I arrived at the gates of Les Noyer around 9.45am on Saturday following a two & half hour drive from Roscoff, and after a short wait for the bailiff to let us in we pulled up outside a large house overlooking a small lake.
Talking to bailiff she told us about the previous couple of months fishing and informed me that the previous months fishing had been fairly quiet. As we started to unload the van and looked at the water I decided to have a walk around the lake so I could get my bearings and start to build a plan of action for my fishing.
After a good stroll around the lake I decided to set up on the second bay and fish to the far side of the lake, to the outlet which was the deepest part of the lake. I cast my line onto the other bank and placed my bait onto my hair then slowly lowered my rig in to my chosen area, scattering 60 freebies around the area.
At about 4.30pm, a single bleep stopped me and I looked round just in time to see my middle rod roar off. After a ten minute battle I slipped the net under a lovely looking 21lb mirror, and I wondered if this might be a taste of what might be to come, by the late afternoon the temperature had hit around 12 degrees and the rain had started, I still had to put my other rods out.
I had a good play around with a marker float and soon had the lake mapped out. My second rod was going towards a small bar which was straight in the middle of the lake. I casted out a small pva bag fill 15mm fruity boilies and pellets onto the bar and scattered 100 boilies around the area, after setting up my third rod I saw a fish top in the bay to the left of me, I walked my rod round and placed my rig close to the edge with about 10 crushed boilies scattered around it.
I was awoken the next morning by a 2 bleeps on my right hand rod, after a few minutes watching my rod nothing happened. Later that day set up my sons 6ft rod and set him up in the stock lake with a float and fresh maggots, within 1 minute of casting out he was into a fish; a small roach, and then every cast he was in again, that was a good days sport while I was waiting for some action of my own.
The sun was soon setting in the background and the temp slowly dropped, it was time to get a good warm meal in me, which got delivered to my peg, beef wild mushrooms white asparagus fresh truffles with a nice glass of red wine from the local area, I’m glad I had my own chef with me for this week. There was no action through the night, so it was time to recast and start again.
Still no fish so we decided to wind in the rods and have a day out, we headed to La Mans which is about one and a half hours away, we walked around the old part of the town and got a few bits of fancy food for the next couple of days, then a drive to La Mans race track for the rest of the day. It was good to get out and see France and clear my mind of fishing, we headed back and I soon was planning my new plan of attack.
I changed all my rigs to a combi set up with small pva bags out they went in three new areas of the lake, now it was waiting time to see what would happen. The next morning my right had rod screamed off and as I hit it I soon saw it was not a fish but a carpal that had taken my bait up on the bank (at least my alarms work). Friday soon came I was now under pressure to catch another fish before I left, later that day I was sitting out enjoying the sun and a spot of lunch when my margin rod screamed off, I shot over like a rocket as I hit into a good fish, I played it slowly trying to wear it out, after a short battle the net slipped under the fish and in the net she was, a last a nice looking mirror well worth the wait. Then after a few photo shots back she went, the pressure was off now I can back and finish of my lunch, lobster salad it’s a hard life!
Saturday morning was soon here and time to pack away as I loaded up the van and sat on the wall with a nice cup of tea looking out on the lake, this was a very peaceful place. Maybe the summer months might produce more fish? But I still had two nice mirrors and a good day out in Le Mans.
Samantha Collins-Ratcliffe
