The latest news from PuyravaudThis weekend, Peter decided to chillout on Sunday and do some fishing for the first time in months - lifes just so busy....
It was a great day, weather was perfect not too cold, and a great morning's fishing was achieved with 6 lovely fish from 28-33lb, all before 1pm - Breakfast and Coffee by the Lake made it even more enjoyable, but nothing lasts long - Marion decided it was about time Peter helped with the Garden!!!
Peters Catch on Sunday 21st January
A very Happy New Year to all our site visitors!
We look forward to seeing many of you at Puyravaud in 2012!
As ever, this time of the year is very busy for us - at the end of last year we drained the lake, removed thousands of small carp and added 6 new carp from 43-55lb. We have just completed a refurb of some of the swims and Billy No Mates is now back in action after a period slightly below the water!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have had some tremendous rainfalls over the last month (much needed after a dry autumn) and the lakes look in great shape for this year. The fish that have been caught over the last month look to be very strong and we are hoping for some serious growth rates now that we have removed so many of the small carp that were no doubt eating much of the feed. We are looking forward to the lake record being broken on a regular basis with the addition of the bigger fish.
Once again to all our visitors - a happy new year and we look forward to seeing you in 2012!
Sunday November 27th turned out to be a very good day in the short history of Puyravaud Carp fishery in France. The day started with us visiting our fish farmer to watch the annual draining of his main lake. This was run like a military operation with around 45 people helping out for the day and it was interesting to see the variety of machinery used to drain down such a lake and minimise the stress on all the fish caught.
Of course, the group did not miss the opportunity for a typical French lunch which included a BBQ and lots of pineau, wine and beer. It was a great occasion and at the end of it we were able to choose from a fantastic selection of large carp to add to our existing stock.
For the third phase of our stocking, we wanted to add to the bigger weights and chose 6 specimen fish.
and finally the piece de resistance.........................................................our first 50 lb fish at Puyravaud
These delightful fish were brought directly to Puyravaud and went into the lake during the late afternoon.
Thought I'd grab a quick few hours yesterday for a session as I have not fished the lake for a few months (too busy with customers during the summer 
.
I was also trying new rigs and some Ace Baits that had proven successful for our previous guests.
The fishing was not easy due to a strong wind and a drop in temperature overnight. However, after 5 hours of trying different things (all to no avail), I finally hooked into something sizeable fishing on the Gaz and Geeza swim. The fish was lively and went on a number of runs, keeping low in the water (always a good sign) and finally succumbed after 20 minutes. The fish was caught on 4 Mainline New Grange 18mm boilies with a white Avid stop on the end.
Split Tail has been caught before, its finally putting on some weight tipping the scales at 40lb 9ozs, beating the previous lake record by just under 2lb. The fish was in great condition and I was taken by how solid it was with plenty of room for further growth.
This is a big moment for us, being the first 40lb+ fish that's been caught. The previous weeks guests (two fishing) had caught 32 fish in their one week stay with all but one fish over 20lb and 13 over 30lb, their biggest was 37lb 6ozs.
The fish was weighed, witnessed and photographed before being returned safely to the water to fight another day. A great end to the session!
Here's to the next one!
Scott, Matt, Sharon and Kerry from Hampshire returned to Puyravaud following a successful first visit last September. This year the weather had been dry for some time and the pressure in the water high making conditions a little more difficult.
However, Scott and Matt had a successful week bagging 40 carp, mainly from the deeper end of the lake. Matt managed to land a fish called Imperial Leather late into the evening which weighed in at 38lb 12ozs, a new lake record! Caught from Ye Olde Oak Corner swim in deep water this fish fort very hard for nearly 20 minutes before Matt was able to land the fish safely.
This new lake record is the 3rd so far this year and gets us ever closer to our first 40lb fish.
The group commented that this trip was even better than their first and vowed to go for the hatrick in 2012.
On Sunday June 5th 2011, owner Peter Jackson and Nigel Bradbury decided to have a morning session following a long dry period and some overnight rain.
The session started slowly, but Nigel hooked into a 22lb mirror one hour in. A nice fish, in good condition, and not keen to be netted. 30 minutes later, Peter hooked into a nice fish just of Edgars Haunt, some 30 metres from the bank. This fish played steadily, kept deep and did not show itself until 10 minutes into the fight. It was clear this was a good fish, but it was not until we had the fish on the bank, that we started to think mid to high 30's. The fish was quite short but very deep and with a serious gut. With great excitement the mirror was weighed in at 38lb 3ozs.
The fish was quickly photographed and returned to the water after a good five minute recovery time in the weigh sling near the bank.
After the session we confirmed this fish as "Bubbles" which went into the lake in November 2010 at 35Ibs 8ozs, so good growth in just over 7 months.
When Emma, Chris and Arthur turned up for their Easter trip to Puyravaud, little did they know what a week it would be. The weather was excellent with a consistent easterly breeze and the water temperature was 17.7 degrees.
Emma was the first female carp angler to visit Puyravaud and quickly got into the action catching a fish called ER which had put on 4.5lbs since going in the lake in Feb 2010. She quickly followed this by catching our resident Koi called Nippon weighing in at just under 25lb. The action continued all week and the trio caught an unbelievable 76 fish weighing a total of 1960lbs. 
There were 8 fish over 30lb including the new lake record at 35lb 12 ozs caught by Arthur and only 3 fish under 20lb. All three anglers went away having improved their PB's and the average weight per fish was 25lb.
Emma, Chris and Arthur enjoyed the full meals package and had some great evening meals with us before returning to the action lakeside! Their last night included a raclette meal and full trophy awards ceremony so look out for the pictures!!!!!!!!
The weeks catch confirms that the fish are in good health and are putting on some good weights.
For three weeks leading up to the weekend of March 26th/27th, we had seen no rain at Puyravaud - very unusual for this time of year. We tried fishing on Saturday with no luck whatsoever. However, the much needed rain came on the 27th and I fancied a quick early evening session to see how the fish had reacted to the change in conditions.
Within ten minutes, I had hooked into a nice fish, just 15 feet from the bank to the left hand side of Edgar's Haunt. This turned out to be a mirror called Split Tail weighing in at 34lb 9ozs, breaking the current lake record by 8 ozs. This was caught on a Mainline Cell 14mm boilie topped with immitation sweet corn. This is the same fish Tom Cline caught in September for the previous lake record.
Around 40 minutes later the rod on the right hand side of the swim lit up with a very aggressive take and the run stripped off 30 yards of line before I could start to control the fish. This turned out to be a 28lb 8oz mirror caught on a Mainline pineapple pop up fished three inches off the bottom. This fish was also hooked very close to the bank and proves you should not overlook what is literally underneath your feet (or slightly to the side!)
Thoroughly satisfied that the rain had made all the difference I called it a day and went for a nice glass of wine to celebrate. Split Tail has now been caught 6 times and obviously is a bit of an attention seeker!
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