Running catch figures for 2011. Last updated 22nd of October
71 x 20’s
95 x 30’s
63 x 40’s
15 x 50’s
3 x 60's
Running bait results for 2011. Last updated 18th June
27th July I'm no longer going to update this as 99% of the fish are now being caught on Baitcraft EPS (Echo Pool Special)
IMPORTANT
Since my last update (18th June) we have seen 2 more big fish with badly ripped mouths where they have been lost during the fight. We find this disgusting and very upsetting as there is no need for it on our lake, anyone seen bullying our fish and trying to land them to quickly will be winding in for the rest of their stay and banned for life.
I don’t damage the fish and neither do the majority of our anglers, if you’re not experienced in playing big fish, BACK RIGHT OFF ON YOUR DRAG, THAT’S WHAT IT’S THERE FOR!
For the benefit of our fish and fishery we will be taking a very hard line on this.
More details on this can be found under the 18th of June update.
22 October Update.
Another week over and only one more left to go, although we’ve had a spectacular season we are really looking forward to the rest, well ! Until we start our winter projects that is.
Another tricky week but every angler bettered their PB and we also saw another NEW 50 on the bank which has been named “Tank”.
The fish caught this week are as follows...
13lb (Caggie)
26lb
42lb 8oz
46lb
51lb (Tank)
The 13lber which is now known as “Caggie the carp” is a star in the making and we’re going to try and keep a real close eye on it. Tasha and I get more excited by fish like this now than we do the big ones, these are fish which we’ve bread ourselves and are the future of our business, if they have similar genes to the commons they stand a chance of being 50lbs+ within 5 years.....mental.
I was good this week and remembered to download some photos from the angler’s camera which you can see below.
When I find time this winter I plan to put together a gallery of all the different 40lbs+ fish we have because at the moment we haven’t got a clue how many there actually are... what a nice position to be in.
"Caggie" at 13lb 26lb 42lb 8oz
46lb "Tank" at 51lb "Tank" again.
9th October. Up-date
New lake record of 64lbs 8oz and as you’d expect it’s a common... Caught by Carptrek member Ian “Bomber” Rawlings. Both Dougie and Mike also broke their PB’s during this week with a 53 to Dougie and a 55 to Mike.
They had a total of 14 fish during the week, 9 of which were over 40lbs.
5x 30’s to 38lbs 12oz
3x 40’s to 49lbs 10oz
4x 50’s to 55lbs 8oz
2x 60’s to 64lbs 8oz
All fish were caught on our boilies and pellet using long hairs and size 6 wide gape hooks. All fish were played beautifully without causing any damage, not one fish was lost. WELL DONE LADS.
I know I keep banging on about it... but this week just goes to show what results CAN be had if the fish are played properly. DROP YOUR LEAD AND PLAY THEM GENTLY!
The weather was also in the anglers favour as we had a sudden drop in temperature which I’m sure switched the fish on, it didn’t last for long and by the following week it was like mid August, hot, dry and very high air pressure. This really affected the following week’s anglers who only managed 3x30’s and 2x 40’s, not a bad week really, in fact more of an average week. Again all fish were caught on our bait and to the best of my knowledge size 6 hooks.
Last week we had a father and son turn up who have booked the lake for 2 weeks so they are only half way through their stay, so far they’ve had 11 carp to 49lbs 14oz, 3x20’s, 4x30’s and 4x40’s.
At the beginning of the Carptrek week we asked the anglers to help us test a new way of dealing with the fish once netted which involves keeping the fish in the water and not bringing it on the bank for any reason. It worked really well and we have carried on doing it ever since. All the anglers have taken to it like ducks to water... pardon the pun... Although it involves the hassle of putting on your waders once you’ve netted the fish, everyone has said that they can definitely see the benefit to the fish and that both the fish and the angler are calmer throughout the whole process. When you have a stock of fish like we do and ones that get caught we need to take every precaution possible, we have 3 big fish with broken ribs which I’m sure has been caused by handling errors, if the fish hadn’t been dealt with on the bank they probably wouldn’t be damaged.
Don’t forget to bring your waders and we’ll show you exactly what to do on your arrival. Feel free to contact us with an questions...
22nd September
WOW!!!!!!!! What a week we’re having and it’s only Thursday...still 2 nights and a full day left.
The boys from Carp Trek are having the week of their lives with the following fish out so......
2x 20’s
4x 30’s
41lb 2oz,
42lb
49lb 10oz
52lb 13oz
53lb
54lb 2oz
60lb 8oz New lake record
As you’d expect all the fish have been caught on our bait and plenty of it. The weather is considerably cooler so I think the fish have obviously got on the munch for the winter, who knows what the catch reports could look like by the end of the season...We shut at the beginning of November, when I can finally get my rods out....can’t wait...
