We went out to red hot to do some work on the swims and general maintenance around the lake as we had done well throughout the week we thought it would be rude not to squeeze in three days angling at the end of the week the weather was cold and wet not exactly ideal however we managed a few winter chunks between myself and Derek we totaled 12 fish as follows 3 x 20lb , 21lb , 24lb , 26lb , 27lb , 28lb , 35lb , 39lb ,  41lb , 48lb not bad for three days !!!

34 fish, totaling 899lb with 4 x 40’s 4×30’s 23×20’s 3 upper doubles, and a few small cats.

Returning for a fourth year, hopes were high as a call from Ian a week before the session confirmed that Shawn and myself would have the lake to ourselves. Arriving at Ians on a very wet Saturday morning, Ian had the kettle on ready and we chatted about how the lake was fishing, to our excitement loads of fish were coming out, even though conditions all week had been very wet. It was then that I said to Ian “I don’t mind a bit of rain”, something that I later came to regret. By 10 am we were down at the lake, which was looking as good as ever if not a bit water logged. Had a good chat with the off going anglers who gave us the insight into where the fish had been. The swim I intended to fish had been un-fished all week (Regis point) which gave me a lot of confidence, Shawn opted for the Old Boat swim to the left. After setting up (in the rain) we settled down for the night, confidence high, opting to PVA bag our rigs out for the first night to see what was about also due to the lake being full previous week and still no doubt having bait left over. It wasn’t long before action came at 17:20 with a nice 20lb mirror, followed by a couple more 20’s that evening. The fish were there and the rain was pouring down. Sunday came (rain still pouring down) and the fish did not disappoint with the action starting with a 40lb mirror new PB, this followed with a 30 and then another PB 40.5lb. This was turning out to be a memorable session, the rain was pouring still, but that didn’t matter I’d done two PB’s in one day. With fish showing decided to bait up with a good spread of spod mix to a large area in the centre of the lake. Monday brought some much needed sun shine, the swim ended up looking like a launderette with every item of clothing worn the last couple of days hanging off chairs and trees to dry them out. That was the only dry day for the whole session. Ian would grace the bank every morning about ten (bite time), it became our Discussion time talking about a whole raft of topics, putting the world to rights. The action continued through till Wednesday for both of us, when to my amazement a 3rd forty graced the bank yet another PB 44.5lb. Now on cloud nine, when the forth forty came on Thursday I was in total disbelief,  45.5lb PB, what a week this was, having 1 forty would have been great but four in the week was amazing. The week ended with 34 fish for us, totaling 899lb with 4 x 40’s 4×30’s 23×20’s 3 upper doubles, and a few small cats during the nights. Can’t wait to get back next year, these fish just keep on getting bigger.

a great weeks fishing at red hot lakes 6 fished for over 3000lb of fish carp to 48.8lb cats to 101.8lb loads of 30″s will be back again cheers Ian

a great weeks fishing at red hot lakes 6 fished for over 3000lb of fish carp to 48.8lb cats to 101.8lb loads of 30″s will be back again cheers Ian

Our trip to etang du vivier was our first adventure to France and I researched the venue thoroughly trying to find a water that ticked all the boxes for our group. We all found vivier to be exactly what we wanted and we totally enjoyed the peace and quiet the water offers.

Ian was initially very protective of his fishery and carp but also very knowledgeable and helpful. He respected our wishes to fish together and only gave advice when asked.

He visited each day for an hour or so and then left us to it, we would all like to thank him very much for sharing his fishery with us and helping us achieve the unbelievable results we did.

The fishing can only be described as sensational with patches of unbelievable thrown in, the results are below

Duncan…2 x 40’s, 10 x 30’s, 11 x 20’s, 3 x 10’s

Dave…….1 x 40, 9 x 30’s, 7 x 20’s, 1 x 10

Dave G….5 x 30’s, 9 x 20’s, 1 x 10,…………….Cats….1 x 112, 1 x 40, 3 x 20’s

Steve……3 x 30’s, 3 x 20’s ……………………..Cats….1 x 30, 1 x 20

Over 2000lb of Carp for 4 Anglers

Thank you again for a truly inspirational week

Martin, Luke, Andy, Dean and Derek.

13x 20′s, 26 x 30′s to 39lb, 5x 40′s to 44lb and a 53lb mirror. Cats of 53lb and 46lb.

A total of 1758lb of fish! Another very productive week at Etang du vivier!

Martin, Jonny, Danny and Tom.

15x 20′s to 29lb, 14x 30′s to 39lb and 5x 40′s to 48lb. Biggest catfish 110lb!!

A total of 1600lb of fish between four and with two anglers catching there p.b’s.

First week of 2012!

Sean – 5x 20′s, 5x 30′s to 37lb, 2x 40′s to 42lb.

Dean – 4x Carp upto 30lb and 7 Cats to 30lb.

Jamie – 9x 20′s to 29lb, 14x 30′s to 39lb, 3x 40′s to 49lb and a 50lb mirror. 4x Cats to 95lb!

Rob – 14x 20′s to 29lb, 12x 30′s to 38lb, and a 44lb mirror. 4x Cats to 30lb.

In total over 2000lb of fish, so a very good start to the year!

1066 carp crew….

1 x single
14 x doubles
44 x twentys
28 x thirtys
2 x fortys
5 cats to 100 lbs

The weather was hot for the week and we had plenty of good fishing, see you next year then Ian.

