pretty bad !! They are really nice blokes, are making the best of it and have lost one at the moment, I just hope it livens up for them a bit.
08th April 2008 : After all the "doom gloom and despondency" of the last few days it is nice to report some good news. The sun has come out, I told you my weather forecasting was shit, and the fish have come out to play as well, well not all of them but a couple at least. Last night the Wall party banked their first two fish of the week, one from swim 1 and one from swim 7, both mirrors and both around 42lbs. We are chuffed as fxxk as when they arrived they thought they had mistakenly booked a skiing holiday !! Only joking of course but these are a really nice bunch of lads who turned up determined to enjoy themselves and with exactly the right attitude, despite the conditions. Well anything could happen before the end of the week and probably will !!
15th April 2008 : Although there were some sunny spells last week it was still pretty cold at night and the fishing has been very slow. Despite a bright start when they took a couple of 40+ fish the Wall party only had 4 more fish all week, three high doubles and a mid-twenty, not great and I imagine the group are fairly disappointed though I have not heard from them yet. We have also, sadly, lost a few fish over the last couple of weeks. It is of course the time of year when you expect a few casualties and we have had 16 in total. We have lost two 40`s which is a real shame but all the rest were fish under 25lbs. There are certainly no problems, this makes virtually no difference to the stock levels and it is down to fish coming out of the winter fairly weak having not had the chance to spawn properly last year. On the bright side it seems that one of the 40`s caught last week was a fish we put in about 5 years ago at around 10lbs. I have not seen the photo`s to confirm this but our old bailiff was visiting Lloyd at the time and he said he was pretty certain and I do not think he would be wrong. So, six fish out in total including 2x40`s, this is two more than the week before so you can only say that things are on the up, slowly !! Regular readers of our diary will know that a couple of anglers come about this same time every year and fish our stock pond for the weekend. These lads always seem to catch a few and they did not disappoint again taking a dozen carp and a couple of small catfish between them in about 72 hours. Not the feeding frenzy they have experienced in previous visits but the lads e-mailed me and said they had a great time but the water was still pretty cold and the fishing slower because of it. They were also full of praise for Lloyd and said they thought his cabin should have been awarded a Michelin star by now, I must read that e-mail again to make sure it did not say "tyre". The Cornell party who arrived on Saturday to fish the main lake have started the week much better !! They have already taken a few very good fish including the first catfish of the season at 51lbs and it is usually a very good sign when the cats start to feed. They have, of course, lost a big catfish as well and I am sure this is just the first of many similar tales of woe to come this year !! Lets hope there are a few tales of triumph mixed in as well !! It seems the fishing may have finally started, unfortunately for some it is just a couple of weeks late. Lloyd`s advice is to make sure you bring fake corn and maize with you as as tipping a boilie off with either is working well at the moment, also with the catfish certainly waking up he suggests it may be time to get on the Fusion as they seem to love it.
18th April 2008 : Normally I would not have put in another report until tomorrow but this news just cannot wait. A member of the Cornell party, Andy, has broken the lake record, well absolutely fxxking smashed it actually, with a mirror of 61lb 08oz !!!! This fish is not, I repeat NOT, "The Leather" which was the previous record at just over 54lb, and was taken stalking from "The Outback". Terry, Maxine, Lloyd and I are staggered to say the least, we certainly were not expecting to see the 60 barrier broken so soon after seeing our first ever 50 !! We have no idea what fish it is at the moment but I will let you know as soon as Lloyd works it out.
