Newsletters 2006

Welcome to the first newsletter from Woodpecker Pool, my name is Doug Summers; some of you already know me and my long suffering wife Sue, most anglers’ wives will know exactly what I mean when I say that, but without her support through the years we would not be where we are today.

Before I get on to how the lake has been fishing over the last few weeks on behalf of Sue and I we would like to thank a number of people, with out there help, support and encouragement this would not have even got off the ground.

Firstly Colin and Christine Maclean they where there at the very beginning to help, support and encourage us with all sorts of advice and all manner of other things that are too many to mention here, they are our agents as well as very special friends, thank you both from the bottom off our hearts, with out you two we would not have got this off the ground we are sure. We would also like to thank the following people who have helped us make the lake area and accommodation for Woodpecker Pool what it is, Stephen, Jan, Harold, Terry Gannon, Andy Williams, Pete Burness, Pete Neary, Pete Bailey, John Hughes and finally my daughter Claire and son in law Paul, thank you for giving up your time and all the effort you have put into making Woodpecker what it is now, they where there to help Sue and I in all sorts of weather no matter how tough it was, thank you is totally inadequate.

Now onto the fishing, as some of you already know Sue and I are from the north of England, Cheshire to be precise and we always have a bit of friendly banter with Colin as he is from the south, over who are the better anglers’, understanding what each of us say etc so it was a nice surprise for our first clients to be from the north, they came from Macclesfield in Cheshire. Carl and Ben Beard and their friend Robert Weston (nickname Fred West) we thought hang on a minute a mass murderer as one of our first clients (only joking Robert) These were three great guys and good anglers’ they moved around and fished all of the lake resulting in an excellent opening week, they caught 73 fish, Mirrors, Commons, Catfish and Sturgeon including 32 twenties to 29lb 3oz, Sturgeon to 29lb 7oz and Catfish to 24lb 11oz. The total weight was 1484lb 4oz with an average weight of 20lb 3oz. All three broke their personal bests several times during the week. Thank you guys for leaving the accommodation and surroundings in perfect order; we hope to see you again in the future.  

Next it was the turn of Oliver Jennings and girlfriend Susan Pollard (I thought here we go again remember the TV programme HI De Hi) sorry Susie you have probably heard that a million times I hope you will forgive me. Well Oli and Susie, I hope they don’t mind me saying, are relatively new to carp fishing and it was their first trip to France to fish and unfortunately had been given some bad advice about tackle etc but we managed to sort this out for them and they went on to have a really good week taking personal bests within a few hours of starting fishing. They never did a night only fishing in the day and not all day every day. They ended up with 33 fish including carp to 30lb 4oz, Catfish to 38lbs and Sturgeon to 30lb. Oli also decided to have a go with a small spinner as I had told him there were a few small pike in the lake and caught a pike of 7lb which we did not know there was a pike of that size in there, we had seen smaller ones but nothing of that size. The total weight for the week was 713lb 2oz with an average weight of 21lb 7oz. Susie caught the smallest of the Sturgeon twice and I think you can see from the smile on her face how pleased she was.

Oli and Susie told us at the beginning of their holiday that they wanted to try some French cuisine. While they were hear we had our daughter and son in law and our new grandson out on holiday, as they are around the same age as Oli and Susie, we asked Oli and Susie if they would like to come with us to the Auberge de Combiers for a meal one evening. We had a great evening, thank you both for your company. We look forward to seeing you in June Oli, and you and Susie next May.

Our third week it was the turn of Jamie Armstrong and the two brothers Steve and John, they were joined for the weekend by Jamie’s wife Kerry, hopefully you will be able to get some more time in future Kerry. No jokes this time about the party members as I have known Jamie for a number of years but cheers John for the jokes during the week, I just wish I could remember them all. The party had a good week, unfortunately Steve wasn’t too well for part of it, and we hope you are feeling better now, again no nights fished their excuse was the beds were too comfortable, thank you for that.

The catch was 58 fish with carp to 28lb, Sturgeon to 29lb 4oz and Catfish to 29lb 4oz. The total weight was 1259lb with an average weight of 21lb 10oz. John had a personal best catfish of 29lb 4oz on the first evening. Thank you for the comments in the book Jamie and also for the way you left the lake and accommodation.

