Woodpecker Pool May/June 2007

The summer has still not arrived in the Dordogne as I write this; this year has been so up and down it is unreal for this area. We have had temperatures in the low 30s then they have dropped dramatically to single figures, massive thunderstorms that have caused a lot of flooding in the area but still no consistent warm, sunny days just the odd one. Any way enough of the weather let us get on to the fishing.

26th May and we welcomed first timers to Woodpecker Janet, Alan, Anthony and his two sons Anthony Jnr and Luke. Only Alan and Anthony fishing through very mixed weather. They managed to catch some very nice fish through the course of the week with a total of 36 for a total weight of 880lb 9oz for an average of 24lb 8oz.

The catch included 2 x 30s, best mirror 31lb 2oz and best common 23lb 12oz, 29 x 20s and the 3 sturgeon. No catfish were caught; I think this is the first time this has happened here. It was nice to meet you all and look forward to seeing you again in the future.

2nd June saw the arrival of Tom Lambert’s party, unfortunately this year without Tom.

The party members were Peter, Mark, Les and Paul, long standing customers of Colin’s at La Folie they thought they would try Woodpecker for a change this year.

They had an excellent week apart from Paul who really struggled, I guess too much cooking and looking after the rest of the group Paul!!!

Thanks to Mark he didn’t blank, as Mark took him round to his swim and Paul managed a great mirror of 34lb 8oz on Mark’s rods!!!! I did tell you Paul you would get a mention after all the stick you gave me that week!!! You give it out readily so you must expect some in return.

The catch was made up of 2 x 50s catfish to 55lb, 10 x 30s including a best mirror of 35lb and best common of 30lb 12oz and 30 x 20s plus the inevitable 3 sturgeon a few times. The total weight was 1262lb with an average of 25lb.

Great week guys, thank you all for your company and we really look forward to seeing you all when you go to La Folie next year. Sorry you could not make it this year Tom you where really missed and we hope you are keeping well.

9th June saw the return of Terry Ringshall, fresh from Kingfisher and this year with John who could not come last year. They had an up and down week weather and fishing wise but still managed to bank some very nice fish. The total for the week was 28 fish for a total weight of 685lbs and an average of 24lb 8oz.

The catch included 1 x 40 a catfish of 44lb, 4 x 30s with the best mirror of 34lb 8oz, 19 x 20s with the best common of 27lb 8oz plus the 3 sturgeon.

It was great having you both here and for your company throughout the week and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

16th June the start of the old fishing season back in the UK, we greeted Peter Hopkins and his party for their first time at Woodpecker, although they have been coming for many years to Kingfisher how would they do here. The party consisted of Peter, Howard, Mark, Jim and Dave, a first trip for him to France. The weather had been very inconsistent over the past couple of weeks and this week was no exception with sun, heavy rain and at times very cold temperatures. When the sun shone the carp were on the surface basking and then when it was cold and wet were nowhere to be seen. Mark and Howard spent most of the week float fishing for the roach and rudd and had some nice ones; Peter loves to cook and spent most of his time in the kitchen or purchasing the food to prepare some wonderful cuisine for the group, Jim and Dave fishing more for the carp and cats.

The weeks total was very disappointing for the anglers and also us as we have never known a week like this, what the fish were doing we have no idea. The total for the week was 9 fish made up of 2 x catfish to 51lb 8oz, 2 x sturgeon and 5 carp to 28lb 7oz for a total weight of 262lb 7oz for an average of 29lb. Thank you all for your company during the week and Peter a special thanks to you for the lovely curry you invited Sue and I to share with you all.

We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Now onto our final week for this newsletter 23rd June.

Lorraine and Alan Gaskell, their son Andy, Kate and Andy K. This party have been over several times mainly fishing at Kingfisher so how would they do at Woodpecker.

This week was not to be an easy one either as it turned out but picked up towards the end. Alan only fished for about 4 hours a day and could only pick up the sturgeon, nothing else seemed to oblige for some reason or other. Andy G and Andy K fished quite hard and managed a few carp and catfish. The total for the week between them was 26 fish including catfish to 53lb 6oz and carp to 31lb 8oz as well as the sturgeon, a tough week which turned out not to bad in the end. The total weight was 675lb with an average of 26lb. It was good seeing you all again and look forward to seeing you again next year.

That is it for this newsletter all that is left to say yet again is a big thank you to all of you for leaving the chalet and grounds in perfect order and for your custom, we really appreciate it. For those of you still to come we look forward to seeing you.

Till next time,

Best regards,

Sue & Doug.

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