26th April 2008 : Well sorry for no update but to be honest I am still waiting for photo`s of the big fish. I have spoken to Chris Cornell and he has promised they are on the way, Lloyd reckons the last time we have it recorded was at 47lb early last season !! Despite the record capture it was a fairly tough weeks fishing, very wet and quite boggy around the lake but the lads made the best of it and on the whole enjoyed themselves. They managed 15 fish between them including 2x40+ mirrors and a couple of good catfish, and, totally un-noticed, until Lloyd went through the catches party leader Chris Cornell had a 41lb common, this may not seem too significant but we have racked our brains and we reckon this is the biggest common ever caught at Nenuphar, so that was 2 lake records gone in the same week !! Last week saw the return of old friends the Dudley party, these lads have had some good weeks here in the past and this one was a bit of a disappointment, the lake was still wet and boggy and the fish were not playing ball at all really, only a dozen fish out all week and nothing really of any note except a 62lb cat out to Lee on swim 7, which is certainly the second largest catfish ever landed here. The weather is picking up a bit and the fishing certainly is, but slowly.
24th May 2008 : Sorry, sorry, sorry for there being no update for a long time. It has been a very busy month for all concerned with Waterlily Lakes, Terry and Tracy have just had a baby and we have had a couple of transported trips to deal with as well, which has meant we have been in France for much of May and I cannot access the website from there at the moment. No excuse I know but it is the best I can come up with. So, lets get down to business : 26/04-03/05 was fished by the Calver party, Neil, Jay, Gaz and Andy. These lads have fished here a couple of times before and know the lake pretty well, between them they managed a dozen good fish including a couple of 38lber`s out to Gaz and the weeks top rod Andy, who took another 5 fish over the 30 mark, well done mate. 03-10/05 was fished by the Beach party, Andy, Barry, Rich, Shane, Baz and Smithy. These lads came for the first time last year, we had a great laugh with them and were looking forward to their return. It was not a bad week and Barry "Avec" Beach was top rod again taking 5 fish including 4 over 30lbs, Lloyd reckons this was more down to luck than good angling so I will leave you to take that up with him on your return Barry !! Biggest fish of the week was a 44lb mirror taken by Smithy from the tractor bay, this is certainly the biggest fish ever caught in this area and amazingly he managed to catch the same fish twice !! 14 fish out in total but unfortunately at least that many losses as well, this was mainly down to catfish ripping people to pieces, here we go again !! The lads have already re-booked for next year so they must have enjoyed themselves. 10-17/05/08 was fished by the Vine party, Steve, Carl, Alan, Barry, Lee and Ian. This party were first time visitors and did reasonably well during a slow week when the fish were probably thinking about spawning. I say thinking about it as this part of their activity has been very sketchy over the last couple of seasons to say the least !! Though there were some losses again they managed 10 fish between them. This tally included three very good fish, one mirror of 40lbs out to party leader Steve, a 42lb`er out to Barry, and Ian took "The Leather", again from swim 1, certainly it`s permanent residence, and this time at 57lb 09z !! It is certainly not happy at being overtaken as the biggest fish in the lake and is now trying to catch up !! This is the second highest weight ever recorded here for a carp so well done mate. I think the angler who caught the 60 wanted to call it "The Angel" because of two winglike scales by its anal fins and we are fine with this, he caught it after all. 17-24/05 was fished by the Wilks party and I really do not know where to start with this one. There were 8 angers in total and we had a great laugh with them but the fishing was very slow, in fact it may well have been the slackest weeks fishing we have experienced here since we opened four years ago !! Only six fish out all week, nearly all small ones and Kevin certainly now holds a new lake record after taking a common of 9lbs, we reckon this is the smallest carp ever landed from the Estate Lake !! In fairness it was a really tough week and bites were very hard to come by. The crayfish started causing all sorts of problems and the lads tried pretty hard with little success. They consoled themselves with plenty of the local brew mixed in with a few kebabs, a lethal concoction which some of them paid dearly for at times !! Funniest moment of the season so far occurred as I was talking to Tyrone on swim 8, this was on day 1. Kevin was collecting a boat from him at the time to take round to swim 7, yes the green metal one. He had just disappeared round the corner when the whole lake broke out into raucous laughter, right down to the lads on swim one. I turned to Tyrone and said "he has definitely just fell in" and of course I was right though everyone on the lake had seen it except us !! I always just miss the best bits !! The fishing turned out not to be a total disaster when Tyrone moved down to the "Tractor Bay" towards the end of the week, party leader Nigel had moved out after a few biteless days, and promptly banked a 52lb mirror which is another new fish over the 50lb mark !! This fish is a very big framed mirror which has steadily increased in weight over the last few years and was in fact the one we thought would go over the 50lb mark first, we are going to call the fish "Tyrone" after it`s first captor at this weight who is pretty big framed himself so we feel it is quite fitting, lol, and very well done mate. I think I said somewhere that it would be interesting to see how first time visitors fared compared with regulars and at the moment it seems pretty even with the regulars catching the most but first timers certainly taking the bigger fish.