The anglers are doing a great job playing the fish this week, NOT PANIKING! which just goes to show that if you drop the lead and play them gently you have nothing to worry about. Well done guys!
18 September.
Rule change regarding hooks... We still only allow wide gap micro barbed hooks but you can now use any size upto size 4. (longer the hair the better....please ask for info)
Nothing new to report really, fishing is still hard but well worth the effort. Over the last 5 weeks the following fish have been caught...
10x 20’s
14x 30’s
12x 40’s to 48lbs 8oz
2x 50’s to 58lbs 11oz
We still haven’t seen anyone blank yet, although a couple have come very close catching only one during their stay. Generally the standard of angling has been fairly high which just shows how clever the fish have become making our venue a true challenge for the experienced angler.
Our bait as always is proving to be the best option especially when it comes to the target fish. Now that the lake has been fished week in week out since the beginning of April, it’s very easy to see what effects different baits have on the lake and fishing. It’s quite simple really... most baits catch fish... but it’s the type of fish caught that differ depending on the bait used. The most obvious thing is when anglers bring their own pellet and the catch rate of small fish goes through the roof, we see the same thing with different boilies but not on the same scale. I think the reason is really quite simple... the target fish ignore any bait which they aren’t used too which allows the smaller fish to move in and clear it up; we even see it when additional flavourings are added to our bait.
As a general rule the better fish are now caught from open water. The margins at Echo Pool are so inviting and the fish are often seen crashing under the branches, this makes it hard for anglers to ignore them but the ones that do ignore them ALWAYS do better than the ones that don’t.
The below statement is for the people who contact me about "The Untouchables"
“Bournville” was seen again last week by one of our anglers and has now become his target fish for next year. “Scar head” was also spotted 3 weeks ago by an angler spending time fish spotting in the margins. Neither have been caught yet which I find amazing on a lake the size of ours. Although I’d love to see them on the bank at the same time I hope they stay uncaught because it means I still have a challenge and a true passion to fish the lake. Just for the record... I haven’t seen “Scar head” this year but the fish seen the other week can only be him from the description given to us... “Big... with a big white mark across his head”
Below are a couple of photo’s... I’ve been absolutely useless at keeping up to date with photos; once the fishing season is over I will contact all our guests and ask them to send over some of their pictures so I can put together a proper 2011 Gallery..... Sorry all!
Above:- Colin with 50+ Mirror (2nd trip 2011) Katie with her new French PB Jordan with a future star
Above:- Jordan with the "Barrel" this fish is flying! Colin with 50+ Common (2nd trip 2011) Nice!
Katie with 40+ "Zeus" Our bailiff...Grrrr
27th July (I've lost count of the weeks)
What better way of being inspired to update the web site than witnessing a 58lb 8oz common grace the bank.
While chatting to the anglers at around 1pm on Tuesday afternoon a rod fishing the shallower end of the lake gave a couple of beeps and the bobbin bounced up to the rod, no more indication was given but the angler still lifted the rod, after a couple of cranks on his reel we could all see that he was into a fish.
After the customary kiting and plodding about the net was slipped under a big common that we were able to identify as “Colin” at 58lb 8oz. This is a seriously impressive weight given that it’s only July and the time of the year when the fish will be close to their lowest weights. Just imagine what this fish could weigh by the end of the season??????
Well done Andrew, who’s also had 2x 30’s and 5x 40’s.... and he still has a day to go.
The common’s have been harder to come by this year. I had “Missing scale” at 60lb in the early spring, we’ve seen a mid 50 twice which we weren’t able to identify, although I’d guess it to be “split fin”. A common we know as “Scabby tail” has been out a couple of times, the last time was at 46lbs, there is also another mid forty common which we haven’t named yet.
We’ve been seeing “Double dorsal” looking huge, chilling under one of the bushes along the dam wall, he was pointed out to me by anglers a couple of weeks ago, since then we’ve seen him several more times but so far not on the bank. It’s amazing how these big fish have got so good at dodging capture. At least we can show you them if you haven’t been lucky enough to catch one....LOL
Click on this “link” to read a blog written by Paul who fished our lake the week starting 9th July along with his friend Lee.
It was great meeting you both and we look forward to your return, just think what a week you’ll have now you know what tactic’s to use and which bait is best, you’ll actually be fishing the whole week....... A bit of banter especially directed at Lee.........LOL ........... Bet you wish you had your own web site for a comeback, unlucky fella.
A few weeks back we saw 7x 40’s to 49lb 14oz back to back over a 48 hour period which also coincided with changeover..........Work that one out!!!!!!!!! I know I have my theories......
Above "Colin" at 58lb 8oz caught by Andrew Rhodes.
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Paul with his upper 30. Lee with his 50.
18th June
There’s now no doubt about it... Echo Pool has become the fishery we always wanted it to be, a water where time, knowledge and effort is needed to have a successful week but when you do hook into one there’s a good chance that it will be a fish of a lifetime.