The action started straight away with Dave having a 49lb 14oz within the first hour and a 110lb+ cat fish being landed by Jack at the end of the week. I have listed the fish caught below as far as I can remember
Mark
Mirrors 46lb 04oz, 44lb 10oz 6 thirty’s and 12 twenty’s
Commmon 26lb 0oz
Jack
Catfish 110lb plus as this was as far as the scales went so we don’t know the real weight
Mirrors 41lb 10oz 40lb 8oz 40lb 04oz 10 thirty’s 12 twenty’s smallest 24lb
Common 27lb 11oz
Mike
Mirror’s 40lb 02oz 3 thirty’s 12 twenty’s
Common 26lb 4oz
Catfish to 18lb
Winker
Mirror’s 48lb 04oz 41lb 10oz 4 thirty’s 8 twenty’s
Catfish to 26lb 06oz
Dave
Mirrors 50lb 04oz 49lb 14oz 46lb 0oz 10 thirty’s 14 twenty’s
Brian
Mirrors 48lb 4oz 46lb 10 44lb 0oz 40lb 04oz 14 thirty’s 21 twenty’s
Common 37lb 04oz
total weight was over 4000lb
Thanks for the advice that helped get more fish on the bank and for turning up to see me land my first Forty. We all came away with big smiles and great memory’s Hope to see you again.

Calling all anglers who fished Red Hot Lakes in 2011, we would like to keep our catch reports, blogs and photo gallery upto date with your great catches and your experience with us. If would like to add and feature on our website please contact us via the form on the contact page and we will give you details on how share you experiences.

Rob & Friends – 11-18th June – 20 doubles, 36 x 20s, 19 x 30s, 2 x 40s and cats to 106lb

hi ian its tim i fished your lake last week with my lad and lee mat ben and baz just sending you a e mail to say thanks a lot for a great week i had over 500 lbs so did my lad jake we both had a lot of fish i had a 40 and a 46 carp loads of 30 s jake smashed his pb with a 42 we r all going to meet up very soon and tolal our weight but it must be near if not over4000lbs what a week thanks again for your help and advise great week great fishing

Our week at red hot gary & dale(catman)

I paid for dales week at red hot for his 18th birthday present & boy What a present to remember. Early Monday Morning Dale had a New PB on the bank 25-8 common which he beat 3 times that day biggest 35-4. very early Wednesday morning dale woke me saying I think ive hooked a cat half an hour later an 80lb cat was on the bank. 3 hours later he followed this up with a 108lb cat which he improved on later in the week a fish that bottomed out 110lb scales we gave him 115lb but was quite possibly 120lb+. He finished his week off with mirrors of 35 & 41-12…

Dales fish..

Carp: 25-8lb common, 32-2, 35-4, 35-4, 29-6, 25-6 common, 35-2, 41-12

Cats: 115lb, 108lb, 80lb, 56lb, 19lb

My week started a lot slower by Wednesday morning I had 1 x 21lb mirror & 4 x cats around the 20lb mark.so a move in to the corner on the advice of a good friend was made & this is when it all kicked off for me & within the next 24 hours I had a 41-2 42-2 & 2 x 39s & 6 x 20s to 29-14 & continued to catch fairly regular until saturday morning when the fish began to spawn.. A fantastic week was had by all & will defiantly be back in the future..

Big big thanks to ian for his advice & knowledge…

My fish

Carp 21-00, 28-06, 27-04, 39-8, 23-8, 42-2, 23-0, 39-2, 41-2, 29-14, 24-8, 28-4, 37-12, 34-6, 31-6, 26-12, 25-8, 21-2, 29-2, 28-10

Cats 54lb, 48lb 4x cats up to 28lb

There were 6 of us I dont know what the others had as ive forgotten and I havnt got the photos but I had a good week landing 14 fish from the boards swim.

44lb Mirror (1st night!)
23lb 8oz Mirror
30lb 12oz Mirror
31lb 8oz Mirror
24lb Mirror
29lb 12oz Mirror
28lb Mirror
20lb 12oz Mirror
23lb 12oz Mirror
32lb Mirror
29lb 12oz Mirror
34lb Mirror
38lb 8oz Mirror
14lb 8oz Cat

Between the 3 of us we had 6 x 40′s, 20 x 30′s and 14 x 20′s.
Martin, Jonny and Danny Drake

Mark – 1 x 40, 3 x 30s & 7 x 20s
Simon - 1 x 40, 7 x 30s & 4 x 20s & 3 doubles
Ben – 3 x 30s, 15 x 20s & 3 singles
5 cats between them

Hi, i fished red hot lakes last week, had 23 fish in total, wicked week, my first time at red hot cant wait to go back. Luke

RED HOT MARCH 15TH-19TH

Got the nod from Ian to come over for a few days and have a go with the  Red Hot Specials.Arrived to warm sunshine and fished in shorts during the first two days.Got instant success with the bait with 16 fish on the first two days,twice being wiped out on all three rods at 3pm,good job i had two landing nets,this is a must on this lake ,i cannot stress enough that all three rods can and often go off at once. The weather turned cooler so then last  three days where spent helping Ian getting the lake ready for the season and mainly fishing afternoons and the night but i still managed another 12 fish!

Total catch 6×30″s upto 38lb,18×20″s and 4x upper doubles,great winter/spring fishing!

Thanks for Red Hot Specials Ian,Kev and Mick,got any more left……?

Click the link above to view video

Click the link above to view video

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What a session, seven days and nights of sheer heaven in  the carp fishing world.

For a first trip to France this was an experience that we had only dreamed of. We had heard of many horror stories with these French trips but this was not one of them. In fact the nights were so busy with hauling carp on to the bank we pulled the rods in for two nights just to get some kip.

On arrival at Ian’s house we were welcomed with a cuppa, shown some photo’s of the lake residents and we received some lake advice that proved invaluable. First fish was on the bank within 2 hours, from that point they kept on coming. Mostly from casting to showing fish, however, we managed to get two areas working on a consistent basis so the bait was trickled in frequently to keep the fish in the area; these produced steadily all week but took a total of 43Kg of bait to keep it going.

