Fun in France

Daiwa consultant Brian Skoyles has just returned from a short but spectacular trip to a new venue called Jay Lake in central France. There with good friend Bill Cottam at the invite of owners Paul and Debbie Smith, Brian and Bill banked 16 carp to just over 53lb in three days, superb fishing by any standards.

Early season visits abroad can be unpredictable, with a lot depending on the weather. This year was mild but wet, very wet, but the fish seemed to like the conditions and we caught well during the day and through the night.

Jay Lake could well become a lake we hear a lot more about in the future. A beautiful water stocked with carp to over 60lbs, plus top class family friendly accommodation Jay Lake has everything you could want from a holiday carping venue.

Our three days were memorable for two things, the fishing and the rain, we had lots of both. Tactics were straight forward. Basic lead clip rigs, with 18mm Trigga ATS boilies, 14mm White Spice pop-up combinations on the hair. The swims were baited with a mix of boilies and pellets.

Having just taken delivery of some new Basia QDX reels it was nice to give them a real workout. The Basia QDX’s balance perfectly with my 12ft 2 ¾ Infinity MT rods and it was a pleasure to play fish with them. I love the smoothness of the clutch, no snatching when the fish powers off and easily adjustable.

For more details of our session, there’s a full write-up on the Jay website at www.ultimatecarpandcats.com.

I suspect Jay Lake is going to become a very special venue indeed, I certainly hope to get back there in the not too distant future, but perhaps without the rain!