Becoming harder to catch hasn’t stopped them piling on the weight, last week we saw another NEW 50 on the bank meaning we now have at least 2x 50’s per acre of water, better still we know of several big fish from last season which still haven’t graced the bank this year.
Bait choice and the amount used has become even more important, it’s quite simple really, if you don’t use enough of the right bait you aren’t going to catch, just think about it...... our fish haven’t got to the sizes they have because they don’t eat, they’ve got to the sizes they have because they do. The baits we sell on-site are of the very highest quality and the lake is absolutely crammed with natural food sources so their diet is superb.
I can now state quite confidently that using the wrong bait stands a very good chance of ruining your weeks fishing to the point where you could seriously risk a blank...
A couple of weeks ago I saw a huge mirror jump which really confused me because of its colour, our fish are generally grey across their backs but this one really stood out because it was a lovely dark chestnut colour, I dismissed it at the time as a tric of the light because I know of no fish in the lake which look like that, since then it has been seen a couple more times by our anglers and described as a massive dark brown lump. We’ve already nick named him Bourneville after the dark chocolate but as a little challenge the first angler to land this fish can rename it. I’d guess this fish to be well over 40lbs and has obviously gone un-captured, so could be a new member of the untouchables along with scar head and swirly common.
Weeks 6,7,8,9 and 10 (7th of May until 11th June)
I’ve grouped these weeks together as most of them were pretty similar. All but one week saw at least one 40 on the bank and every week saw someone’s PB broken. As I’ve stated above the fishing has become harder but our catch report for these weeks is still pretty impressive considering...
Over these weeks we saw a total of 14x 20’s, 16x 30’s, 5x 40’s and the new 50.
Several fish were lost over these weeks one of which must have been the new 50 judging by the terrible tear in the fishes mouth which can be just made out in the picture below, it also had line marks across the side of its face.
Someone lost a fish of a life time and we now have a beautiful 50lb mirror with a horrible rip in its mouth so everyone has lost out.....
This can only have been caused by someone not playing it correctly, there is no excuse for bullying fish on our lake, if the fish wants to take you from one end of the lake to the other, let it! It’s in your favour to make the fish work because it will then behave better once you land it. We often see our fish come towards the net quite quickly but the second they see you or the net they’re off like rockets, as your playing the fish you need to be constantly adjusting your drag and once under the rod tip your drag should be very slack so if the fish does lunge it can strip line from your reel rather than rip the hook out.
The angler holding the fish in the photo did a superb job of playing it without causing any damage even though it snagged him in some Lilly’s where I had to go out in the boat to release it, it took him around 40mins to get the fish in the net, if he’d tried to do it any faster he probably would have lost it. Well done Rob...
Our fish have very soft mouths and need to be played properly; if you rush you’re going to lose fish. I understand the panic when you’ve hooked a big fish and all you want to see is it roll over your net but the surest way of losing that fish is to bully it to the bank and then lunge at it with the net, take your time your far less likely to lose it.
It is also of vital importance that you drop your lead if you want to give yourself the best chance of landing any sizable fish. I strongly recommend that anglers either cut back their clips or use the in-line drop off system.
Above.Rob with the new 50
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45lbs 48.2lbs 48.11lbs
7th May
Weather has been really hot yet the fish still don’t seem to have spawned, we are seeing the old bit of damage (bruising and scratches) but nothing to indicate that they have done it without us noticing.
Fishing has been fairly hard, not because of the weather but because the fish have really switched on to the fact that they are being fished for. As soon as lines come out of the lake on Saturday (change over) and we start mowing and strimming the lake comes alive, I truly believe that the fish feel comfortable when they can hear us working around the lake and know they are safe.
Week 4 (23rd - 30th April)
This week we had farther and son duo, Matt and James using T1 and their own 4.5mm pellet, between them they had 7x 20’s, 4x 30’s and each had an upper 40lb. They also knocked the ball out of the park with small fish (2 – 10lb) having in excess of 50!!!!!!!! We have never seen so many small fish. I personally put it down to the size of the pellet they were using, allowing the small fish to gorge themselves. The pellet we sell on sight is 15mm, for this very reason. The majority of the small fish were moved to our stock ponds.
Week 5 (30th April – 7th May)
Colin and Barry used mainly their own bait and a bit of ours, they had 7x 20’s, 8x 30’s, 2x 48’s and a 55lb 8oz beast.
They have both fished several places in France with good success, they were so impressed with everything here at Echo Pool that they booked and paid their deposit for 2012. This was Colin and Barry’s first visit to Echo Pool and like most they loved the place by the end of their stay.
Weeks for 2012 are going quickly, we are allowing existing customer to book straight away and we have a waiting list for new customers who will be offered weeks on a first come first served basis in November. We are doing this to be loyal to our existing customers, because of the economy at the moment I’m sure there will be several places left so it’s well worth you contacting us. (Please send an email detailing your carp fishing experience)
A big thumbs up to Barry for his commitment to fish safety, it’s great to see (you know what I’m talking about Barry). We look forward to seeing you both in 2012.