31st May 2008 : Aside from a few big fish here and there it has been a fairly bleak old May and the weather has been pretty crap at times too. There was not much change weather wise again this week but there is no doubt that a ray of sunshine came into our lives at Nenuphar in the shape of the Wiffen family and Rickie and Andy, just the nicest people I have ever met and Brad and Lloyd agree with me. I had my doubts about them at first, oh yes !! I met Mark and Mandy at the gate, they seemed nice, even though Mark had a light hearted go at me about the diary not being up to date, sorry mate. They were in a transit van, no surprise there, but it was as I was giving them some feeble excuse about the website that my eyes were drawn to the large black vehicle behind them which appeared to have a coffin on the top !! I am sure a couple of you may have had to read that bit twice but I am not joking !! It sort of reminded me of "The Creepy Coupe", I swear if a dragon had popped out of the top and lifted it over the gate it would not have surprised me, I wish I had taken a photograph I would have put it on the gallery !! Anyway I let them in the gate looking at the coffin and thinking "I wish I had done that fxxking diary" !! Needn`t have worried as instead of "The Gruesome Twosome" out pops Andy who turned out to be a great laugh right from the off. I was still half expecting "Dastardly and Muttley" from the back of the van (do I watch too many cartoons), wrong again, instead out comes Rickie along with Mark and Mandy`s daughters, Hannah and Holly. Now I am not a particularly religious man but I immediately sent up a prayer that these two caught something as they were just about the prettiest two girls I had ever seen and our gallery pics mainly consist of a fairly rough bunch of blokes !! I really don`t get out much but I spoke to Brad and Lloyd and they said you can scrap the "just about" !! It was a beautiful day and in conversation Holly mentioned that she was not seriously fishing and planned some sunbathing, I immediately wished she hadn`t said that as of course the weather was mostly crap from then till Thursday !! About ten minutes down the road on the way home with the Wilks group I wondered if it had all been a dream until one of the lads said "did you see the fxxking coffin on the top of that blokes car" !! It was not a great weeks fishing again but certainly better than the week before. As it turned out a prayer was not needed as Hannah is quite simply a good angler and was certainly top rod taking 4 fish on a very tough week including a very nice 42lb 8oz mirror. Hannah and Rickie worked hard all week, mainly from swim 8, and constantly changed tactics to try and make something happen, it was nice to see Rickie also rewarded with a pb common of 27lbs. Lloyd went home midweek and I returned with Bradley, we visited Andy on swim 1 a couple of times but found him fast asleep, between naps he had managed to land a couple of nice mirrors of 27 and 29lbs. Mark and Mandy had hooked into two catfish at the same time form swim 2, unfortunately right in the middle of a storm, Mark said it was just too rough to chance the boat and both were lost which was a bit of a shame. Thursday night me and Brad went down for a bit of a social with Mark and Holly on swim 3, the Wiffen`s had booked the whole lake but Mark said he didn`t mind if Brad chucked a couple of rods out in swim 13, bad move, embarrassing but also quite funny !! About 10 o`clock he lands a nice mirror of 34lbs. At almost exactly midnight he gets a screamer, at this moment we are 50yds away having a great laugh with Mark and Holly, oh dear !! Brad is very quick but still the fish had gone 50yds sideways and taken both his other rods into the lake margins, catfish on !! The fight was brutal and it ripped him to pieces at first but gradually he began to get on top. I picked up the net and at the same time noticed the light of Marks headtorch coming towards us. At this exact moment it occurred to me for the first time that this bloke hadn`t caught yet and I thought "oh god please let the ground open up and swallow me", for the second time in a week calling on divine assistance !! I swear at that precise moment I slipped down the muddy bank on my arse bollock deep into the water, did I say I always miss the best bits, not this time !! Brad and Holly nearly collapsed with laughter, I cursed a bit then joined in, and somehow we landed a catfish of just over 60lbs !! There was nothing textbook about it, I am ashamed and Lloyd has banned me and Brad off the lake for breaking