Looking for a big catch and a holiday?

[Jack PalmerParticipant]

I recently went Carp Fishing to the South of France absolutely loved it… here’s my review incase anyone is looking to go aboard for that big fish!

EdensLakes;

What can I say about this place?
3 beautiful lakes in a picturesque countryside in the south of France. The north lake is the pride of the 3 lakes holding fish upwards of 60lbs+ and this lake has 5 swims then you have Simons which has 4 swims and Jolly Pads which has 2 swims both lakes also having 50lbs + (after the week i spent here I know why its called Jolly Pads). The place is ran by two of the most welcoming and caring hosts I’ve ever met Dene and Karen. They offer the most amazing food package which is all made by them for you. You get your breakfast made for you 10am every morning and the evening meal is also provided and I have to say every meal was fantastic! There is a local convenience store around a 5min drive to get things for in the day like beer and food. The setting on every lake is beautiful the sunrises and sunsets are amazing, the sounds around the lakes are very calming as you are trying to sleep. They also have a chalet for you to wash and sort yourself out.

From my experience i would give the trip 9.5/10 as i found France has decided to give me the worst hay-fever ever. Everything from the first moment i arrived to the last was perfect, greeted us with smiling faces and treated us more like friends rather than guests which made everything so much easier. The things i’ve eaten here I don’t think id of eaten back home but everything that was cooked was perfect, it was delightful. For me the best thing about the place is the atmosphere everyone gets along, everyone is trying to have a good time and best of all your all after the big one. The one fish I wanted to catch was the legendary Merv everyone that’s been on Jolly Pads has caught Merv I think but on the morning of the day we were heading home my brother in law Chris gets a bite at 12.20am and pulls in the one and only MERV which topped off a great week. The weather is mental at one point nearly 30 degrees in the shade and then other times raining for 4-5hours. Around the area I can safely say the frog population is great after seeing thousands jumping through the grass most mornings and nearly treading on them. The lake I was on Jolly Pads was a beautiful lake mainly for people who aren’t that confident but sort of know how to fish, safe to say with the size of the ones in the north lake i’m definatley not ready for that yet. I think if i would have blanked id still come back to try again because its just a lovely place and the hospitality is just the best which made the whole experience a million times better! If your new to the lakes and want some help Dene will do his absolute best to help you find the fish and give you tips on how to get the big ones. I think this has been one of the experiences i’ve had; sun, beer and fishing not much can go wrong there can it?

[MarkDiary DiaryParticipant]

Good Story thnx for sharing

[sophiadevon189Participant]

I was woken at around 3pm when the bivvy had reached a solid gas mark 7, and I slid out of my sleeping bag like a milky bar left in the sun. Dazed and confused I made my way to the social gazebo where three other sweaty men were already sitting, drinking water – not small French beers! The temperature had reached 27ºC and the rest of the week looked like it would be much of the same – great for topping up the tans but for the fishing it was going to be very questionable.

The first run came a few hours later, with my good friend, Stuart Lemon, staying true to form and putting the first carp in the net – a heavily tanned mid-30 and a nice start to the trip. We got the pictures and video out of the way quickly and the rest of the afternoon passed without event. We retired to bed shortly after the sun went down, attempting to fully recover from the long journey the night before.

At some point during the early hours Stuart landed an upper 40 and he woke me up at first light with a cup of tea as a peace offering for pictures. Not one to object, I was up with the cameras and snapping away at a very happy man with a lovely looking 49lb mirror.

The rest of us were yet to put a fish on the bank, but with a new day came new optimism. The sun wasted no time in burning the retinas out of the back of our eyeballs and we all got the rods out just after breakfast, which was cooked by the finest chef in the whole of France… me!

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