24th April 2011
Sorry for lack of information lately, now that the season is underway and we’re fully booked I’m going to struggle to find time to do regular updates... I’ll do my best.
We have had an extremely strange start to the year weather wise, we would normally expect March and April to be VERY wet but this year we haven’t had any decent rainfall and temperatures have been through the roof. This weather seems to have really confused the carp, for the last week and a half the lake has seemed very quiet, water temperature has been ideal for spawning now for about 2 weeks yet we haven’t really seen any signs of them even thinking about it, hopefully it’s going to happen soon and the fishing will pick up again.
Week 3 (16th – 23rd April)
This week we had Tony and Kevin fishing Echo Pool, considering how hard the fishing was they did quite well, especially Tony who broke his PB 3 times in a row.
The weather stayed dry and hot and the lake seemed very quiet apart from roach spawning at the beginning of the week.
Between them they had several 2-10lb carp and a 19lber, 4x 20’s, 3x 30’s and a 46. The majority of the bigger fish were caught by Tony using our bait. It was the hardest week I’ve seen here especially as the anglers weren’t doing anything wrong. I think the lake could desperately do with a good down pour to really stir things up. The stream and springs are all flowing well so water quality and level aren’t a problem, a good storm however would lower the water temperature a bit and get everything moving about, hopefully giving the carp a good kick up the arse and stop them sunbathing... LOL
Week 2 (9th - 16th April)
World championship carp angler betters his PB common at Echo Pool.........
Gary Serles, original founder of GB baits and member of the team which won the World Carp Classic in 2000 bettered his PB common this week with a 54lb 8oz beast from the shallower end of the lake.
Gary was also fishing with Sean Heal and Stuart Haydock. Gary rolled the bait for the weeks fishing called “O F B” (Original Frost bite) it’s the only Bird food based bait which has been successful here at Echo Pool. Those of you who follow us will know how fussy our fish are and for a bird food bait to work here means it’s something really quite special, we’re good friends with Gary, Sean and Stuart and have used this bait with great success at Rainbow and many other top waters.
Gary is in the process of setting up a new bait rolling company so this bait isn’t available at the moment. Anyone wishing to contact him can email me and I’ll pass on your details.
Between the 3 of them they had 11 babies (2-10lbs) 1 x double, 8x 20’s, 7x 30’s, 3x 40’s and the 54lb.
The majority of these fish came at the very beginning of the week because by Wednesday the lake pretty much switched off.
10th April.
Week 1 (2nd - 9th)
Bit of a strange opening week, I thought it would take a while for the fish to get clued up but it was evident within a couple of days that they were fully aware that they were being fished for.
Temperatures also went through the roof by midweek reaching 30+ during the day; I measured the water temperature yesterday at change over and it was 21 C. unless we have some rain I’d expect them to spawn sometime this week or next.
The angler we had on this week ended up coming on his own, he’s been coming here a couple of times a year for the last 4 years with his father and we have become very good friends. I fished with him during the day and we allowed him to fish from our swim so that we could be on hand 24 hrs a day should he get into any difficulties.
Between us we caught:
3x 20’s to 29lbs
8x 30’s to 38lbs
3x 40’s to 47lbs
1x 50 at 53lbs
We also caught a few 3-6lbs babies, these fish were absolutely stunning. Because we have been very selective with the carp we have in the lake the offspring are extremely high quality, I’m sure that in a few years it’s going to be these fish which really make Echo pool stand out from the other small exclusive venues. We have started a proper growing on programme using our other stock ponds but the really special youngsters are being left in the main lake because this is where they will thrive and also help keep a balanced biomass.
Excluding the small fish the average for the week was 36lbs 8oz.
All were caught on our new bait, mainly double bottom baits.
Regarding the new bait...... We have always said that you don’t have to put in an order to use our bait, this way anglers don’t waste money ordering too much. We are going to have to change this a little for 2011, in that we are going to save the new bait for existing customers and customers who let us know beforehand that they will be using it. We have a rough idea how much bait is going to be needed each week, so by doing things this way we can make sure we have bait on site for the anglers not wanting the hassle of bringing their own.
Because the bait is specially rolled for us and we have to order it in large amounts we have to give Baitcraft several weeks notice before we need it.
To make things completely clear... You are welcome to bring your own bait as long as it has been discussed with us first but half way through the week you won’t be able to change over to ours. This should mean that we’ll always have enough bait on-site for the anglers that have already told us they will be using it. Our bait is sold in 5 kg bags at 50€ per bag, at today’s exchange rate that works out at £8.80 per KG. Any questions regarding this matter please email.
