We have a fantastic group of lakes on our website, which are a credit to our brilliant owners and all their hard work. Today we are introducing Matt, who runs Kingfisher lake, exclusive carp fishing France with accommodation.
1. When did you discover carp fishing and how did you come to be here at the lake?
Like many young lads I did a bit of course fishing but then drifted away from it when I discovered cars, girls and beer! Then one weekend while working on a big upgrade with a fellow techie, I picked up his fishing magazine and read through it (it was 4am, I was bored). We got chatting and he invited me carp fishing a few weeks later. I was immediately hooked again.
I fished the UK waters local to me up until 2005. I found local waters to me were “too pressured”, fish weights and health quality to be somewhat hit/miss. It took me 7 years to catch my first specimen carp! (23lb 3oz).
In late 2005 I booked my first venture to France for springtime 2006 and it was a game changer for me. I fished the UK maybe 3 times after that first French trip. It wasn’t long before I would be in France fishing for a week every 3 months.
I’d honed the travelling / long drives etc over the next 6 years and had to adapt the kind of venues I’d fish as I’d got married and we’d started a family. Combining my fishing with a family holiday meant I had to find places with a higher standard of accommodation and facilities as I had my wife and daughters comfort to consider.
One day my wife simply asked if we could change our lives, get out of the big corporate work/treadmill and “do something completely different”.
I had become good friends with a venue owner and he was selling up and offered his venue to us. However it was too remote/isolated so we set about looking for a new home with a lake which we purchased in early 2013. Thats when the work began!
2. The best and worst part of being the owner?
Best part is easy: seeing the smile on anglers faces when they’ve caught a big lump of a fish and they’re having their picture taken with it… priceless.
Worst part: losing fish.
3. What would you say is the best feature of your lake?
The fish… thats the reason people come here.
4. When people arrive is there anything they are surprised by?
Quality of the gite, the onsite facilities and proximity to the lake. Kingfisher lake offers superb exclusive carp fishing France with accommodation.
5. What is the most common mistake you see anglers make at your lake?
Groundbaiting/watercraft. Not reading the water and thinking its as easy as slinging some groundbait (too much or too little) then casting a few lines in and expecting the big fish to throw themselves at you. It doesn’t work like that I’m afraid.
6. Finally, what is the one most important piece of advice you’d give to anglers visiting your lake soon?
Be prepared to change tactics/bait. Adaptability/flexibility is key, if you only have one bait option available or you stick rigidly to a spot that is not active to and the fish are not “switched on” to it then its going to be a quiet time on the bank.
Find out more about Kingfisher Lake here – Exclusive carp fishing France with accommodation
Read more of our interviews with owners here – Interview with a Lake Owner Series
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