In reply to Post #666
Whilst I don't have anything to do with the complex other than the occasional catch up call and annual visit anymore, I can categorically state that there are NO fish movements between the lakes on the complex..
The lakes are being stocked with a handful of fish from the other lakes belonging to the family in the area. The same way that the complex was originally stocked in the beginning!

With regards to Dave, give the man a chance. He came in with less than a week's notice to open the season on time for Seb (and that included moving country in that time too)!

He's a bloody nice bloke with a great track record at another well known complex in France, he just needs to find his feet ffs.. After doing the same job for a few years I can tell you it took me 2 solid winters (8 months) of walking the site with a marker rod, pen and paper to do the original maps to aid everyone visiting and even then there was no guarantee they'd be correct once the weed came up!

I'm also certain that once he's got his daily workload into some semblance of order, he'll make a start on clearing the waters one by one. I'm here now and I've seen both he and his Mrs walking about with a bin liner on more than one occasion.

As for Attila not being a 'runs' water, you may be correct in the true definition but it offers a far better chance of a 20+ fish week than the others on site, so by Abbey standards it is. None of these lakes are to be considered bagging waters, that is half the appeal to most of their repeat anglers. The rewards ARE there if you approach the lakes correctly though.... As will be the failures if the weather is off, the fish have just had a feeding spell and/or they took a bit of a hiding the week before, I'm afraid. I'm fishing my bits off at the mo. I'm as keen as I've been for years, I've got every conceivable gadget (plus some 5yr old maps) and the blokes in my swim have rinsed it dry for the previous 2 weeks, Dave had 8 the night before I arrived, yet even with all the tools at my disposal, I've struggled to reach the heady heights of 4 and a loss in 48hrs. Despite the fact I've got nearly every fish in the lake held up between myself and the peg opposite (who's blanking)

C'est la vie....

In reply to Post #652
Hi mate,

Was out v.early in the year (late Jan, early Feb) but not been since.. Am DEFO going at the end of the month as I need to get some fresh imagery for the website, etc. now it's in full bloom again!
Not too sure on the state of play regards weed, etc.. but I pitstopped overnight prior to the world carp champs last September and was shocked (in a good way!) at the lack of weed on Fox, it was virtually non-existent.. Although the water clarity seemed to have suffered as a result of the sludge on the bottom!
Hazarding a guess, I'd say Heron will be it's usual 'orrible self on that front by now but there are always holes (and bigger) to find and this year's catch reports show that the fish are defo still catchable and eating a lot too, if the weights are anything to go by!!

Regards, Ru

In reply to Post #647
Loads of bait will probably be required in swims 1, 3, 5 (definitely!!), 6 and 9/10..

Take plenty of particle as opposed to too many boilies (Cats are lazy eaters)..

Spread your bait far'n'wide, do not just tip buckets over the side of a boat, a couple of spombs of hemp/corn and some boilies scattered with a throwing stick are far more preferable (Cats are lazy eaters)..

Don't go in heavy (and tight) with bait, Cats (are lazy eaters and) will guard areas of food until they're hungry again. Carp will not feed in these places!!!!

Try and keep disturbance to a minimum, the Kingfisher carp are used to people swanning about in boats but repeated casting can put them down for a few hours if it's done at the wrong time of day..

It is VERY weedy, your maximum casting range is likely to be about 95yds but the average range is somewhere between 45-65yds, so spool up with thick mono (20lb+) and use heavy fluoro leaders or relatively long (1.5m) lengths of leadcore to cope with that and the catfish!!

Don't neglect the margins, for the most part (swims 4 round to 9/10) they're about 5-7' deep within a rod-length of the bank, the Kingfisher carp love to come in close and a day or two of prebaiting with pellet and chopped boilie can produce if there appears to be a lot of cats out in the middle..

Make sure you've got bumper bags of pva nuggets, mozzie repellent and some ant powder (1-3 are particularly bad)..

Get there early and grab peg 5

In reply to Post #648
Hi,

WildBoar is virtually weed-free, barring the central arm that connects the deep/shallow ends.. It's not a hard water by any stretch of the imagination but like all places, it can have an off week or two, so it's always worth approaching with caution!
I'm the best part of 3yrs out of touch with Abbey now but a boot-full of the freshest hemp and corn, plus a 10kg sack of quality boilie will stand you in good stead on there. There's no point piling it in to start with but anything from 10-25 spombs (or 1-2 bait boat loads) over each rod and I'd say you were up and running..
With regard to likely areas, I'd take a set of polaroids and have a scoot between 3-5, 8-9 and maybe 11-12 prior to unloading anything, it won't take long for you to work out whereabouts they are!
Please note that the area between 1 and 5 (at 45 degrees left and front of 5) is riddled with mussel-ridden tree stumps and roots, so an upgrade to thick mono and fluoro/1.5m leadcore leaders prior to your trip could prove advantageous?!
Aside from that, use whatever works for you in the UK (providing it's legal), with the exception of bigger hooks, 4's and preferably 2's would be my choice!!

Regards, Ru

PS There is a perfectly polite, friendly and helpful Bailiff available on the AbbeyLakes FB page nigh on 24/7, drop Steve a message on there for any up-to-the-minute info you require....

In reply to Post #642
Afternoon all!