Below are a couple of pictures from this week. A 2011 gallery will be up and running shortly.
1st April
We’ve only gone and done it, 2 days before we open......................
Our stock of the new Baitcraft “Echo Pool Special” turned up yesterday. As I was filling the freezers I couldn’t resist setting a bag aside to have a go with later.
Around 3 in the afternoon I put 2 rods out with a good handful of freebies, both rods were fished with double bottom baits, size 4 Nash wide gapes, standard long knotless knots on fluorocarbon hooklinks with in-line drop off lead system.
Within half an hour of them going out one of my alarms sounded, only a couple of bleeps but knowing how clever our fish have got I only waited for a 3 bleep and lifted the rod, as soon as I felt the fish I knew it was big, for a split second I thought it was snagged until it started moving. The fight was slow and methodical, I had the fish in front of me within about 10 mins but it then spent about 30 mins circling on the bottom, there was nothing I could do to get it to the surface I had to wait until it was ready. Our fish have very soft mouths; if you don’t play them very carefully you’ll lose them, this is also one of the reasons I use an in-line drop off lead, it puts you in direct contact with the fish and you don’t have a lead swinging around loosening the hook hold.
Anyway, once ready I slipped the net under a stunning common, cut my mainline and took a minute to compose myself. Once ready I broke down the net and lifted the fish on to the mat, I couldn’t believe how heavy it was, I was fishing on my own so had no assistance, I got the fish, sling and scales ready and weighed it, as I was lifting the needle was moving further and further around the scale until it was flickering over the 60lb mark, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get it to total settle.
It weighed 60lb + or- a couple of ounces.
It’s my new PB and lake record; I have to give it a weight so I have chosen to go bang in the middle at 60lbs on the nose. It’s irrelevant really; it’s so early in the season that this new lake record is going to be broken within weeks.
ALL of the last 7 fish that I’ve caught have been on the new bait from Baitcraft, 29, 31, 35, 40, 43, 51 and 60. It’s the only bait we are stocking this year, NOTHING else has come close, it’s also extremely good for the fish. I’ll do a bait up-date in a couple of days.
Not a bad picture for a self take..........Note the sheer size of this fish, I’m not so much holding it as resting it in my arms against my body, she was massive.
Picture of new bait below.
21 March 2010
Very Very quick update...... I've managed to have my rods out for a couple more afternoons resulting in a total of 6 fish:
29lb mirror, 31lb mirror, 35lb mirror, 40lb mirror, 43lb common and a new lake record mirror at 50lb 10oz and what a cracking fish it is......
13 March 2011 Firstly a massive thank you to Bri Keohane for all his hard work this week, after finding out that I’d broken a couple of ribs Bri offered to come down and give us a hand getting ready for the new season.
As we got so much done this week Tasha and I decided to have a well earned day off, so after a lazy morning I decided to get my rods out this afternoon. They went out at about 1 o’clock, at 3 o’clock my left rod screamed off followed seconds later by the right one. Luckily Tash was within shouting distance and came to my assistance; eventually we managed to land both fish which turned out to be a 40lb mirror and a 43lb common, not to bad for the first 2 carp of 2011!
I defiantly know the common as “Scabby tail” which was caught last April at 34lbs so he’s done well over the winter. I’m fairly sure I also know the mirror because of its overall shape (can’t really see it in the photos) I call it the barrel and this was also a mid 30 last year.
Both fish fell to an in-line drop off system with fluorocarbon hooklink and long hair tied with a standard knotless knot on a size 4 wide gape hook.
Both fish were also caught on our new bait from Baitcraft, we’ve been putting this bait out alongside the other that we are testing including Baitcraft’s T1 and it ALWAYS gets eaten before the others, I’m going to carry on testing but I’m pretty sure we’ll be going with the new stuff from Baitcraft this season.
If I get the time the rods will definitely be going out again, I’m dying to see how the big 40’s and 50’s have fared over the winter, fingers crossed we’ll be smashing the lake record the year.
Photos aren't too bad considering I've got a couple of cracked ribs, very painful though!
Bait update 16th Feb
Those of you who keep an eye on what we’re up to will know that we are testing bait for the upcoming season, up until now the only new bait has been from Active bait solutions which we are having designed from scratch.
After some long conversations with Mark McKenna (Baitcraft) we have decided that he is also going to put together a bait which is specifically designed for use here at Echo pool.
As most of you will know, Baitcraft’s T1 (modified slightly) out fished all other baits last year so we know Mark’s doing something right. Marks bait is very highly regarded and is used by some of the top anglers in the UK and aboard; it’s also caught the world record carp (The Scar) on at least 2 occasions.
Mark assures me that he can put together a completely new bait based on everything we’ve learnt over the last 18 months. He’ll put together different variations of base mixes, flavours, stimulators, etc, for us to trial so that we can tailor the bait specifically for our water conditions and make sure it contains everything the carp need for a good healthy diet and importantly for all of us, make sure it’s going to show healthy weight gains. If all works out the fish should start to see it as one of their normal food sources.