Looking forward to seeing you again in June.

Well that sums up the catches so far from Woodpecker and some really good ones they are. We look forward to welcoming all our other customers that have still to come this year and we hope you will have a great holiday with us and some good catches as well.

We assure you of our best attention at all time.

Sue and Doug Summers.

WOODPECKER POOL No2

Here are the reports of this months catches from Woodpecker.

Week commencing 27th May saw the return of the Harrison Family, I say return because they have fished a few of Colin’s lakes in the past, Sue, John, Lottie and 9 week old Ben, a beautiful and very well behaved baby.

They had a good week with Lottie and John doing the fishing, but not fishing 24/7 they had a total catch of 30 fish for a total weight of 707lb including carp to 31lb, catfish to 30lb 8oz and sturgeon to 32lb 8oz.

I think the picture of Lottie with John holding one of Lottie’s fish says it all, she couldn’t hold the fish herself as she had an operation shortly before her holiday. We hope you are recovering well Lottie and you do well in your competition, please let us know how you go on. Thank you for your comments and the way the chalet and everything was left; we hope to see you all again in the future and please give young Ben a big kiss from us both.

Then it was the turn on 3rd June of Chris Davies and John Owen (alias Shaggy of Scooby Doo fame) the boys from the valleys of Wales. We have known these two for a number of years meeting them for the first time when they fished on Vert at Papillon, the other lakes that Colin used to own. Good anglers these two, so expectations were high but you never know what a lake and the fish will throw at you.

They ended up with a total of 46 fish for a weight of 1016lb 6oz including 22 carp over 20lb with the best a fish of 30lb 4oz, catfish to 40lb 8oz and of course the now customary sturgeon to 29lb 10oz.

John has named an area of our lake as NO FISH BAY, as he really struggled to catch from this area yet others seem to catch all right and there have been plenty of fish in there since you left John, I reckon it was the Welsh flag you had flying John that made them stay away from that area!!! It was great chatting to you both in the evenings and we look forward to seeing you both again in October.

Saturday 10th June saw the arrival of Terry Ringshall fresh from his week on Kingfisher; we have known Terry for a number of years and were looking forward to having him here for the week. Terry does not do early mornings, late evenings or nights his idea is to relax and unwind and if the fish come along then he sees that as a bonus, he was here for a holiday. Unfortunately Terry had to leave early on the Friday afternoon due to work commitments but he had a few nice fish with a total weight of 322lb including 7 carp to 28lb 4oz and catfish to 40lb 12ozs. Terry always seems to find the bigger catfish, as a lot of you will remember he was the first to catch the big one from La Folie a few years ago.

Thank you for your company Terry and the enjoyable chats we had in the evening also the comments in the book, we were sorry to see you go but next year is not to far away, looking forward to seeing you then and also to see John again, we missed you this year.

The final report is just for 3 days as Oliver Jennings who came down in May for a week with Susie was hoping to get the time off to fish the whole week but could only manage a long weekend with his friend Wayne. They had 8 fish between them with carp to 27lb 4oz and catfish to 26lb 12oz. It was a shame you could not get any longer but we look forward to seeing you again Oliver next May.

That ends the catch reports for this month and we are looking forward to meeting everyone who has still to come, all the very best for now. Sue & Doug.

Woodpecker Pool. No 3

 Here is the report for the end of June and July.

Week commencing 24th June saw the arrival of the Taylor family, Keith, Jean, Christopher and Laura from Leeds up there in good old Yorkshire. Keith and I had some good banter during the week over how tight a Yorkshire man is, all in good fun though. Keith and Chris fishing, they did not do any nights but still caught 19 fish in the week breaking their personal bests with 13 twenties to 28lb and one of the blue sturgeons for a total weight of 376lb 12oz and an average weight of 21lb 8oz. There were no catfish caught this week but they had lost one or two. Thank you for your company during the week and also the comments in the book and the way everything was left clean and tidy it really is appreciated. It was a shame that there was no barbecue but we still enjoyed a meal and a chat down at Stefan’s. Sue and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.

July 1st saw the arrival of the Newberry family, John, Jackie and son Joe from Rochester in Kent.