The final tally for the week amounted to 1643Lb of carp and cats consisting of 76 fish:

New carp PB’s for both of us, a New Lake Record of 48lb 5oz for Adrian and the first 40’s out in 2009.)

2 x 40′s
8 x 30’s
37 x 20’s
29 x doubles

Ian has created a fantastic lake that was a joy to fish so we will be back to get more of the same.

We arrived at Vivier right on time at 10am Saturday 20th September after Leaving Manchester at 3pm the day before. The journey seemed to fly by even though we were both extremely exited about the week ahead. I have been carp fishing for approx 9 years and have fished Vivier twice before. However Danny 2 – aka Bassy has only been carp fishing for approx 6 months!

The plan for the week was for Bassy to break his very respectable uk p.b of 20lb and for me – well having fished vivier before I knew what to expect so just being there was enough for me!!!

Having met Ian at the house for a brew and a reminisce of the last time I saw him (the week United won the european cup!) we filled the boot with Ultraplex Boilies and pellets and were on track for the lake.

A quick walk round and we settled into the middle peg and dam end peg of the far side of the lake. I knew the dam end would fish well so I sneaked in there and put Bassy in the middle of the lake – just incase the fish were on the move I wanted to give him the best chance of consitently catching (honest) Anyway I think he will thank me for the rest of his life  for nicking the best peg!!

We couln’t get set up quick enough and with rods in I only had to wait about half an hour for the first run – a small mirror of around 12lb. By the end of the Saturday I finished with 7 fish and even managed a 31lb mirror to get the trip off to a great start!

Sunday and Monday prooved difficult for me to hold the fish and I only caught 3 more - it may have been the weather or that I didnt put enough bait in – or simply just that I’m rubbish! I started to do the old trick of going through the motions – have i got the right rig? should i try another  bait? is my hair to long?- no jokes please bassy!  But I really should’ve had more faith in the lake and the sound advice that Ian always gives!

A change of wind, and plenty more bait along the margin saw me catch 10 fish on Tuesday, including 5 over 20lb and what would be my biggest of the week at 36lb – well chuffed! I could relax again!

Wednesday was similar again and I had another 8 fish including 2 over 20lb and 2 more thirties at 31lb and 34lb.

By Thursday morning I’d got into a good rythym of feeding the swin, letting it rest then fishing it hard, regular casts and staying up at all hours to make sure I was onto the fish whenever they moved in. I finished thursday with another 14 carp including more over 20lb and another 30lb. It also included a very nice common carp of 23lb.

On Friday morning something very special happened to Bassy, which I will let him explain in his own story – which left me wanting to fish even harder in an attempt to not be shown up! talk about pupil showing the teacher! I caught 13 more carp on Friday of which 8 were over 20lb and the biggest was 32lb.

Then no sooner had I got things really going in the swin and Saturday arrived and it was time to go – GUTTED!!! the worst thing about vivier, and I must really warn everyone who comes here to fish about this – YOU WONT WANT TO LEAVE!!!!    I did however manage to sneak out 1 more before we left – it weighed 30.5lb! not a bad way to end the trip!

We packed up, said our goodbyes to the lake that had been our home for the last 7 days and made our way over to Ian’s for one last brew.

My total tally for the week was 55 Carp including 7 x 30lb plus, 20 x 20lb plus and 28 doubles.

I seriously cannot describe how wonderful and magical this place really is and I will certainly be back again as soon as possible. Ian has built a truely stunning and very special fishery and his hard work can be seen all around the lake and  in the catch reports you see listed on here. If you listen to his advice you can’t really go wrong and he will go out of his way the whole week to make you feel welcome- nothing is too much trouble. I’ve made very special memories on this lake with my Dad previously and this week Bassy – and I’ve also made a very good friend in Ian.

We’ll be back next year to hire the lake exclusively – I’m already counting down the days

Tight Lines – and thanks again Ian

Danny Adshead

What a week, 51 fish 11 30′s, 25 20′s 14 doubles, 1360lb of carp including lake record 48lb!!!

After an epic journey, we arrived at Ian’s house where he informed us that our 14 hour journey had broken the record for the time taken to get to vivier. After a welcoming cuppa and look at some photos of the lake and fish, we set off down the road to the lake. The weather was on our side for the time of year clear blue sky with good temperatures. As we drove up the long lane through the gates to the lake, there it was, a magnificent lake looking very carpy with fish bubbling all over. A quick walk round and a tour of the van and we were setting up. Dad set up in the double pontoon swim and I set up in Regis point, as I didn’t bring a rod pod needed for the pontoon swim. Ian kindly offered to bring one down next morning. I set out with the spod rod baiting a couple of areas 40 yards out and got baits out with bags. The third rod was slighty closer with a bed of boilies. Dad was fishing 3 rods out to the centre.

6:30 pm and the first Vivier carp was in the net a nice 26.5lb mirror,  followed by a nice 25lb mirror early Sunday morning both from the point swim. Ian arrived early with the rod pod and so I moved down the pontoon swim and began spodding to the Island on the right and into open water out in front. By Monday morning 4 fish up to 25lb came to my rods, but the fish out in front of Dad just wern’t having it. We decided to take a walk round and found a lot of fish up at the Dam end. It wasn’t long before we moved up to the far end into the Tin Hut swim. Dad fished the left side up the Dam margins and I opted to fish out front 50 yards, again chosing to bait a couple of areas with spod mix. Early hours Tuesday and the first fish from the move came to my left hand rod, and then Dad was into fish the first being a lovely 30lb mirror (PB). From then on fish kept coming thick and fast totalling 15 fish by tuesday night, 4 30′s 7 20′s and 4 upper doubles. Wednesday saw more of the same with 2 30′s 5 20′s and at 7pm the BIG ONE, 48lb mirror (LR/PB) to Dad. After getting over the excitement of the fish, we continued baiting heavily trying to keep the fish in the swim, and through Thursday we banked a further 4 30′s 3 20′s and a 19lb mirror. Fish included 3 nice commons a 20lb, 22lb and 27lb. Friday slowed up slightly with drop in temperatures during Thursday night, the fish had seamed to move of. A move into Regis point with 1 rod cast to feeding fish resulted in a nice 25.5lb mirror. Friday night brough 2 more for Dad from the Dam margins and the last fish fell at 03:00 to my middle rod a 28lb mirror. As day broke Saturday we said our goodbye and headed of to Ian’s house who kindly made us beans on toast for the journey back.