There is no doubt in my mind that our fish will only eat something which provides them with a proper diet; I believe this to be the reason why they turn their noses up at so many different baits.
Only time will tell which bait or baits will work out best, you can be sure we’ll do everything in our power to make the right decision for our anglers otherwise it will end up costing us £1000’s in wasted bait, storage and transport.
All the new baits will be tested against Baitcraft’s T1 and if we can’t improve on the T1 then we will carry on with it.
Final decisions will be made at the end of March, beginning of April.
15th February 2011
After suffering several personal tragedies at the end of 2010 we’re happy to report that all is finally going well for us. With everything that went on we have been set back massively regarding projects that we had hoped to complete before we re-open in April, all general maintenance work will be completed and some of the other things we had planned.
It’s looking like the shelter is going to have to be put on hold until next winter, we haven’t even been able to get permission to build it yet, doing anything officially in France is a nightmare and takes forever.
We will be providing some kind of shelter, probably a small marquee or similar, there will be table and chairs and a BBQ for customers to use.
We are talking with several of the best tackle companies regarding stocking some of their products in our small tackle shop. More importantly though we are looking at their carp care equipment to provide free of charge to our customers.
We are hoping to completely eliminate the use of landing nets this year, with the idea being that the carp will be landed in floating slings. We will be testing this idea between now and when we open and will only be implementing it if it’s easy to do and safe for the carp. If this works out the only time the carp will need to be lifted will be for photos. It will also make things quicker and less stressful on the carp, anglers and us.
With large carp the whole netting process can be tricky, once you’ve managed to get the fish in the net the top part needs to be held above water so the fish can’t escape and you need to keep a close eye on it so no part of the fish or your tackle gets caught in the mesh (damaging the fish).
When you’re ready to lift you need to make sure all fins are laying backwards, you need to cut, slacken off your mainline or unclip your hook link so when you roll the net down you don’t wrap up your tackle, meaning part of the fishes weight will be on the hook hold and tear out when you lift, you have to make sure the fish is sitting correctly on its side when you lift so you don’t break its ribs or tail, then once on the mat you need to lift the fish to remove the net, very rarely does the fish help and quite often the net will get caught on something like the dorsal spine or your tackle......................... all very messy ! None of this is really a problem with small fish but once they get bigger it all becomes more difficult and the heavier the fish the more damage it can do to its self. Please remember that we see everything here with all levels of angler and if something can go wrong it will ! (At the end of last season our average weight was 38.8lbs)
We hope that the carp can be played straight into a large floating sling which will be attached to the swim by a long cord and will have some type of long handle to control it. Once in the sling it can be zipped up, the line can be slackened right off or cut and the fish will be completely safe until you’re ready to deal with it.
When ready the carp can be lifted straight onto the mat, unhooked and treated for any damage, then it’s just a matter of taking the photo’s, once done the fish will be placed back onto the sling which will still be sitting on the mat, the sling will then be zipped up, attached to your scales and the carp weighed.
Because the sling will be the floating type and tethered to the bank you will actually be able to safely leave the carp in there if it needs to recover for a while.
Great in theory, let’s hope it works in practice. If it works out to be tricky we won't expect our customers to use this method unless they wish to.
Don't forget we supply all net's, slings and mats.
New Bait for 2011 posted Dec 2010
Baitcraft T1 is superb bait and has out fished EVERY other bait at Echo pool. We want to be able to give our customers a choice when it comes to bait, the problem is that in my honest opinion there isn’t another bait on the market which can compete with it. It is for this reason that we have decided to have a one designed from scratch specifically for use at Echo pool. We have enlisted the help of Geoff Bowers, probably one of the best bait developers in the country, he has worked with many companies in the design of new baits and we are very confident that he is going to come up with something really special for our 2011 season.
Obviously we will carry on stocking Baitcraft, we’d be stupid not to. All we are trying to do is give our customers what they want, a choice, for 1 reason or another some of them haven’t wanted to use T1 and this has affected their fishing and more importantly our catch reports.
Echo pool is absolutely full of natural food sources and the biggest problem angler’s face is tempting the fish away from them. Many well known, considered to be “top quality” baits just don’t work here. We do allow other baits to be used as long as it is discussed with us prior to the trip. I’m happy to share with customers which baits will catch fish and obviously which won’t. Believe me if I knew of a bait which worked well I’d stock it. In this day and age bait companies are screaming out to do business with fisheries and some of the offers we have been made are unbelievable, problem is I’d be doing my customers an injustice stocking something because of cost rather than whether it works or not.
For more information on bait click here
2nd November 2010
We are now officially closed for the season and won’t be opening again until April 2011, we have already started our feeding campaign and if we see the same growth rate this winter as we did last year there will defiantly be 60’s in the lake by the time we re-open. I personal think there are possible one or two already there, they just haven’t been caught.