Their catch for the week again with no nights fished was 25 fish, all carp to 28lb 4oz for a total weight of 514lb 6oz and an average weight of 20lb 8oz. A few catfish were lost and strangely no Sturgeon, perhaps they had gone on holiday this week!! John I am sure won’t mind me saying is new to carp fishing, he until this week was happy sitting behind a float rod and as he put it with a few maggots, he certainly gave us some entertainment when we went down one morning to be told he had forgotten to put the bait runner on his reel and had a run, but before he could pick the rod up it disappeared into the lake like a torpedo. Luckily he managed to retrieve it later in the week. Well done John we did not expect to see that rod again so quickly. Good night at the barbecue, but you were really itching to get back to the lake John!!

Thank you for your company and the lovely comments in the book and the way you left everything, it is again really appreciated. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

July 8th and it was the turn of the lads from Dagenham in Essex, David, Lee, Stuart and Jamie.

A hot week this one but they still managed to catch a lot of fish and all broke their personal bests. The total between the four of them was 41 fish including 25 carp, mirrors and commons to 33lb with 21 of these over 20lb. They also had 8 catfish to 42lb and the two blue sturgeons no less than 8 times but the smaller diamond back is still evading capture. The total weight for the week was 995lb with an average weight of 24lb.

Thank you for the way you left the chalet, clean and tidy, we really appreciate this.

July15th saw the Bonner family arrive from Stafford, Neil, Louise, David their son and his two friends Simon and Mathew after quite a bad journey with the traffic around Paris. A mixed week this weather wise as we had a couple of bad storms which was a shame, but unfortunately we cannot do anything about the weather or how the fish feed. Neil and Louise spent a few days sightseeing while the boys fished.

David 14, Simon 15 and Mathew 15 fishing, they had a good week with a total of 27 fish including 17 carp, mirrors and commons to 32lb, 9 catfish to 46lb and a very nice fish from our perspective a perch of 2lb 3oz. The catfish seemed to be really in a feeding mood over the last couple of weeks. They all broke their personal bests yet again. The total weight for the week was 592lb 4oz with an average weight of 22lb.

Thank you for the way you left the chalet and the comments in the book. We would really appreciate it if you could email us the photographs through, thank you in anticipation.

July 22nd and the Cowen family arrived from Keighley in Yorkshire, time for another bit of banter I think to myself!! Philip, Gillian, Zoe and Beth made up the family with only Philip fishing and for only 3 or four hours a day apart from one day, as it was a family holiday so they went out to see some of the sites and spent a couple of days at one of the adventure parks. Philip’s catch for the week was 9 fish, all mirror carp to 31lb. Total weight for the week was 226lbs with the average being 25lb. Philip was desperate to catch a catfish but for some reason they were being illusive this week but he did hook one while I was down talking to him and played it for 45 minutes only to lose it at the net as the catfish bit through the hook link. Next year Philip hopefully if you can come back you will get your revenge I am sure.

Thank you all for your company not only at the lake but also at the barbecue and also for the way you left the chalet. We look forward to seeing you in the future and we hope everything works out well for you all.

July 29th and it was the turn of the Thomason family, Andrew, Kerry, Cael, Hansen and Morgan from near Cardiff. As I write this it is only the Tuesday of their week and up to now they have caught 17 fish including 13 carp to 30lb, two catfish to 29lb 5oz and both of the blue sturgeon. What will they end up with; we will tell you in the next newsletter.

Thank you to all the people who have been to Woodpecker already and we are looking forward to welcoming those who have still to come.

All the very best for now Sue & Doug Summers.

Latest news from Woodpecker Pool. No 4

When we finished the last newsletter the Thomason family from near Cardiff had arrived on the 29th July and it was only the Tuesday of their week with Andrew and Cael doing most of the fishing. Hansen age 7 and Morgan age 4 did a bit of float fishing and caught some nice roach and rudd.

They ended up with a total of 35 fish including 27 mirror and common carp to 30lbs with 24 of these over 20lbs, 3 sturgeon and 5 catfish to 41lb. The total weight was 764lb with an average of 25lb.