Overall Red Hot Lakes was exactly that Red Hot with loads of carp action all week, and Our week is no exception, just average as to what is possible here. If loads of carp action is what you are looking for then look no further than this fantastic venue. Well certainly be back for more. Thanks to Ian and Nick for all there help to make this week amazing. Dale and Dad

After weeks of planning the day for the off was finally here. Jason and I loaded the car and set off to Dover to meet up with the others. After a bit of banter we moved off onto the ferry where the banter continued and our plans for the week were discussed. We were going to start by fishing in three pairs and see how things went. Jason and I had decided to give it the big one and bait heavy from the start taking around 60kg of boiles, 75kg of pellet and 50kg of parti-blend. We thought this would give us enough options for the week. I would like to say a special thanks to the boys at ‘Premier Baits’ for helping out at the last minute as a few of the lads were let down with their bait and the premier boys stepped in and did a great job as always.

After a good drive down and a couple of quick stops, we arrived at Ian’s house. We were greeted with a cup of tea and a quick run down with what had happened on the lake the previous week. We made our way round the corner to view the lake for the first time, it looked spot on and already a few fish were showing themselves for us. Jason and I decided to fish a big double peg on the far bank which gave us plenty of water to work with. Up with the bivvy’s then the rods came out. Now to start with the baiting up; we decided to put pellet and parti-blend out and keep topping up with bolie so after a couple of hours spodding we could finally sit back and start to relax. Almost straight away fish were crashing over our baited spots and it wasn’t long before I had the first fish of the week. It was a nice twenty and a welcoming start. Jason started catching a few next and by the first night we had about 6 fish between us. The biggest being a 35lb mirror off Jason’s rods. After more baiting up and a couple of beers we got our heads down but not for long; the fish had returned to our baited spots ad were getting their heads down big time. After two nights in this swim we had a total of 22fish, 11 doubles, 8 twenty’s and 3 thirty’s all of the thirty’s going to Jason; the biggest being 38lb 4oz, a fish with lots of growing room which am sure will grow much bigger. We decided to move further down the lake and fish a couple of swims towards the dam wall end. I wasn’t getting amongst the bigger fish which I wanted and Jason wanted to catch more consistently which Nick and Jim were doing down at the dam wall end on the opposite bank.

We helped each other move the kit to our chosen swims. I put out 3 baits with P.V.A sticks of pellets to different areas to see if I could find a few spots before baiting up. Jason was able to walk along the dam bank and bait by spoon the tree line and margins. He started catching from the off which lead me to get the spod back out and give it the big one at 60yards and fish all 3 rods on a large baited area. I started catching but was well behind Jason and Nick opposite for numbers of fish obviously they had an edge being able to bait up from the bank but both were fishing on the top form and going fish for fish. After a couple of days of this I knew I had to up my game. I started baiting every hour day and night the spod rod was smoking from the hammer I was giving it. If I had a fish I would bait up straight away then on the hour again I made up spare rigs so I could quickly get bait straight out to the mark..

On the Thursday morning Jason came over to tell me he had 4 fish during the night. It was hammering it down with rain so we had a quick cup of tea and he went back to his rods. I started the baiting campaign again which was staring to work for me and a steady steam of fish was now staring to grace my net. Jason was back in my swim to tell me he was having it off big style and had another 5 fish since our cup of tea. We went back to his swim where we stayed for the next few hours getting soaking wet through drinking tea watching his rods rattle off one after another; fantastic fishing which I will never forget, he was really on the money and deserved all his fish. This spurred me on to give it the big on again 10kg of bait was spodded out to my 60yards spot. All three rods dispatched and I waited for action. After half an hour fish were fizzing right over my baited spot. Game on again. I started catching fish regular again whilst it was slowing for the others. The large amount of bait and regular baiting was paying off. Friday morning arrived and it was my birthday, I was going to have a good day, I just knew it. I was up early baiting again on the hour, every hour and after every fish I was starting to feel knackered but I knew I had to continue. The runs started almost straight away 20 after 20 were coming my way then at last my first French 30. 35lb 4oz. I was well pleased with my self and everybody shared my joy. Cheers lad’s it ment a lot. Then just like buses I had another 30; it really was a good birthday. I was very tired by the end of the day but equally happy. I had taken 2 thirty’s and 7 twenty’s in a day and was well happy. During our last night/morning I took another thirty and three twenty’s. What a week of fishing great lake and even better company. I was shattered but well worth all the hard work. Can’t wait till next year when we give it the proper big one. Jason and I had hit a ton of fish.

Totals – 111

Phil – 50 Fish

Jason – 61 Fish

11×30’s 51×20’s

49xdoubles

TOTAL WEIGHT – 2386lb

Thanks to Ian the lake owner and the other 5 lads that made this a trip of a lifetime!

Phil the birthday boy!