just about every rule including the swimming one !! For punishment, if you could call it that , I sent Brad out early next day fishing with Holly and told him not to return until she had caught something. They went to the stock pond and it took all day and most of the evening, the fact that this young lady is truly stunning and has a smile that would render most young lads speechless may have affected his angling but that`s how hard it was to get a bite this week. Anyway Holly managed a small catfish and lost what Brad said was a decent carp and that smile certainly brightens up the gallery. Andy woke up sometime on Friday packed up fishing and we had a great last night social with Rickie and Hannah on swim 8. By this time Hannah had turned her attention to catfish and being also an inventive angler had concocted a rig the like of which I had never seen but immediately thought would work. I promised not to give the exact details away but this basically consisted of a very nice king prawn hair rigged over the top of a pop-up about a foot off the deck, oh shit sorry Hannah !! By this time Ranji the Kebab shop owner, with whom the group had made firm friends, had also turned up with a few beers and was totally bemused to see prawns he would much rather have fried up with some garlic butter being thrown into the lake !! Of course it worked great and Hannah banked a small catfish to round off her week nicely. That was about it, again a new anger to the lake catches a big fish, we all had a great time, I fell in which serves me right for laughing at the bloke last week and I am sure we may see the Wiffen party again soon.
21st June 2008 : Well it has been a fairly grim old three weeks. Its not that there have been no bites, the fish have certainly been much more active, but quite a few fish have been lost. 31/05-07/06 was fished by Russ The Carp, Captain Bob, and Mark who were joined by the Matthews party, Simon and Steve. After the Wiffen family had improved Anglo-French relations no-end the week before, Russ nearly caused an international incident in the jardinaire on Saturday afternoon by knocking over a couple of their displays !! The lads managed to smooth things over but this did involve the purchase of three pairs of wellies !! There were only three fish on the bank all week but this did include pb mirrors to Bob and Steve of 34 and 32lbs respectively. Unfortunately something like 15 fish were lost, a combination of pads and weed but mostly fish just ripping people to pieces, the carp have all gotten much bigger and the cats are just animals now. Crayfish caused havoc this week, as they had done the week before, it is difficult to keep anything on at all and if anyone has any ideas I would be more than happy to hear them. Conditions must have been just right for them as there has certainly been a bit of a plague of them recently. As there seems to be a shortage of crayfish pots in our area of France, no fxxking surprise there, I have my best bloke in Devon working on the problem, they know a thing about crustaceans down there. Anyway not a very good week but it could have been much better. The week after was fished by the Harvey party Adam, James, Mark, Bj and Eddo. Again it was crayfish hell, again very few fish on the bank, the best a 34lb mirror to Bj, but again around twenty fish lost !! Same sort of problems as the week before and Lloyd is recommending stronger hooklinks, bigger hooks and uprating to 20lb line at least. 14-21/06/08 was fished by our old friend Stuart Kennedy and mates Adam and Richard. Stuart has always caught well here and holds the catfish record at the moment, he headed straight for his favourite swim no 8 but his luck just wasn`t in this time. He banked a couple of decent mirrors and of course he lost a big cat, that always happens to him and he usually lands one or two as well, but he also lost a couple of very big carp. The rest of the party weighed in with a few decent carp and a couple of small cats but it was generally a fairly slow week again. The crayfish calmed down a bit but a new menace moved in in the shape of a family of raccoons !! Yes raccoons, not native to these parts but introduced to the Laon area by American soldiers. They were fairly useful at first, eating crayfish from around the margins or taking them from buckets after we had emptied traps, but the little blighters are fairly smart and quickly moved on to breaking and entering vacant bivvies and eating bait and peoples food. They need to be stopped as one has now run up a large bill on one anglers mobile phone !!