There is a VERY slim chance I’ll get my rods out over the winter but other than that the fish will be totally rested.
Anyway, what a fantastic year we have had, we pretty much sold out the season and had the pleasure of meeting some really nice people. To say the fishing was good is an understatement in my opinion with almost every angler bettering their PB in fact I believe only 2 didn’t.
We have seen at least 6 x 50’s caught in 2010 and have lost count of the amount of 40’s (several just under 50lb) at the end of the season the average weight was 36lbs. The carp are still in absolutely mint condition and now have 5 months to forget about being caught.
We are already 1/3 booked for 2011 and if things carry on as they are now it looks like we can look forward to being sold out by the time we re-open in April. If you’re looking to book for 2011 you might want to start thinking about it now, we have also taken a booking for 2012 so anyone wanting to insure a week for then is welcome to contact us now as the 2012 book is also open.
WINTER PLANS
We will be lowering the level of the lake as we do every year to allow us access to all the margins and swims. We’ll be removing any dangerous snags and retrieving any lost tackle, it also looks like we’re going to have to do something to protect the banks from where the carp have been eating away especially under the trees. We are planning on putting steps in each swim which will allow easy access to the lake for photos of the bigger fish, there will also be a hard standing at the bottom of the steps.(underwater)
We are also looking into building a shelter behind the swims which will contain a large table and chairs, cooking equipment and BBQ, probably a sink and a fridge freezer.
We’ll be draining our stock ponds and any good fish will be put in the main lake.
Due to comments from several of our customer we have decided at some point in the future (probably not this year) to double the size of the stalking pool, separate it from the rest of the property, build one very large swim which will also include a cabin and rent it out for a maximum of 2 anglers, some of the fish in there are already well over 30lbs and this year we will start feeding it along with the main lake. If all goes to plan this will be a lovely little lake for couples, farther and son’s or just a couple of mates looking for a small water, a bit of comfort and the chance of catching a 40+ carp. This lake will be very reasonably priced and also ideal for people wanting to be collected from the airport and supplied with everything they need.
I'll be up-dating web site when it’s too cold or wet to work outside, so keep an eye on it for new fish photos and updates on the work we have planned. I’ll also post a catch report if I do manage to get my rods out.
9th October 2010
Sorry for lack of updates been real busy and we’re about to update the web site for 2011 so I’m going to be brief.
Keep an eye on “fish gallery” for lots of new photos, I haven’t been exactly good at keeping it updated
The last 2 weeks fished have been pretty good and made better for us because the anglers were also exactly the type of angler we are looking for.
We’ve seen 27 carp on the bank with an average weight of 36lb 8oz
Including...
41.10 Mirror (Gut bucket)
46.2 Mirror (Tasha’s fish)
46.6 Mirror (Sausage)
51.4 Common (Double dorsal)
53.2 Common (Missing scale)
53.10 Common (Colin)
Great fishing guys,
Nick and Matt it was a pleasure having you here and we really look forward to seeing you in 2012.
Grant and Les, as always “brilliant” see ya in April.
Wednesday 8th September.
So far this week we have seen 11 carp up to 39lb (full update when I get catch report)
What a good holiday our last guests had (last week), we allowed them to bring their luxury caravan onsite and positioned it so they were only feet away from the swims. They told us at the beginning of the week that this trip was as much about having a relaxing break as it was fishing.
Because they were sleeping in the caravan we asked them to bring their rods in during the night which they were more than happy to do.
Fishing started late afternoon on the Saturday and they had one fish of 25lb before the rods came in. Sunday morning got off to a flying start with a common of 48lb 10oz followed a few hours later with another common and new lake record at 53lb 12oz. As you can imagine this took all the pressure off for the rest of the week and they were able to put their feet up and enjoy a nice relaxing holiday occasional interrupted by the sound of screaming alarms.
Les did get his bivvy out for 2 nights towards the end of the week so did have a couple of night time captures but other than that all fish were caught during the day.
During their stay they had a total of 12 fish which included 3x 20’s, 5x 30’s, 1x 40, 1x 50.
The only boilies going in the lake this week have been Baitcraft; I think that speaks for its self.
Well done Les and Lynne on your new PB’s, we look forward to seeing you again next year and thanks for the nice comments in the guest book.
We're in the process of putting together a customer comments page which we'll soon add to the site.
Les with new lake record, more photo's to follow shortly.
Saturday 28th August
After a few quiet weeks our anglers this week found the fish, after catching this year’s fry on the first day or so, tactics were changed, bigger hooks, longer hairs and bigger baits were used which completely stopped the fry from taking hook baits, as soon as this was done along came the bigger fish.