Ian asked me to come over for a couple of nights and get a feel for the place, take some pictures for the website and hopefully catch a few…

Of course I jumped at the chance and the ferry was booked. After an easy 4.5 hour drive from Calais I arrived at Ian the owner’s house, he showed me some pictures of the lake in its drained state and a few sexy spots were stored in the old grey matter. Ian showed me to the lake and on arrival I instantly thought how peaceful and quiet it felt. I chatted with the group of guys who were already a couple of days into their week session and was pleased to hear they were catching plenty already. As I walked round I was shouted to come over to Shaun’s swim with the camera, i’d been on the water 15 minutes and the first Vivier fish I saw was a mid forty at 45lb and ounces… very nice I thought, i’m gonna like it here! Fish were showing all over the lake but a lot were boshing down to the far left near the dam wall margin so I decided to go in the tin hut swim near the activity, Ian showed me a few spots and I excitedly set my gear up.

After settling in and a good spread of bait deposited to each spot I sat back to watch the water with a glass of wine. It came to my notice that fish were repeatedly showing over one spot a bit further along the margin to where I was fishing so i decided to move one of the hookbaits to the area, 30 minutes later and it was away… 5 minutes later I was looking at my first Vivier carp at 24lb in the bottom of my net…nice start.

The area was topped up with a scattering of boilies and particle and the glugged hookbait was launched to back to the spot. Over the two nights I caught a further 17 fish to mid thirties all from that same spot even though fish were showing all over the swim… did the other spots need time or had I stumbled upon a natural feeding area? whatever the reason it was certainly a productive little area… oh how I longed for a few more nights but alas I had to get back home, before leaving I booked up for week session in September with my friends, i’ll be sure to post how we got on shortly.

Just got back from an amazing non-stop week at Vivier, 6 of us on the lake caught around 200 carp between us to 38lb…

We arrived Saturday morning to a nice sunny day, the fish were moving around all over the lake and we took a good look round and decided to fish as 3 groups of pairs, Jason and Phil opted for the beach, Damon and Bill fancied the platforms and my Dad and I jumped in the tin hut swim.

After setting up the bivvies and getting everything sorted we got the rods out and started to bait some areas, I decided to fish the same areas I fished in my short May 2 nighter as they seemed a good place to start so with 2 baits along the margin to my left and one slightly further out to the right off the baited area, a mixture of boilies, partiblend and pellets were spooned out and my Dad got to work with spodding his open water area to my right, the weather was hot and we were soon ready for dinner and a sleep… the fish had other ideas!

My middle rod was the first to go and the first fish of the session was in the net, only 17lb but good to get the first one under the belt… back out with the baited rig, which was a short flourocarbon stiff link with a snowman presentation and another half a bucket of bait was deposited around the area. During the night I was rewarded with a 22lb common and a 23lb mirror.

Sunday was overcast and warm and the fish were in feeding mode and I started off with a double, then a 26lb 8oz then the first thirty at 30lb 2oz… well chuffed! Buzzers were starting to go off all round the lake and everyone was catching well including a nice 38lb for Jason. Throughout the day I accounted for another 8 carp including another thity at 31lb 6oz and a nice 34lb 8oz for my Dad amongst others.

Monday it started to rain a bit but the fish still kept coming and I took 7 more fish to mid twenties then Tuesday the action slowed a little for me but I still managed 4 carp to 29lb 12oz and the action started thick and fast for my Dad as the fish moved onto his heavily baited area and he quickly took 6 fish to 38lb.

Jason and Phil decided to move down to the middle swim between the islands and the dam wall swim opposite me and were catching fish from the off including a huge rake of 20s and a couple of 30s for Jason and Damon and Bill were now catching well too after a move to the shallows topped by a 36lb mirror. We all started to up the baiting and the fish were responding well coming from spots only heavily baited half an hour earlier, we were sure the fish were wiping us out by the amount of fizzing and bubbling going on in the swims even though we were topping up the swims with lots of bait on a regular basis. During the night I was awoken by the sound of a screaming clutch, Jason had hooked a big catfish which run to 100lb and I could hear his reel from the other side of the lake!… unfortunately the hook pulled after a hard battle but we did catch some smaller ones throughout the week to about 20lb.

Wednesday kicked off well again for me and I caught a further 10 fish including another thirty at 30lb on the dot and another thirty for my Dad at 32lb. Thursday and Friday slowed up a little for me with only four more fish coming to mid twenties and five more to my Dad.

The spots for the other boys were really kicking off now and they were catching consistently day and night. Phil caught a nice 35lb mirror and then another 30 on his birthday, smiles all round and a bottle of champagne kindly donated by Ian the owner was cracked.

In total we caught about 200 fish totalling 4,540lb of carp between the six of us… truly a red hot week to remember!

This was and is hopefully the first of many trips to France and to Etang Du Vivier. The goal being to catch a 40 for my 40th birthday along with the slim hope of a big cat.

Neil, Tom & friends enjoy a carp filled week at Vivier in the torrential rain!

I left work early on the 9th and met my son, Tom, at home at 15:30 after he had finished school.

I had taken all of our kit around to Pip’s to be loaded into the van the night before so after a quick cup of tea and a sandwich, we met up with the rest of our fishing party. Tom and I were joining Kelvin, Matty, Pip, Tom H and Johnny for our long awaited trip to Etang Du Vivier, France.

We set off around 16:30 on Friday afternoon from Wirral, UK and after a trouble free journey; we arrived at Ian’s house at about 10:00 on the Saturday morning.

Ian welcomed us, made us a cup of tea, went over the fishery rules and proceeded to walk us around the lake pointing out the best areas to cast and giving some good local advice. As we got to the Tin Hut peg, the heavens opened – torrential rain.

We made a dash for the caravan where we waited for the rain to subside. Whilst in the caravan watching the rain, we decided which pegs we would fish. Tom and I drew the two platforms directly in front of the caravan.