31st July 2008 : Sorry there has been no update for a while but it has been all hands on deck for a whole month dealing with a major problem !! The problem of course has been crayfish !! No surprise there, and the raccoons were only a minor irritation by comparison !! Thank fXXk we were closed officially for a couple of weeks to do weeding. Thats a joke as there is hardly any weed at all at the moment, and we really must extend our apologies to all who fished from around mid May onwards as the crays have been very hard to deal with, in fact impossible at times. Anyway, 21-28th June was not a bad week really, we had a group of two, Ed Potts and Dave, and the Harradine party of four, Anthony, Johnny, Paul and Bill. Unfortunately well over 20 fish lost again but quite a few actually on the bank, about a dozen in total and some good un`s amongst em too !! Difficult to say who was top rod with Johnny taking a few fish from swim 3A including mirrors of 42 and 44lbs, but it`s got to be Paul who managed two catfish, a 56lb`er and a new lake record of 72lbs, of course from swim 8, well done mate. Cant give away any rig secrets again for fear of a swift kick in the nuts !! There were a few 30`s out as well and Anthony somehow lost 13 fish from swim 1 so this could have been a very good week with a little more luck and again new anglers on the lake did pretty well. To make things even better both groups got on really well and are re-booking together, not the first time this has happened and maybe we should start an introductions website !! Perhaps not as I cant even keep up with this one at the moment !! 28/06-05/07/08 was fished by the Raynsford party who had been once before and it was pretty dire, no-one could keep a bait on, very few fish were banked and the best was only a 24lb mirror. The week after it was the return of the Cowell party, Chris, Steve, Nigel and Aubrey. Crayfish problems again but these boys are made of stern stuff and kept at it. A few good fish were banked but most notable was another new record catfish of 73lbs !! This was not the same one a pound heavier either !! I dont know what the fxxk they are eating !! Ahh baby crayfish of course, lol. I dont know who caught it at the moment and I do not have any pictures but I will try to sort this out. Someone else is taking over the website soon and I hope they do a much fxxking better job than me !! Anyway it was then that the fun really started !! We were now officially closed for two weeks to do some weeding but there was no weed and it was crayfish that needed dealing with. Some of my friends and family were fishing and early in the week they could not keep a bait on for more than 20 minutes !! Our new friends the Wiffen family arrived armed with a load of crayfish pots and we set to work almost immediately. Now I have joked on the diary a couple of times about "Deadliest Catch" and I really wish I had not !! It actually was just like that, the only thing missing was the heavy machinery, we had to haul the fxxking things up by hand !! It was just as dangerous, some bloody big ones were loose in the boats at times and people had no shoes on !! There was just as much shaking about involved to get them out of the pots, and we were dealing with just as big catches !! No wonder fishing had been so hard !! We actually caught well over a thousand in the first couple of days and it just carried on from there. After a while it was difficult to know what to do with them, crayfish golf and crayfish baseball amused us for a while but we had so many that we resorted to mowing them which turned them straight into fertilizer. Only joking of course if any animal rights people are reading and anyway these were all Rickie`s ideas !! By the end of the week we had started to knock them back a bit, the Wiffens left and we are very grateful for all their help. Terry arrived with a few mates and we carried on with the pots, still catching loads. Bradley then came with a few workmates to fish for the week but early on everyone was still having major problems and could only fish with plastic baits. By mid-week I had actually found a bait that the crays were not interested in at all, fake bread, but unfortunately nothing else was either !! Bit of a disaster when me and Brad forgot a large bucket full of crayfish in the back of the 4WD !! They formed some kind of pyramid and most of them escaped, getting absolutely everywhere !! We left a particularly nasty looking one in Lloyds strimming helmet and we are waiting for news on that, lol. I did have one good idea, which was frying up a load of crayfish tails with butter and cubes of Boursin cheese. This created a kind of "on the bank lobster thermadore" which was amazingly tasty, and we all derived a kind of sadistic pleasure in ripping the fxxkers up and eating them as well. On the phone Max suggested "reducing" some white wine, well we didnt have any but we reduced about a dozen Desperado`s to nothing and it just made us too pissed to cook anything so we went back to my recipe after that !! Some people have found other ways to amuse themselves and in the cabin there is a picture of one bloke with a crayfish on each nipple and another of a bloke with one on his scrotum, not small crayfish either !! Some of those Northern boys are hard bastards !! By the end of the week the pots were getting noticeably emptier, thank heavens, we were able to start fishing with real baits and a few bites started to come. A couple of good fish were lost, but Ian on swim 1 landed seven fish on the last couple of nights, this included 3 thirties one of which was a 36lb common, very well done mate. So thats about it, the crayfish are now well under control and we are monitoring it carefully, the fish are back on the feed, the catfish record seems to be going every other week and it has turned ridiculously hot.