You are a great family and we thank you all for your company during the week and the lovely comments in the book. We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

5th August saw the arrival of the Mawbey family and friends from Burton on Trent in Staffordshire, only 3 fishing, Sacha, Mark and Robert. They did not fish 24/7 as they had their wives and children with them so they went out quite a lot to visit some of the local sites and to eat out at some of the local restaurants but they still had a tremendous weeks fishing.

The total number of fish for the week was 76 including the 3 sturgeon out between them10 times!!! When these fish go on the feed they really do have it!! 54 carp again mirrors and commons ranging from 5lb 8oz up to 30lb 3oz with 30 of these over 20lb and 12 catfish to 43lb 8oz. The total weight was 1678lb with an average weight of 22lb, wow what a catch, well done guys.

Thank you for your company and at the barbecue and we wish the Mawbey family good luck for their future in Australia, we hope it works out for you.

Week commencing 12th August it was the turn of Jim and Betty Rostron and not forgetting Toto (the Maltese Terrier). Jim and Betty are ex pats as they now live in Spain near Marbella.

Only Jim fishing about 6 hours each day and following a very productive week he had 21 fish in total including 1 sturgeon (I am surprised any of the 3 had any energy left after the week before) 13 carp all mirrors to 31lb 2oz with 10 over 20lbs and 7 catfish to 41lb 5oz. The total weight was 546lbs 8oz with an average of 26lbs.

Thank you for your company and comments and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

19th August and the Tek family, Charlie, Charlie’s Mum, son Daniel and daughter Katherine had their week to come but they had been on holiday the previous week so did not arrive with us until late on the Sunday night the 20th August so they did not start fishing until the Monday afternoon, so four and a half days fishing only for about 8 hours a day.

Fishing only 3 rods they took it in turns each time they had a run and caught 29 fish including all 3 sturgeon 6 times, 19 carp, mirrors and commons including 2 different 30s to 30lb 8oz and 4 catfish to 43lb 8oz, the total weight was 660lbs with an average of 24lbs. Unfortunately they lost 4 big catfish along the way and a few carp, it is a shame but that is fishing.

Thank you for your company and comments and we wish you all well, please pass on our best regards to your Mum, she is a lovely lady and we hope to see you all again in the future.

26th August saw the arrival of Ron and Kath Griffiths of C.C.G. fame and Ron’s dad Eric for a two week holiday. Only Ron and Kath fishing and as I write this it is only the Tuesday morning of their first week and the weather for this time of year is cold and wet but up to now they have caught 32 fish including the 3 sturgeon 10 times!!! What is it with these fish do they never stop eating!!! 17 carp mirrors and commons to 32lb and the fish they are really after the catfish 4 to 33lb 2oz. Ron loves to fish with live bait for the cats but so far has only managed to have a take off a zander but did not hook it and last night he landed a 7lb pike. Stick to the boilies and pellets Ron the catfish love them!!

How will they do for the rest of their holiday, we will have to wait and see but judging by the start it could be a great result.

Well that’s about it for this month except to say a big thank you to everyone for the way they have left the grounds and chalet again this month and we are looking forward to welcoming the people who have still to come.

All the very best for now Sue and Doug.

Latest news from Woodpecker Pool. No 5

Well here we go again another month gone already and it does not seem five minutes since the season started but here we are now in October.

When we left the last newsletter on Tuesday morning 29th August Ron, Kath and Eric Griffiths (Ron’s Dad) were here for a two week holiday, only Ron and Kath fishing and they only did two nights out of the fortnight, they had started off really well and so this continued for the rest of the holiday. The first week they had a total of 58 fish made up of the 3 sturgeon no less than 18 times!!! 9 catfish to 42lb 1oz (must not forget the 1 ounce or else I will have Ron after me!!) 1 pike of 7lb and 30 carp commons and mirrors to 32lb. Their second week carried on in a similar vain with a total of 39 fish made up of the 3 sturgeon 6 times, 7 catfish to 34lb 3oz  and 26 carp commons and mirrors to 30lb 5oz. The total weight for the two weeks was a staggering 2209lbs for a total of 97 fish. The average weight for the first week was 22.45lbs and the second week 22.57lbs. Thank you all for your company during your stay and we look forward to seeing you again next year. Eric all the very best to you, it was a privilege to meet you, you are a real gentleman and I really enjoyed our chats and hope to see you again in the future.