When the weather broke, we set up our bivvies, stored our gear and eventually, between down pours, got our rods on the pods and started fishing. Saturday was coming to an end. We were pretty wet and hadn’t had a bite but we took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

I was awoken early Sunday morning by a bite alarm. The line was being stripped from the reel and I was in a bit of a daze as I picked up the rod and set the hook into the first fish of our visit. A couple of minutes later I had landed, weighed and photographed my first carp, all 16 lb of her. This was closely followed by a fish of 18 lb – Tom’s rods hadn’t twitched at this point.

About an hour later the heavens opened again and we witnessed some of the worst weather I have ever experienced. The storm was directly overhead, the thunder made the air vibrate – it was quite scary!

Just as the rain lightened off, Tom had a run and he hooked up a good fish. He was into the fish for no more then five seconds when his other rod screamed off. Instinctively, Tom picked up the other rod so now he had two fish on with no means to reel in. I responded to his pleas for help and I went to his assistance. I was handed the second rod just as the rain became heavier.

So, you have to picture this, dad and lad, double hook up in torrential rain – by the way, in the excitement, we forgot to put on our wet gear so we were fishing in tee shirts.

Tom gradually brought his fish to the bank and we could see that it was a good fish.

We had set up our landing net but there was also one left by the previous occupants of the peg. As this was closer to hand, I slipped the net under Tom’s fish and slowly drew it to the bank. At this point, the spreader block failed. I had a rod in one hand and a landing net pole in the other. Tom’s fish was netted but one swish of that powerful tail and it would have been away, taking the net with it.

As I panicked, Tom calmly bent down and grabbed the net and covered the fish. We pegged the broken net whilst we landed my fish in our net. We then swapped the peg and removed Tom’s fish from the water.

Tom, at the tender age of 13 had landed a monster which weighed in at just over 41 lb. You can see his pleasure in the photograph below. What a fish.

In case you’re wondering, my fish weighed in at 24 lb. You can see from the photos how wet we got but no complaints – what an experience. You couldn’t make it up!

We were soaked through so, after returning the fish to the lake, we reeled in the other rods and went up to the caravan where we had a shower, change of clothing and a bite to eat. We didn’t stop laughing the whole time as we relived those twenty minutes or so over and over again.

We never looked back from that day and we caught some great fish. Tom’s best fish was his first fish at 41 lb. The best I managed was a very respectable 36.5 lb.

Tom managed 1 x 40s, 6 x 30s (to 38lb), and 12 x 20s. He caught 30 fish in total and his weight for the week was 696.5 lb. Not bad for a 13 year old school boy!

I managed 34 fish, 6 x 30s, 15 x 20s and I had a cat at 16 lb. My total weight for the week was 708.5 lb. We weighed in at 1405 lb between us – what a week!!

Below are photographs of some of the better fish that we caught throughout the week.

Special thanks to Ian for all his advice and tips and also his hospitality – he really looked after us.

Time to start saving the pennies for next year!

Neil Pettitt.

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Red Hot Lakes Etang du Vivier is a 15 acre private, english owned french carp and cafishing holiday venue located in northern France in the Loir et Cher region about 4.5hr drive from Calais or 3.5hrs from Le Harve. The lake holds a stack of big carp to over 50lb and a good head of wels catfish to 132lb. Here is a catch report by 3 anglers in 2008: 19 x 30′s, 44 x 20′s, 8 x catfish 87lb, 86lb, 84lb, 75lb, 67lb, 43lb, 37lb & 36lb Wow!!!!!

Our holidays caters on a drive and survive basis for groups of up to 6 carp and catfish anglers and can be booked exclusively or in smaller groups. The carp and cats are growing at a substantial rate every year and we expect the both records to be broken in 2013.

There is a large static caravan by the lake which has all the facilities you need for a week in france. There is a fridge, freezer, toilets, showers and an outside area for barbeques and eating alfresco.

The carp and catfish fishing venue has a path that follows around the lake so you can drop your tackle and bait off behind your swim.

Please view the gallery and blogs to see for yourself what a special carp and catfish lake Etang du Vivier is and we’ll look forward to seeing you there in 2013 for a fishing holiday to remember.

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Catfish Fishing Holiday!

Paul, Nathan & Charlie
4 singles, 12x 20s & 5 x 30s

Joe & James
1 single, 7 x 20s & 6 x 30s

Kevin & Connor Price (4 days): 12 x 20s, 14 x 30s

Brian, Andrew & Dean: 18 x 20s, 6 x 30s & 2 x 40s

Rambo, Steve & Steve: 13 x 30s, 9 x 20s, 1 x 45lb 10oz

8 x 30s, 15 x 20s and a 39lb cat

61 x 20s, 51 x 30s, 16 x 40s & 3 x 50s plus a 92lb cat (6 PBs broken and a total of 4210lb of carp between 6 anglers… haulin!)

13 x 30s plus an 87lb cat for 1022lb

46 x 20s, 17 x 30s, & 2 x40s for 2176lb

36 x 30s to 39lb 8oz, 23 x 20s and 8 x cats to 102lb including a 32 mirror and a 32lb cat to an 8 year old !

5 x 40s to 45lb 10oz, 23 x 30s to 39lb and 5 cats including lake record again @ 132lb (over 2000lb haul between 2 anglers).

Stewart, Matthew & friends
15 x 20s, 15 x 30s & 41lb

Kevin Price
30 cats (3 x 100lb+) and 14 carp, 5 x 30s, 5 x 20s and 4 upper doubles

Spanner & friends
Superb week for cats – 75lb for starters then lake record 114lb !!! – 50 minute scrap – followed by 100lb and to finish off 110lb crackin haul

Terry McGuinness
Cats of 17,50,69,70,70,80,90 and 92.5 pb

Paul Gartside + friends
12 x 20s, 17 x 30s & 4 x 40s to 47lb & an 88lb catfish

Dale, Harry, Mike & Mike
4 doubles, 17 x 20s, 5x 30s & 1 x 40

Nick & Darren
18 carp including 8 x 30s to 34lb 4oz & 43lb 12oz

Kev bridge and Tez Mcguiness
26 carp including 18 twenties and 5 thirties

Tony Colvin & Friends
Haul of carp to 38lb and a new cat record of 104lb !!!

