The cranes started flying back yesterday in huge numbers, passing over the house in long 'V' formations, calling loudly. A truly spectacular sight.

Also, the Carp in the lake appear to have woken from their winter rest. Several big fish swirled in the margins as I took a walk mid afternoon, with Max, our Collie. I put a bucket load of cooked crushed maize, pellets and sweetcorn into the side of the lake by the house last night, and this morning it had all been mopped up. If you'd have had a rig amongst that lot you would surly have had some action.

So, perhaps the first signs of spring are upon us.

Anyway, looking back, we have just had the most awful winter. You wouldn't think it, in the southern part of France, but we have endured long periods of sub-zero temperatures, even in the day, and plenty of deep snow and ice, just like the UK.

It seems a long time ago, November 1st, when I was lucky enough to bank that rather nice Mirror of 54lb 4oz, on floatfishing tactics. I made the decision immediately after this capture to leave the fish alone for a while and this I did for a whole month.

In early December I started to get the urge to fish the lake again, but I didn't really want to put pressure on the Carp, especially after banking that enormous specimen.

What species could I target that would avoid the Carp and more importantly give me some enjoyment? I gave the matter a bit of thought and then remembered that massive Perch I had spotted last winter. Why not try for a big Perch, I could floatfish lobworm ( the Carp are not keen on worms, as they are fed most days on particles and sometimes pellets and boilies) and also try wobbled small deadbaits.

So the winter plan was hatched…………….to catch a specimen Stripey. My Personal Best from the UK was 2lb 9oz, and I had a fish of this size from both a river and a lake. My target would therefore be a 3lb Perch!

My first few dabbles, I rarely wet a line for more that 1hour at a time, saw some modest fish of various species hit the net. During the first fortnight my floatfished lobworm was snaffled by several Chub, the best 3lb 6oz and numerous small and mid- sized Perch. One afternoon I banked 13 Stripeys in an hour. I even managed a Pike of 7lb to wobbled Roach deadbait. The highlight of this period was undoubtedly a brace of Perch at 1lb 6oz and 2lb 8oz, the later being my first specimen Perch from the lake, which gave me hope for a 3lber.

As we approached the Christmas festive season we were visited by Val's sister Yvonne and her 8 year old niece Yasmin, for a few days. The ' Arctic' weather kicked in, the lake froze and several inches of snow came down. Yasmin was keen to catch her first fish and undeterred by the harsh conditions found an ice-free spot on the lake, by the stream inlet, to present her floatfished bait. She started with maggots, but to no avail. Then a worm crawled out of the ground and on to her glove ( honest!) she put the wriggler on the hook, and instantly connected with her first ever fish. We took some nice photos of a delighted Yasmin with her Perch of about 8oz.

I had a few goes myself between Xmas and New Year but caught nothing worth reporting. I did spot a good sized Pike in the shallow north-west corner of the lake,it looked a definite high double, but could well have been a '20'. It was beautifully marked, but spooked off at speed when I tried to get up close.

January proved a frustrating month as I went though a spell of losing fish. Several big Perch came off the hook during the fight and I even lost one very big specimen right on the lip of the landing net. I had the fish on it's side ready for netting, but it flipped just at the wrong moment leaving the hook in the mesh! I went into the house a bit grumpy that night.

Not all fish were lost though, some mid-sized Perch were banked along with a very hard-fighting 12lb Pike that took a fancy to lobworm!

On the 1st of February, with snow on the ground, I had a quick try in a peg we call ' The Hole', near the house. I had to break the ice on the lake before starting and after an hour was just about to give up when the float went under. I became attached to a good fish and after a short fight a very plump Stripey was carefully guided into the net. The Avons registered a very pleasing 2lb 14oz, a new Personal Best. A real good- looker, with vived stripes and in the snow, as well.

The next few days saw some medium size and small Perch come my way, along with several lost bigger fish. Then on 10th February, I headed to the 'Hole' again for a 1 hour dusk session. The air temperature registered minus 4C, with a windchill of minus 11, it was so cold my line was freezing in the top eye of the rod, making flicking out my float rig a bit tricky. Even so, after only a few minutes the float buried and something was giving a decent account of itself on the other end. The net went under a very nice Stripey indeed. This one looked a real old warrior, pale in colour, with dull stripes and with the back of it's dorsal fin missing. When put on the scales the needle settled on 3lb exactly, my winter target had been achieved.

I have tried again a couple of time since, but have only had small Perch up to1lb. I've got 4 weeks before our first customers arrive, at the end of March, but don't think I will be doing much or any fishing, I have too much work to do.

Most of the decent fish I caught over winter I have submitted to www.fishcaptures.com, please take a look. We would love to see anglers who fish our lake, this year, posting their catches on this online fishing diary.

If you fancy a few days or a week on our lake please send us an email with your requirements, we still have some available dates. We will see what we can do for you. We currently have 2 weeks in May not taken and 3 weeks in June. If you are afraid of missing England in the World Cup, we have a TV in the apartment which receives all terrestrial UK channels. Break either our Carp record of 54lb 4oz or our Catfish record of 72lb during 2010 and we will gladly present you with a bottle of finest Champagne to celebrate on the lake side with. We have 4 brand new double bivvies to be christened this season and new extra large landing net, unhooking mat and weigh sling for our ever growing Catfish…………….and don't forget our 20kg free bait on arrival!

So, please get in touch we are only an email away!info@sweetchestnutlake.co.uk



angling at sweetchestnut lake carp fishing lake in france