26-02 July : Very very hot weather continued for most of this week which was fished by the returning Willis party. The fishing was tough at times, the water warmed up and the fish went off the feed a bit. The best carp of the week was a 32lb mirror out to roger on swim 12, but the catfish certainly seemed to enjoy the conditions with swim 8 producing cats of 64lb and 72lbs, and with Jamie on swim 7 taking a 65lb'er. A reasonable slow week but excellent for sunbathing.
02-09 August : This was just a great week to be at Waterlily Lakes, one of those weeks when everything that could have happened did !! Fishing the lake were two lads from Essex, Dan and Pete, along with an old school mate of mine, Eric, who had booked for 4 but turned up on his own. For Dan and Pete it was the first time fishing in France and they set up together on swims 6 and 7, Eric a veteran of France and Spain, chose swim 1. The week started slowly, though Pete lost a decent fish on the first afternoon and Eric managed a mid-thirty mirror on the first night. After that it was almost biteless for a couple of days and the weather turned blistering hot. Dan and Pete went on the stock pond to get a bend in their rods and Eric resorted to stalking a big common in the cabin lake. Having landed a few nice fish on Tuesday the lads decided to boat back to the stock pond island on Wednesday for a bit more action as it started out very hot again. All morning the rumblings of a big storm could be heard in the distance, it hit about dinner time and it was a cracker !! I was in the Champion supermarket at the time, all the lights went and even the French looked worried so I knew it was bad. A deluge of biblical proportions followed and I was stuck for about an hour. On returning I thought I`d better check on Eric, Dan and Pete to make sure they were ok !! The scene at the cabins resembled a nuclear holocaust with clothes, tackle and all sorts scattered everywhere !! Eric was safe and dry in the cabin but Dan and Pete had been caught on the island and looked like they had been through he ll! I looked at Dan who shook his head and said "I have never seen rain like that in my life mate!", me and Eric just laughed. The storm had been spectacular and the fishing after it was as well. Dan and Pete started to catch almost immediately and a friendly rivalry developed after Pete moved on to some fish in swim 13a. Eric, who was mainly fishing for catfish, also had some action and landed a 63lb'er. Friday morning breakfast was just one of those great times, big smiles all round as Dan and Pete had both had new PB's and Eric had landed what was to him a fairly small catfish, funny stories from the day before and everyone looking forward to another good days fishing. It turned out to be a great day and it was nice to see Dan take a new PB mirror of 45lbs. This turned out to be the final say in his competition with Pete who's best fish was a creditable 38lbs. In celebration Eric cooked us an evening meal of crayfish paella and I must say it was fxxking lovely. It was a great time and a fair amount of alcohol was consumed which certainly did not help the next morning !! Eric had a catfish in the night which he had sacked for weighing as it looked quite big. He woke to find a puncture and decided to put it back without weighing it as we were leaving and he wanted to get it repaired. From there on it was total chaos as the incoming groups minibus broke down and the whole of France seemed to be on holiday !! It finally got sorted and we were sitting in the cabin having a cup of tea when Eric looked up and said "is that the catfish record, 73lb, only the one I just put back was quite a bit bigger that !!", as he had only been 1/2lb out in estimating the other one I have no doubt he was right and this bloke does a lot of catfish trips. Then to add to injury he says "you'll easily know when it comes out again as its got a big scar !!. That just about capped it off, probably the biggest catfish in the lake landed at last and it doesn't even get weighed !! Anyway despite that fxxk up, Eric, Dan and Pete returned home happy, and I am sure we will see them all again.