Julian Bellew & friends
991 lbs of carp including 29 x 20s and 5 x 30s

Spencer Saunders & friends
2100lb of carp to 40lb+

Terry Waller & friends
41850lb of carp to 38lb 4oz and cats to 96lb (New cat record!!!!)

Jim Page & Kevin Hopper
1500lb of including carp to 49lb and cats to 91lb

Geoff Tapp & friends
5863lb of carp and cats including 5 x 40′s, 40 x 30′s, 88 x 20′s and cats to 90lb!!!!

Kelvin, Matt, Neil, Pip, Tom, Tom H & Johnny
3900lb of carp and cats including 6 x 40′s, 15 x 30′s and cats to 52lb
Read Neil & Tom’s blog story & pics

Howard, Alex, Chris & friends
4700lb of carp and cats including 2 x 40′s, 32+ x 30′s and cats to 52lb

Joe Dolling & friends
5084lb of carp and cats!!!! including 39 x 30′s and 4 x 40′s to 49lb and 4 x 40lb+ cats

Paul Gartside, Simon Collins and Andy Whymark
54 carp including 29 x twenties, 14 x thirties, 2 x forties, 87lb & 72lb catfish!!!
Read Paul’s blog story & pics

Paul, Charlie & Fay
35 carp including 5 thirties to 37lb 15oz and a 42lb catfish

Ian Still & Adrian Leaders
76 carp including 36 twenties & 8 thirties and 2 forties to 48lb 5oz!!!!!!
Read Ian’s blog story & pics

Matt & Jeff
34 carp including 18 twenties & 5 thirties to 36lb 12oz

Danny & Friends
38 carp including 21 twenties & 11 thirties to 38lb

Kevin
9 carp including 3 twenties & 3 thirties to 31lb

Matt Smith
4 x 40′s, 18 x 30′s, 20 x 20′s
Total 1328lb of carp to 1 angler!!!

Tony Thompson
10 x 30′s, 20 x 20′s , 3 doubles
Total 865lb of carp to 1 angler!!!

John Mayer & 2 anglers
3500lb of carp!!!!
including 3 x 40s

Paul, Jim & Kevin
19 x 30′s, 44 x 20′s
8 x catfish 87lb, 86lb, 84lb, 75lb, 67lb, 43lb, 37lb & 36lb Wow!!!!

Shaun & friends
Over 3000lb of carp to 6 anglers including 2 x 40′s

Brian Gert, Fred Phillips & party
3 x 40s, 4 x 30s, 24 x 20s, 9 x doubles

Malcolm Stead & friends
3,842lb of carp, loads of 20s & 30s to 43lb

Fay, Paul and Father
12 x30s, 19 x 20s 1014lb of carp (no nights!)

Danny Adshead & Bassy
55 Carp – 7 x 30lb, 20 x 20lb, 28 Doubles
Read Danny’s blog for story

The lake is booked from Saturday to Saturday from March to the start of November although we do take weekly and shorter bookings throughout the winter dependant on weather, please contact us for details. You can book any free week below via our booking form.

2013 Dates

2014 Dates

February 2013 – October 2013

Individual angler (2 anglers minimum per booking) £325 per person (Saturday-Saturday). We ask for a £125 deposit with the remaining £200 balance to be paid on arrival in euros at the exchange rate of the date of arrival. You can check the current exchange rate here: http://www.xe.com

Exclusive use (6 anglers maximum) £1800 per week (Saturday-Saturday). We ask for a £800 deposit with the remaining £1000 balance to be paid on arrival in euros at the exchange rate of the date of arrival. You can check the current exchange rate here: http://www.xe.com

We ask that all deposits are received within 7 days from the day booking is made to secure your week

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Carp Fishing Holiday!

We do not like rules, but in order to respect the fish, the surroundings and other anglers we have found it necessary to just clarify a few points so that there is no misunderstanding, all points below must be adhered to.

• 3 rod limit
• Rods must not be left unattended, even for a short time
• No sacks
• No bent hooks, nailers or hooks bigger than size 6 (barbed only please)
• Safe rigs only, leads must eject if a line breakage occurs
• No helicopter or chod rigs
• No shockleaders
• No braided mainline
• 15lb minimum mainline
• No small bait runner reels. Spools must be fully filled and bigpits are prefered.
• No tiger nuts, peanuts or wheat
• Particles must be properly prepared (can be purchased on site)
• No bait boats unless the lake is booked exclusively for your group. All boats must be kept within the angler’s own swim.
• Every anlger must have a minimum 42″ landing net with untorn mesh (2 fish on at once is quite common on Vivier so we advise bringing 2 landing nets per swim)
• Every angler must have a Large, 1 metre long, euro style, thick unhooking mat with scales and sling.
• Please keep all nets, mats & slings wet when handling fish
• Please treat any damaged fish (antiseptic available)
• No fires (BBQs only in the dedicated area)
• Please dispose of rubbish & cigarettes thoughtfully
• If you have a visitor please ensure that the management are introduced and they do not stay after dark for security reasons
• The boat is for working purposes and is not to be used for fishing
• No swimming
• Please close the gates at night
• Please do not use the lakeside or woods as a toilet, use the facilities provided
• No excessive alcohol consumption whilst fishing (if you want a party please reel in)
• The management takes no responsibility for loss, injury or damage for you or your property
• Caravan no cooking is allowed inside and this must be left clean and tidy on departure and any items of tackle hired/borrowed returned to the owner in the same condition (The management may ask for a deposit for such items)
• Anglers must leave their swims by midday on departure date
• Booking deposits are to be paid within 7 days of receiving booking confirmation and are non-refundable
  Anyone without the required equipment as stated above or found breaking any of the above rules will be asked to leave from the premises without reinbursment.

