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Here are some photos of my latest carp caught from the North arm on on the amazing Lac De Saint Cassien.

The first fish came after resting my swim for three days whilst pre-baiting and was a 36lb two-tone mirror. The fish was caught at 125 metres range using Nutrabaits Trigga and Pineapple boilies, with the hookbait a 16mm white pop-up. The second fish was a 41lb mirror came four days later on the same tactics. Both were caught in 25 feet of water in a sandy channel behind a plateau.

Matt Woods

With spring fast approaching and Abbey lakes fishing so well it was time for me and fishing partner Rob Marsh to take a trip across the channel. After the short drive to Abbey we headed for the in-form Heron Lake. The swim we wanted was occupied by some Dutch lads who were leaving in the morning. Both had caught a fair few fish and we planned to move in to the swim after they had gone. To begin with we dropped in to swims down the lake a bit, and as night fell some very large fish started to show. Around 10pm while we were having a chat and a cuppa, my left hand rod burst into life with line peeling off the spool at a rate of knots. After a great battle at range and in the dark I bought a prime 35lb mirror to the net. The downfall of this fish was a Mainline Cell dumbbell tipped with half a Hi-Viz pop up in a PVA bag filled with Hinders Elips and Mainline Response pellet. I was also using the Atomic Tackle Bomb-Away lead release system which aids the angler to lose the lead on the take but not when you cast or reel in. My hook link was 25lb JEL-E-WYRE with the hook a size 6 Atomic Grabba. With the bait back on the mark again it was time to turn in for the night. As morning broke I went down to see Rob who had just landed a mirror slightly under 20lb.

We had a quick pack up and moved in to the swim the Dutch lads had just vacated. They were catching most of their fish from one side of the big double swim so we decided to put the rods on single bank sticks and alternate them (mine then Robs). It was the only fair way to fish the area with only one side producing the fish. Well the next 4 hours was mayhem. We had 6 takes in 4 hours with Rob landing a fine 36lb 8 oz common and myself weighing in a very long 39lb 8oz mirror. In the evening and night we had a welcome break from the action giving us time to sort the gear out. As soon as the first light broke the rods were away again. We caught steadily though the day with Rob landing a stunning 33lb 12oz common and me banking a very large 46lb 8oz mirror and a 41lb 6oz mirror along with a number of smaller fish. Rob was using a different lead release system to me called the Atomic Choppa Droppa which can be used with Chods or the helicopter rig. Again it loses the lead on the take but is ideal for casting long range and you don’t lose the lead when just reeling in. His preferred hook was the Atomic Claw size 6, again with the JEL-E-WYRE hooklink. Darkness came and went with no takes as per the previous night.

In the morning I fancied a move to a different part of the lake. The trouble was so did Rob, to the same area as me so out came the coin. Heads or tails he pipes up. I went for heads and up went the coin. It came down on tails so off Rob went in one direction and me in the other. I headed for the Back Bay which I’ve fished before and caught. It’s a spot where a lot of the big fish hang about at this time of year, but all I got was a good nights sleep, which was the same for Rob. After a shower, breakfast and a drive around Fox lake, which is next door to Heron, I opted for swim 12 which is at the top end of the lake. Rob was going to stay where he was as he had seen a couple of very large fish topping, and with my rods out on the spots I just laid there watching the sun go down on my last night of this trip. At midnight I was woken by my right hand alarm screaming. Before this fish was to grace the bank it wanted one more tour of Fox lake, which it did and after a 20 minute fight I finally slipped the net under a mental 33lb mirror. If I had lost this fish I would been sure I had lost one of the big ’uns. At first light I started to have a slow pack up and with my rods just laying on the floor I was away again for a final time for this trip. It was a baby for Abbey weighing 25lb but they are all welcome, and as with the very first fish of our trip we caught everything on Mainline Cell dumbbells tipped with a Hi-Viz pop up and a PVA bag filled with Response and Hinders Elips pellet.

Get yourself booked in!!!!