Petes 37lb mirror and 30lb common
09-16 August : Well I really don't know where to start with this one. It has certainly been one of the best weeks fishing in a while with over 40 fish landed, included 14 over 30lbs, but it started very badly. To kick off with the lads broke down 20 minutes away in Laon. It was very hot and as I said all of France was on holiday so getting a tow was impossible. In the end we had to ferry the whole group and their tackle back to the lake and leave the minibus where it was. It was very late that evening when the lads finally settled down but the fishing kicked off straight away. By the end of the week Jamie and Rod Stewart, doubled up on swim 3a, had a nice 10 fish tally between them, the best a 38lb mirror, Garry on the 3 man island had an impressive 12 fish total including a couple of beautiful 30lb+ commons, Dean on 13b had half a dozen including a couple of 30lb'ers and Tony on swim 2 had lost a big cat but managed a nice 35lb common. It only remains to account for Evlis (yes we had Elvis and Rod on the lake this week) nicknamed Pash. This bloke was an absolute star in everyway respect. The minibus could not be fixed over here and it was a nightmare for Dean to get it sorted, Pash had to stay on for two extra days to wait for the recovery vehicle so it was great to see him end the week with a fine 12 fish tally, having taken a brace of big 30's and a brace of 40's, including a 46lb mirror, on his last two nights. A truly splendid end to the week and "Elvis finally left the building" two days late but with a smile on his face!! Another bonus is that I never thought we would get a chance to use that line in the diary!! Despite the hassle it was a great week and we hope to see these lads again in the future.
Tom (Rod Stewart) 38lb mirror (Black Spot)
18th August (mid-week update) : Our old friends from Wales , Jordan, Lee and Darren arrived amid total chaos, broken down vehicles, tackle everywhere and taxis arriving to take people home. Pash looked a bit lonely when all his mates left him behind but the Welsh lads were having none of that, soon made him feel at home, and he probably had the best 48hrs of his stay fishing wise. The lake is really on form at the moment and Jordan, Lee and Darren have really started with a bang, taking loads of fish already including a 60lb catfish and a stunning 53lb+ mirror out to Lee on swim7. It has also been all change at Nenuphar this week as Lloyd is leaving us for pastures new. The team on site now is me, Hannah and Rickie, and we are looking to take Waterlily Lakes to the next stage which will include getting the new lake open for next year, "at last" I can hear some of you saying!! There is also now food available all day and delivered to your swim if you like, as well as some end tackle and other bits on sale.