Etang du Vivier is located near the village of Millancay in the Loir-et-Cher countryside of northern France,
south west of Paris and is a 4.5 hrs drive from Calais or 3.5 hrs from Le Harve, the drive is nearly all
motorway from the Port.

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To download directions from Calais, click here
To download directions from Le Harve, click here
To download directions from St. Malo, click here

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Carp Fishing Holiday!

Onsite facilities include a large mobile home by the lakeside with sofas, electricity points, hot water, toilet, shower, fridge and a freezer. We have a designated barbeque area with tables and chairs for alfresco eating outside the mobile home as cooking inside is not allowed due to fire risk . Ian the lake owner and experienced carp angler is at hand and will give you advice on how best to approach the fishing.

5 minutes drive from the lake there are restaurants and a huge supermarket selling everything you could need, there’s even a McDonalds if you don’t want to sample the french delicacies.

Onsite we offer  a range of end tackle including leads, hooks, PVA bags and hooklength material to get you out of trouble. We also have some large unhooking mats for extra protection when handling large fish.

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Carp Fishing Holiday!

2013

Dale and Dad
51 fish, 11 x 30′s 25 x 20′s 14 doubles and 1 x 40, the 48lb mirror WOW!!
1360lb of carp. Read Dale’s Blog for story

Etang du Vivier is a carp fishing holiday venue heavily stocked with specimen carp which range from upper doubles to fifties, many of the carp have put on tremendous growth rates over the years and the average weight increased year by year. The carp have been sourced by a local fish farmer and are deep bodied, high backed and fast growing, with most packing on substantial weight gains each year, they are mainly mirrors with the odd common. The lake is classed as a productive water if you get your baiting right as there are phenomenal amounts of twenties and thirties present and a good head of forties, and a scattering of fities too, so expect plenty of arm aching action, just check the catch reports and captors blogs and you’ll see what a productive fishery Etang du Vivier can be.

As well as the carp there are also a large head of wels catfish present which are also gaining weight fast, they range from doubles to 132lb with a good number in the 40lb and 80lb bracket, if you latch into one of the biggies expect a long fight on your hands.

Catches of over 3000lb of carp each week are common with average fish weights well into the high twenties to thirties so if you are looking for an action packed carp fishing holiday look no further.

We advise taking quite a bit of bait with you, (minimum 20 kilo of boilies plus a sack of particle/pellet per angler) as the large head of carp have a very healthy appetite and can devour small patches of bait in minutes.

Why not book today and taste french carping holidays at their finest!

Etang du Vivier is a rich, mature, estate type lake of 15 acres sitting in 40 acres of quiet woodland and fields. The water depths range from 1 metre at the shallow end and 2 metres down to the damn wall. There is a track around the whole lake so your gear can be dropped off behind your swims and then returned to the car park so no struggling around the lake with your mountain of gear.

The lake bed is mainly sand, clay & fine silt and the water is heavily coloured due to the large head of carp continually rooting up the bottom looking for food. There are 7 single swims and 3 double swims all designed for anglers with plenty of room in each. All swims have their own uninterrupted areas of lake with visible features, margins and areas of shallow and deep water, we only allow a maxiumum of 6 anglers at any one time so there is always plenty of room for a move if you wish to try another area or fancy stalking one of the bays.

There are a number of small grassy islands dotted around the lake which provide nice features to fish to and the marginal slopes and drop-offs are always worth a try. A couple of swims have purpose built wooden platforms where a rod pod is necessary. The fish patrol up and down the lake on the hunt for food all the time and can be seen rolling and jumping all over the lake on a regular basis and they get caught from all swims so expect plenty of action whatever swim you choose.

The lake is extremely quiet and peaceful especially at night so all you will expect to hear are the owls hooting, the catfish slapping and your clutches screaming!

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Carp Fishing Holiday!

 Fed up with fishing overcrowded, unattractive and unproductive venues?… come and experience the carp fishing holiday you have been looking for at Etang du Vivier.

The Catches:
Etang du Vivier realistically offers the angler a carping holiday of a lifetime where mega catches of large carp and cats are caught on a regular basis. On average between 6 anglers who fish well can expect at least 3000lb – 5000lb of carp! we are proud of the fact that to date we have never had an angler suffer a blank on our lake. There are huge numbers of fast growing carp ranging from 20-55lb and loads of big catfish to 132lb present, check the catch reports and blogs for latest captures and see for yourself what a productive lake Vivier can be.

The Lake:
Vivier is a privately owned, english run carp fishing holiday venue set amidst the beautiful Loir-et-Cher countryside of northern France, south west of Paris and is a 4.5 hrs drive from Calais or 3.5 from Le Harve. The lake is 15 acres of water sitting in a secluded setting within 40 acres of quiet french woodland and fields. The surroundings are a real haven for wildlife so you can also expect to see buzzards, owls, herons and kingfishers during your visit. If you like getting away from it all Vivier is the perfect venue.

The Holidays:
The carp fishing holidays are run on a drive and survive basis and the lake caters for groups of up to 6 anglers maximum weekly so each angler will have 2.5 acres or more to themselves. The english owner Ian is at hand for advice and tips and there is a large mobile home with sofas, showers, toilets and a fridge freezer for bait and food. There is a designated barbeque area outside with tables and chairs for eating alfresco. Should you wish to tear yourself away from the lake there are restaurants and a large supermarket which sells everything nearby.

Why not book today and look forward to a Red Hot Carp Fishing Holiday!

Please call Ian on: 0033 2 54 83 95 99 or contact us via the form below for any information.