In reply to Post #13
With respect,all I've done is stated a few facts..not rumours,not gossip or hearsay! At no point did i condone 'zig zagging' lines through islands as you put it.Simply running a line around a pole on the corner of an island to prevent the line catching or snagging on a root or stump is just a necessity at rainbow..most,if not ALL the rainbow anglers are extremely conscienscious regarding rigs,bait placement and care of the fish.The fact that you see that method as unsafe is entirely subjective,and i respect your opinion.You may cast to an overhanging tree on an island at your local lake..i could view this as unsafe..if you were fishing too tightly to it or using poor indication..again that would be my opinion,and subjective! All I'm saying is that the ratio of fish lost to fish landed at rainbow is incredibly low,due to experienced anglers using sometimes slightly unorthodox methods to extract fish from a very snaggy and extreme environment.Pascale the owner has developed a good understanding of the fishing on his lake( he's a trout angler) and both his sons are carp anglers,so they are fully aware of how the lake is fished.The fact that Pascale leaves the anglers alone during their stay is testament to the level of trust he puts in the visiting anglers to treat the fish with respect and fish safely.Like i said,I'm not 'dressing up' anything,just telling it how it is and trying to give a little insight into the extreme nature of the fishing.I fish a 55 acre water near my home which is entirely snag free but can be weedy..to be honest i see far more bad angling on there (crack offs,trailers,poorly tied rigs etc etc) than i've witnessed in over 100 nights at rainbow,despite all the information available to anglers how to fish safely.

In reply to Post #11
Don't normally comment on here,but i'll make an exception on this post.I've fished rainbow quite a lot in the past 10 years or so,in fact long before it became as famous and popular as it is now.The lake has an area of around 110 acres,but has around 100 islands(possibly more than that,I've never counted) ranging from a few square feet to several acres in size.The lake was originally formed from a carbon mine which was allowed to flood,so the underwater topography is extreme to say the least..not in every swim,but as an example you could find a depth of say 3ft,then literally a boat length away,a depth of 15ft plus..so literally a sheer sided bar covered in stumps and old roots.This is commonplace all around the lake,with some swims more extreme than others,which necessitate the use of the boats for placing rigs and of course playing and landing fish.There are a large number of snags both above and below the surface,and these can be holding areas at certain times of the year.The fallen trees around the big islands tend to hold resident fish a lot of the time,and these can be fished very safely as you are fishing directly to the snag itself,with no angle involved.By fishing locked up,the takes nearly always eject the lead and it's a simple case of gently walking backwards and leading the fish into clear water,then playing them from the boat or bank.This rarely leads to a lost fish,and it's testament to the method used and the skill of the lads who fish there regularly that this is the case.A lot of the fishing at rainbow is actually open water fishing,on the tops or the slopes of the numerous bars in each swim.In all the nights I've spent at rainbow,i can hand on heart say that I've never seen anyone fishing directly into snags or placing rigs in dangerous areas.You need to understand that all the guys who fish there regularly tend to share information regarding terminal gear,rigs etc etc so everyone pretty much fishes in a similar fashion.Due to the snags and bars etc,strong gear is a necessity,but this in turn ensures that losses are kept to a minimum.Take a look through the pictures on the rainbow facebook page,and you'll see that pretty much ALL the fish have perfect mouths and unmarked bodies,due to the safe methods employed and care shown once landed.There are the odd one with a less than perfect mouth,but some get caught more than others..simple as that.As for the 'fishing round corners' comment...yes,this does go on in some swims due to the number of small islands present.By placing a pole on the corner of an island to run the line around into clear water behind it,i personally see no danger or problem with this.The fact that each swim is fished by two anglers,with a boat available just confounds my belief that this is in no way a dangerous method.The lads who fish rainbow tend to be experienced anglers who've fished a variety of venues,and understand how to fish the lake safely..this comes from experience,and if you were ever to fish there yourself you'd understand this very quickly.So much negative stuff has been written in the past by people who A) have never been there,and B) are not in posession of the facts regarding the layout of the lake and swims,that it leads to flippent comments and posts such as yours.There are no 'stunts' going on,it's simply experienced anglers using different methods to the norm to ensure they are fishing an extreme environment in the safest ways possible.You simply can't compare rainbow to your 'local',or indeed any other lake..it's completely unique in its topography and make up...I've fished all over France,Belgium,Holland,since i was 16 (i'm now 40) and i've never fished another venue like it.Hope this post explains a few things..cheers,Mike