Just thought I'd drop you a quick message to let you know I'm going to be working for Abbey again and as of now, shall be responsible for the running of their social media/marketing and in the near future, the construction of a brand-new website. Unfortunately for me, the role is based in the UK this time around but I'm hoping to get across the channel on a little and often basis to build a fresh image portfolio.... and have a dangle too, obviously!
On that note, Seb and I have been looking at some set dates where I can best capture the seasonal mood of the complex with film/video and we're going to fix some dates for the coming Spring (May), Summer (July), Autumn (September) and Winter (November) to do this. I will be at the fishery for a full 7 days for these times and was wondering whether there'd be any interest from you guys in booking a guided-week with me, instead of just turning up and fending for yourselves?
We've not settled on a format as yet but essentially I'd be spending a couple of hours a day with each of you to try and ensure you're fishing not necessarily to the best of your ability but to suit the particular water you're on! I will also help you make the most of the swim you're in, with tips on feature-finding, baiting strategies and rigs. For those that are interested, I may even throw in a little camera tuition to help you get the best trophy shot(s) and/or scenics too...?
I will also be taking some short trips across throughout the warmer months and again in the depths of winter, so for those of you that can't make the set-dates, there may be other opportunities throughout the year, albeit with virtually zero notice, as they'll be based around my new job in the UK!

I hope the new year finds you all well anyway, I look forward to (some hopefully positive) feedback on the above and chatting with a few friendly faces and/or names through the course of the coming year....

Kind regards, Ru

In reply to Post #547
You SHOULD have a blast, Chris! They'll be contemplating stocking up for Winter if we don't get some sort of Indian Summer under our belts in the next week or two and with that being the case, the Cats SHOULD have disappeared to settle down for the Winter too.... If that happens, your sesh on Kingy could be particularly well timed, cos the Carp feed like stockies for a month solid once they realise there's no competition for food!!

In reply to Post #546
Aw, Pepe.. Don't be like that, poppet! I should've written 'read : ability wise and not on a friendship basis' in brackets to have made it slightly clearer as to why somebody maybe present in the swim, I have already turned down requests from one or two 'famous' (grrrr) faces, yet let one or two regulars fish in there over the course of the Summer....

Either way, you'd still be f****d

Rx

In reply to Post #543
Hi Guys,

Apologies for the radio silence in recent months but I did warn you I was going to be busy this season.. Even more so now that I've got a little nipper to contend with at home!

The whole complex is fishing pretty well right now, Heron has been a bit sketchy in recent weeks but I think that was more in part to a quiet period (booking wise) than anything else, past form suggests that both the main lakes actually fish better when there are enough Anglers on to keep the fish moving around, rather than giving them space to hold up in unpressured water!

The weed isn't too bad either, we had some concerns due to the very mild Winter but seeings as we've had no Summer to speak of either, it's not really bloomed to it's normal extent. Currently there are just 2 swims closed across all 5 lakes, those being 10+11 on Heron.... Please be aware that if I don't know you (read : ability wise), then there maybe a call at check-in, that I'm closing 12 too. It's more than fishable in the right hands but some of the weed is pretty savage in there right now, so unless I think you're capable enough and have all the right tools at your disposal (boat, lifejacket, glove, short net and spare unhooking mat) then I'll probably say it's shut for the week

The past week has seen Single Scale, The Unknown and one called Little Jack out at good Summer weights, the rest of the A team are pretty conspicuous by their absence but that can only be a good thing if they're going to achieve top, top weights on the run up to the end of the season!

Attila has produced an awful lot of 40's over the past month or so and one fish at 50lb+ The weed is spread far and wide in there but it's not especially thick or tall and there are still vast areas that are silky smooth.

Kingfisher has also been turning out big numbers of (upper) 40's and the odd 50 too, as well as a handful of LOST fish that would've set tongues wagging for sure. I'm one of the guilty parties that had tightened up the clutch one notch too many and watched in horror as a good 60 spat the hook on to tight a line!! There were also reports of a proper one lost from the point swim and as the guy in question was fishing here on the way back from a fortnight at Rainbow, where he'd had fish to 73, I'm not gonna be the doubting Thomas (he said it was in the same league!)

Fox is probably fishing more consistently than I've ever known it, there have been one or two slow spells but for the most part, it's producing somewhere between 5-20 fish per Angler each and every week of late! There are no weed issues here (touch wood), just the usual finger of silkweed extending out from 1/18 and the patchy stuff around the plateau infront of 12.. The fish are shoaling up in tighter groups than on Heron but they're moving from one end to the other regularly and feeding all the while

WildBoar is surprising a few people, not least of all, us! So far this season, we've had 18 different 40's reported and also 2 new 50lb+ fish in the past month, just last week, a young girl braced a 47.12 with another mirror of 50.11, not bad for her first trip abroad!!

If anyone really does need to reach me, it's far easier to send me a PM on Facebook as modern tech dictates that the scourge of the earth is hotwired on to my iPhone and I receive constant notifications and peeps whenever someone farts online! This is therefore far more likely to provoke a reaction from me when I'm doing the night-shift and am whiling away time on bottle duty!

Regards,

Ru

In reply to Post #533
Hi David,

We have a number of very limited spaces available on Heron and Kingfisher from the 20-27th September (2 on Heron, 1 on Kingy)

You can't book direct via the website, you need to get in touch with the office, either by phone (00 33 344 380 866) or email (info@abbeylakes.com) and Evelyne will handle the booking for you

Kind regards,

Ru

In reply to Post #518
The fish have been feeding hard all over the Complex for what seems like ages now, that's always a sign they're on the run up to it. For at least 3wks, there have been reports of fish shoaling up, 'chasing' and even the odd one of fish crashing about in the shallower margins too but they certainly haven't started spawning properly!

The water is currently between 12.5°C and 14°ish around the edges, although the recent temperatures aren't helping knock it past the 17-20°C that's needed!

Even with the cooler weather, I'd guess that spawning'll occur sometime in the next fortnight to three weeks..