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07/09/2016

Each year we try and improve our French Carp Fishing holidays at Puyravaud – so what’s new for 2016…

1) During 2015 the TV cameras visited Puyravaud to try and capture our unique offering for groups and families. Our episode will be shown on Sky early in 2016 and as soon as we have a confirmed date, we will let you know. There were some lovely fish caught over the three days of filming including a couple of lovely 50’s and some great 40’s a well. In the meantime, go to Youtube and search on Puyravaud TV for a number of videos that give a flavour of what we have to offer.

2) Upgraded TV’s in both barn and cottage – this year we have better and larger TV’s in both properties to enhance TV viewing. Not that we are encouraging you to stay indoors when there is so much to do outside, but for those ‘sit on the sofa’ days, you can now enjoy viewing just that little bit more.

3) Rebuilt swims – we have virtually rebuilt every swim on both lakes and re-surfaced with 10 tons of shingle. This gives each angler the perfect platform from which to catch and land those monsters.

4) Cleared bank areas – over the winter, we have cleared a lot of tree foliage from the bank side to enable better access to more of the lake. This makes it easier to land fish and stalk where previously impossible.

5) No small carp in Heron Lake – over a number of years we have tried to reduce the number of small carp in Heron Lake. We have finally succeeded after repairing the dam wall and removing all unwanted carp from the lake. We start 2016 with an average weight of 32lbs and expect these fish to grow on quickly over the next couple of years.

6) Hire of gear – we have always hired fishing gear for those who fly in or just don’t have room to bring all their own. This year we will add further equipment, to expand the hiring of gear at Puyravaud. This has proved very popular and again we are responding to customer requests to make more equipment available.

7) Cleared the Old Forge area – for the first time in many many years it is possible to see the old forge, dating back to 1819, in all its glory. We have spent a lot of time clearing this historic building and hope to create a unique BBQ and seating area close by with lovely views of Kingfisher Lake to boot.

8) New Pagoda for pool area – we have added a much better pagoda by the pool in order to offer an area by the pool protected from direct sunlight. This has proved useful for those wanting to get out of the sun for a while and also for those with young families wanting protecting from the sun.

We continue to listen to customer feedback and hope to make further improvements during the year.


heroes
lakesluice

07/09/2016

HAPPY 2016

We just wanted to say a big Thank you to all our customers and friends who have supported us through what has to be our toughest year so far.

Our worst nightmares became reality when Heron Lake disappeared over a weekend in June.  We would not be where we are today (back to normal with 2 Lakes with the right stock and ready for 2016.) without the support and understanding of our customers and good friends.  You sure find out how kind and understanding people can be.  THANK YOU SO MUCH.

2016, gets us back on track, and we have renewed the swims, cleared the banks, attacked the brambles and fixed the walkways.  With the trees now taken out on the dam wall there is now a much different view of both lakes from the Dam.  We are working on the old forge and plan to do some dry stone walls on the bridges. The river has also been cleared and we will continue to keep it cleared of bramble.  The weather so far has been very kind to us, spring is starting early.

Thank you again to EVERYONE that has helped us we can’t thank you enough.

We really look forward to welcoming all our customers in 2016 and starting a new year.

BONNE ANNEE – HAPPY NEW YEAR


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netting
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07/09/2016

Happy to say that things are back to normal at Puyravaud.

We have now completed the repairs to the dam wall on Heron Lake, netted Kingfisher Lake, and sorted the stock . The whole exercise has taken nearly 6 months and we are just happy to be able to relax a little over Christmas and New Year, knowing we are ready for the 2016 season.

A couple of weekends ago, everyone descended on Puyravaud for the Kingfisher netting.  We had to catch 170 carp over 20lbs photograph, weigh them and decide which lake to put them in. The weather was great, it was very mild and everyone had a great day. We managed to complete the exercise in 6 hours and rounded the day off with much food and drink.

It was great to see Heron full again, knowing that we had the fish safely back in!  Looking at the positives ………we now have no small fish in Heron Lake after removing all fish under 20lbs – this should ensure some really good fishing in 2016 and we are hoping for some really strong growth rates next year!

Goodbye to 2015 and heres to a Happy 2016  (less stress and no more leaks!).   We start 2016 with an average weight of 32lbs in Heron and 39lbs in Kingfisher.


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Digger
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withtrees

30/08/2016

Work has just started to repair a rather large hole that appeared in the dam wall on Heron Lake during the summer. The work will require a section of the wall to be dug out, a completely new monk and sluice gate system to be put in and the whole wall strengthened. We were advised to take down the rather large oak trees that lined the back of the dam wall to prevent further damage, it has now opened it up a lot but sad to see the trees down.

A lot of heavy work going on so that have the lake fully back up and running hopefully by the end of October. As they say, when you own a fishery, the work never stops…………………….

Watch out for more details as the work progresses.


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45
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50-08

29/08/2016

The Wood family group joined us for their first trip with James and Neil determined to catch some nice fish. Fishing Kingfisher Lake, they had a fantastic week and caught just over 100 carp over 20lbs. They had two 50’s and a dozen or so 40’s. Neil came to Puyravaud with aPB of 39lbs and after many years of trying finally bagged 3 x 40’s on the last couple of days including a beautiful 49lb mirror. James had a great week with a couple of 50’s and 9 x 40’s. Not a bad weeks fishing in France eh…………………….Emma, Karen, Mollie and Charlie also had a great week using the pool, visiting local spots and enjoying the nice weather and relaxed atmosphere at Puyravaud.

After their departure, we welcomed the Ruthven group of 16 for their 4th visit to Puyravaud. They all know the place very well by now and settled in to their second home very quickly. The guys love their fishing but also like to sample the local go kart tracks and laser quest for a bit of variety. Needless to say, they are very competitive and try to challenge the lap records wherever they go. Great fun to be with and almost part of the furniture at Puyravaud. They did do some fishing and mangaged some nice 50’s and a lot of 40’s as well. We are very pleased they have already booked for 2016 and we look forward to celebrating Paul’s 50th during their stay…………the lemon drizzle cake is booked.