16-23 August : Well it has been a great week again!! Saturday and Sunday were just amazing, with a brace of 40's and a stunning 53lb+ mirror. There were nearly tears on Monday when Pash left!! As I said he was a great bloke, and a very good angler as well as it happens. It had been a week when we had to pull out all the stops to help these lads as they were in a bit of bother with the minibus, and they really appreciated it. After me, Hannah and Pash had loaded all their kit into the van, Pash shook my hand to say goodbye and thanks. This bloke is built like a 'brick shithouse' and has a grip like a vice and he pulled me close and gave me a cuddle! To be honest I think we were both close to tears and it was a moment I will never forget. The Welsh lads just kept catching all week and finished with a fine total of nearly 30 fish between them. Plenty of fish were coming out in the daytime and they made use of the whole lake moving on to any fish that were showing. Jordan took 8 carp to over 39lbs, Darren just pipped him with a 9 fish tally including a mirror of 39lb 10oz and a catfish of over 60lb, but Lee was top rod taking 14 fish in all including a 64lb cat and that P.B mirror of 53lb 10oz, very well done mate!! There was also the funniest catfish story I have heard in a long time! Darrens cat initially tore off and did him round the far island off swim 8, at which point he took to the boat with Lee for back up! As anyone who has been here knows once you are in the boat fighting one of the bigger catfish you are no longer in charge and there was no chance this time! They were taken on a scenic trip around the islands, pads and far margins of swim 8, chuckling all the time and with Jordan offering words of encouragement from the bank in between fits of laughter! At one point the cat turned and came straight towards them on the surface, diving under just before it hit the boat and spinning them round a few times!!, "it was like a scene from jaws it was", were Lee's exact words, oh how we wish we had been there to see it! Anyway there was a happy ending this time and the fish was safely landed, well done Darren. The weather has been just perfect with warm winds from the south-west and even a bit of rain to cool things down a little. Tactics at the moment are to fish with nut baits on the hair tipped with fake corn, this being fished over or near to a bed of particle, pellet and boilie. Tigers and Brazil nuts are working equally well and the fish are really responding to a bit of bait going in. Fishing is a little different as there is no weed at all at the moment and the pads are the thinnest we've ever seen them. The marginal areas of the lake and islands seem to be the most productive spots and with no weed around the fish are moving in groups and feeding heavily. Fish are coming out from all over the lake and we are looking forward to a very productive end to the season.
Darrens 60lb+ catfish
23-30 August : After the last couple of weeks things were bound to slow down a bit I suppose, and to be honest it has not been a great week but it could have been so much better. We only saw a dozen or so fish on the bank but somehow around 25 fish were lost!! It certainly wasn't the weed, there is none!! It wasn't the pads either as they are the thinnest I've seen them!! In most cases it was just big fish running people ragged, though on a couple of occasions crayfish has shredded anglers line causing it to part at the wrong time. The crayfish were a bit troublesome this week and nut baits tipped with a fake plastic corn are still the order of the day but some anglers did manage to fish effectively with boilies so things are getting much better. Again fish were feeding all over the lake and everyone had action of some sort. Most of the fish banked were fairly small but Ian on swim 8 did manage a superb looking mirror of over 47lbs, which was nice to see after he suffered a few losses from swim 7, where he had actually jumped into the 'snaggy' island tree to try to retrieve one that had ripped him to pieces!! Swim 7 is again producing a lot of runs, but it is not for the faint hearted as the bites are fierce and the fish are finding it easy to wrap people around the island. The method at the moment is to fish over a good bed of particle, boilie and pellet with a very hard hook bait, and our own ready tied rigs are proving very effective. We had thought that the fishing would be harder with no weed and not many pads to go at, but the last few weeks have produced more runs than any time in the season so far and the lake was full of weed and pads up till the end of May. The fish are still feeding well though it would be nice to see a few more landed !
Ian's 47lb plus mirror
02 August (mid-week) : This week we welcomed back some old friends, Lee, Malcolm and Phil along with Lee's dad Mick, Keith, Paul and 'monkey'. It has been a great laugh already, and though the fishing has slowed down a bit we have already seen some very good fish on the bank. I think it may be Lee's 3rd or 4th trip here which i guess makes him a waterlily veteran but there is no doubt that he is a very good angler anyway. Regular readers of the diary may remember Lee being the first angler to catch two 40+lb fish in the same week at Nenuphar a few years ago. Well this time he has gone one better and become the first angler to ever catch TWO 50lb carp in the same week!! Before anyone gets too excited i must say it was the same fish both times but surely this still counts. Lee's dad has taken a P.B mirror of around 35lbs and a few smaller fish have been landed. The week is still young and somehow i just don't think Lee is finished yet!!
Lee's 50lb Leather