Saturday 9th September saw the arrival of Scott Woods, Kathryn Mann (Scott’s fiancée), Dave Bates, Simon Taylor and Jon Bingham. This party has been regulars at Colin’s lakes for a number of years so how would they do here at Woodpecker?

They had an excellent week catching a total of 52 fish including the two blue sturgeon once each (a quiet week for them at last) 3 catfish to 29lb 8oz and 47 carp, commons to 32lb 4oz and mirrors to 31lb 8oz. A total weight of 1171lb 12oz with an average of 22lb 9oz. Simon and Scott had personal bests and Kathryn had never fished for carp before and had a few fish including her first ever 20 at a weight of 23lb 8oz, well done and I think the smile in the picture below says it all. We are sorry that we were not around a lot during your week as we were on holiday at La Folie as you know, doing what we all love, fishing. All the best for now and we are looking forward to seeing you all again next year when hopefully we will be around to have a chat a bit more often.

Saturday 16th September it was the turn of Stephen Kemmett, Rebecca Green and Stephen Dean it was their first time fishing in France and I hope they don’t mind me saying relatively new to carp angling, but they were really looking forward to the experience.

It turned out to be a good week not numbers wise but size wise with some of the fish they caught. Their total for the week was 28 fish including 7 sturgeon, 8 catfish to 53lb 8oz and 13 carp commons and mirrors to 35lb. The total weight for the week was 776lb 8oz with an average of 27lb 7oz. They all had personal bests during the week of every species. We hope we managed to help you out with rigs etc and put you on the right track and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

Saturday 23rd September saw the arrival of Graham, Julie, Donna and Kirsty Hull with friends Andy and Elaine King again first timers carp fishing in France and again really looking forward to the experience. Graham and Andy doing most of the fishing but with Donna and Kirsty having a go now and then. This was a really strange week as the fish did not really seem to be in a feeding mood probably due to the sudden change in weather but who knows. They ended up with a total of 14 fish including 6 sturgeon, 1 catfish at 39lb and 7 carp to 30lb 8oz. the total weight was 351lb 8oz with an average of 25.10lb. Personal bests all round again so although the total number wasn’t high the quality was there. Thank you all for your company and for inviting me to join you for a meal at the Auberge while Sue was back in the UK, it was a great night. We hope to see you next year if possible if not hopefully the year after.

Saturday 30th September it was the turn of the Whiley family, Chris, Tracey, Christopher and Nathan who are hear for two weeks holiday.  Only Chris and Tracey fishing and as I write this it is the Tuesday evening of their first week and up to now they have had 19 fish including the 2 blue sturgeon and 17 carp including 3 different 30s to 33lb, not a bad start at all, what will they end up with, we will let you know in next months newsletter.

A big thank you again to everyone for leaving the chalet and grounds in excellent condition this month, it really is appreciated.

All the very best till next month, Sue and Doug.

November news from Woodpecker Pool. 6

When we left the last newsletter the Whiley family were here from 30th September for two weeks and it was the Tuesday evening of their first week. They went on to have a great fortnight catching a total of 76 fish for a total weight of 1856lb 8oz with an average weight of nearly 24lb 8oz. The catch included 44 twenties, 8 carp over 30lb including a mirror of 32lb and a common of exactly the same weight and 9 catfish to 47lb. They also had the two blue sturgeons no less than 11 times and the diamond back sturgeon twice.

Thank you for your comments and the way you left everything and we are looking forward to seeing you all again next year.

Well the season has ended and what a great one it has been, with so many good fish caught, so many personal bests broken and so many nice people we have met through the year.

Sue and I cannot thank all our customers enough in this our first season for making it such a successful and enjoyable one and we are looking forward to seeing and welcoming all the people that have re-booked to come back next year and also the ones that have never been to Woodpecker Pool before. Thank you all once again.

We now have the winter in front of us and we will not be sitting back as we will be spending quite a bit of time getting the grounds tidied up ready for next season, just hope we do not get to much snow in the mean time, and also we have some more work to do in the chalet as well as in our own house.

All the very best till next time, Sue and Doug.

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