They had a total of 32 carp, 2x doubles of 15 and 19lb
16x 20’s up to 29lb
11x 30’s up to 39.10lb
2x 40’s of 43 and 44lb both mirrors
18 were caught on Baitcraft,
8 on Nash Scopex squid,
6 fell to Halibut pellet but 5 of these were below 25lb.
For the first time we asked the anglers to write in a guest book, which from now on will be located in the cabin for all guests to read and leave their own comments.
This week’s anglers wrote the following.
What a week! What a place! Highs all week for everyone! Excited, exhausted, hot, cold, wet, windy, we had the lot. Fantastic fishery with immaculate head of carp. Fished day and night, just not enough hours in the day. All swims produced the goods with some cracking fish between us. Beautiful lake in beautiful surroundings. Thanks to Tasha for all she did for us during our stay and take it from us – listen to Andy’s advice and your catch rate will improve as it did for us.
Awesome Fishing! Many Thanks
Dale, Stuart and Phil.
Well done to you all on your new PB’s.
It was a pleasure having you fish our lake and we truly hope you’ll return, now you have an idea how the lake works you'll have an advantage from day one. We have a couple of groups who return every year sometimes even twice and they always go home with new PB's and new different fish under their belts.
Photo's will be on 2010 gallery soon.
Sunday August 15th
We have just had the worst 3 weeks of the season. I’m very sorry to the anglers involved in this update but we run our business with an honesty policy and when updating this page I have to write what I believe to be the truth.
1st week the anglers added a lot of rock salt to their bait without our knowledge, come Wednesday Tasha and I were really scratching our heads so spent a lot of time with the anglers discussing what might be the problem, nothing came to light until they started preparing their bait, we saw them add a cupful of rock salt to about 1 kg of pellet, obviously I asked what they were doing and it was at this point that I found out that they had been doing this all week. Once we knew this, we suggested they move away from the areas which had seen salt, after doing this they did have a few up to 36lb.
2nd week the wrong bait was used, I cannot stress enough how important bait choice is at Echo pool if our fish don’t like it they won’t touch it, there are so many naturals in the lake that anglers bait is only one of many options.
3rd week, not as bad as the other 2, we saw 9 carp on the bank to 43lb, they used our bait but the lake only saw about 14kg all week, I think it would have been a really good session if more had been used. When we feed the lake we put out 10kg a day and believe me this gets cleared up in minutes.
Hopefully the next 3 weeks will be a lot better. I give my customers as much help as they want, I’m more than happy spending hours talking about tactics etc, I also like to start a relationship via email before they arrive so I can tell them what to expect and give them an idea of what’s working and what’s not. Once here as long as rules aren’t broken I’ll let them do what they feel happy with because at the end of the day you need to be confident in what you’re doing, if I feel there catch could be improved I’ll make suggestions but won’t push my point. Please understand that we are a fishery and to be successful we need people to catch fish, we're NOT going to give you bad advice.
Anyone with any questions please don't hesitate to contact me via email, I love nothing more that talking about my lake and fish.
Sunday 18th July
First I must apologise for not updating this page for over a month, as some of you will know we are located in a very rural part of France which is a great thing when it comes to owning a fishery but not so good when it comes to internet connections, we are able to answer emails straight away but when it comes to updating the web site sometimes it’s not so easy.
We are now supplying Korda terminal tackle on site. We have chosen Korda mainly because of their wide gape hooks and hybrid lead clips; IMHO they’re the best on the market. We are also stocking everything from bait stops to scissors, back leads to bait needles. There will also be a few products from other companies and possibly the odd bit of second hand tackle. Don't forget we also supply Baitcraft fresh/frozen boilies as well as prepared particle and very high quality carp pellet.
Baitcraft is still putting all other baits to shame; we’re still 100% for at least 1 member of each group breaking their PB. It’s been ridiculously hot over the last few weeks which has made the fishing hard, most groups lately have wound in during the day and focused on our stalking pool where it is now possible to catch carp over the 30lb mark. Lines have been going back out in the main lake at about tea time so the traps are ready for the night ahead and most nights will see all anglers catching, the average is still around the 30lb mark and most weeks we see a couple of 40’s most of which are over 45lb. We are now fairly sure we have 3 commons around 50lb the biggest being 52,4lb with the other’s at 49 and 48, we have also seen on the bank 3 unknown, uncaught mirrors all around 45lb, and keep getting reports of a mirror that seems to hang around with one of the large commons which is identifiably in the water because it has a scale missing on its shoulder anyway this mirror is said to dwarf the common, it's been seen by at least 3 different anglers when they have been walking around baiting up, fingers crossed it will in someone's landing net soon!
It’s also a good idea to bring a light weight float rod to pick off some of the truly stunning 1-2lb carp which can be caught from in front of the swims during the day using sweet corn. (These fish are then relocated to 1 of our stock ponds)
Visit our new 2010 fish gallery to see some of catch's so far this year.