Latest news from Woodpecker Pool

Since the last newsletter the weather has certainly picked up a bit with quite a few days in the high 20s and a few days in the 30s. When the weather was at its hottest the fishing slowed down some but the lake has still produced some excellent catches and good weights of fish.

14th June and it was the turn of the new Mr & Mrs Jennings, Susie and Oliver they had some nice fish although the fishing was up and down at times and also a few personal bests.

Their catch was 23 fish including several 20s and 30s carp with the best mirror of 33lb. They also had 3 catfish, one of 40+ and two 50s, one of 57lb 7oz and new PB to Susie and one of 54lb 14oz and new PB to Oliver and Susie caught yet again her favourite fish the Diamond Back Sturgeon.

The total weight was 629lb 5oz with an average of 28lb 10oz.

Thank you once again for your company during your time here and we look forward to seeing you again next year. 

28th June and it was the turn of Terry and Jen Ringshall with friends John and for the first time Pam.

Their catch was a total of 46 fish with just Terry and John fishing and no nights fished. The catch included lots of 20s and 30s carp with the best mirror going to Terry with a new PB of 39lb 8oz and the best common going to John with a new PB of 38lb. They also had a few catfish with the best being 60lb. The total weight was 1211lbs with an average of 26lb 6oz.

Thank you all for your company and it was a pleasure to meet you Pam; we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

12th July and it was the turn of the Newberry's, a really nice family back again for their third year, John, Jackie, Joe, Lee, Carley, Molly and Lily.

Only John, Lee and Joe fishing their catch was a total of 57 fish, again including a lot of 20s and 30s carp with the best mirror and new PB to Joe at 31lb 10oz, the best common and new PB to Lee at 34lb 8oz. They also had 3x50lb plus catfish with the best and first catfish ever to Lee at 57lb.Young Molly did some float fishing and had some lovely roach and Rudd.

The total weight was 1230lb with an average of 23lb 8oz. Again thank you all for your company and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

19th July saw the return of the Wiltshire family, Alan, Jan, Tony, Paula and Carys.

A very up and down week with the fish seeming to not want to feed during the daylight hours.

Only Alan and Tony fishing they had a total of 21 fish, a lot of 20s and a few 30s carp again, they also had a catfish which they could not weigh properly as the scales they had only went to 72lb and these bottomed out, so by the time they took the weight off for the weigh sling (the fish was weighed in one of our carp cradles) they settled for a very conservative 61lb 8oz which is a new lake record cat, shame we did not know the exact weight. The best mirror was 36lb 8oz, best common was 26lb 14oz. Total weight was 543lb 2oz with an average of 27lb 6oz.

Again thank you all for your company and we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

26th July and Gary and Alison Thompson came back for their second visit this year. The emphasis was not on fishing this time, just a relaxing holiday. Gary only fished for a few hours and had a few carp into the 20s. We hope you are both feeling a lot better for your break and thank you for your company and we look forward to seeing you again.

2nd August we welcomed back Adam and his partner Michelle, James and for the first time Peter, Sue and Carter. This week turned out the same as the last with the fish not feeding a lot in the day but they managed to catch 36 fish, again a lot of 20s and a few 30s carp, one 40lb+ catfish and one catfish of 53lb 12oz. The best mirror was 30lb 13oz, best common 34lb 10oz. There were 8 personal bests in the week between the three angler's including a lovely Rudd of 2lb 2oz to Peter on his light quiver rod. The total weight was 797lb 2oz with an average of 22lb 9oz.It was good to see you all again and we look forward to seeing you all again in the future.

9th August saw the return of Paul O'Brien and Paul Fryer joined this time for his first time fishing in France Paul O'Brien's father Mike.

They caught 37 fish during the week not fishing nights and not starting at the crack of dawn, as they said they were on holiday. A lot of 20s and 30s carp caught during the week, both sturgeon, a few smaller catfish to 31lb, 1 x 50+ catfish and a new lake record catfish of 71lb 4oz to Paul Fryer, unfortunately no pictures at the moment as Paul O'Brien still likes to use the good old 35mm film camera, please send the pictures when you have time Paul, Thank you. 

The best mirror was 38lb 4oz and the best common 34lb. Personal bests all round during the week. The total weight was 951lb for an average of 25lb 7oz. It was good to see you again and a pleasure to meet you Mike, we look forward to seeing you all again.

16th August we welcomed for their first time at Woodpecker the Lambert family, Tom, Patty, Sarah, Steve, Tommy and Abigail. They have been to Colin's locations many times in the past so what would they make of here. They came for a family holiday and had just that with Tom and Tommy fishing but not all of the time, taking time out to go to the barbecue, to go to Brantome canoeing and falling in the river and also a visit to the caves at Grotte de Villars.

They had a total of 14 fish including both sturgeon, several nice carp to 34lb and the best cat to Tommy at 56lb and a new personal best. The total weight was 450lb for an average of 32lb.

It was nice to see you again Tom and Tommy and a privilege to meet the rest of the family, we hope to see you all again in the future.

23rd August and it was the return of Ron and Kath Griffiths with Eric, Ron's Dad, Steve and Rodney alias mouse here for two weeks. As I write this they are part way through their first week and have had some nice fish, both carp, catfish and sturgeon but we will have to wait to see until the next newsletter for the results but the way it is going I think they are going to be very good.

Just one more thing before we go for this time and that is a big thank you from Sue and I to you all for the way the chalet and grounds have been left and thank you for your custom and we look forward to seeing the rest of you who have still to come this year.

All the very best to you all till next time.

Sue & Doug.

Got to hand it to Doug, some wonderful fish coming out here and each season it's better and better. Doug really has got this together. There are so many locations offering fishing in France now and we hear all sorts of stories! I can tell you that Doug's is head and shoulders above nearly every other one I know, who started around the same time. Some of which are now closed. This is the difference between knowing your fish and not. Being a great fisherman is fine but it hardly ever means you will succeed at fisheries management. This is a world away from just catching them, that's the easy bit believe me! Getting a top fishery is like winning the football premiership, not all about the biggest fish or footballs best player, it's about getting everyone and everything together. Winning in football, across the board growth rate with fishing. Doug has this hands down AND he can show you a thing or two when it comes to the fishing as well. If you are there then listen because I promise you will learn. Incidentally the weeks are filling really fast now at Woodpecker so act if you want a slice of next years action. 71+ cat this season carp to just nudging under forty! The only way is up.

 Colin Maclean

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