This page is something I’ve wanted to do for a while and will be updated as and when necessary. Please remember that these are my opinions based on what
I’ve seen at Echo pool and are not necessarily suitable for other lakes and
fishing situations.
Running a French fishery can be ”at times” be a very frustrating business.
Certain things become very obvious to us because we are in the position to
watch the anglers, lakes and fish week in week out for the entire season.
We want nothing more than for you to come here and have
the best possible fishing holiday. To do this we need you to catch and land our carp.
At the end of the day that’s the reason you’ve come here and our fishery doesn’t
look good with poor catch reports and disappointed anglers.
At the same time as this, we need you to catch and care
for our carp in the safest possible way to protect our future.
This page will be somewhere, where I can air my views and
explain why we like things done in a certain manner. Although some of it might
take a negative slant at times it will benefit everyone in the long run.
Mouth damage.
We are seeing a lot of damaged mouths on our bigger carp.
This is inevitable in our sport but I truly believe it can be dramatically
reduced by just taking time to consider what we’re doing. I don’t think any one
thing is to blame, it’s more a combination of things not helped by the way our
fish now seem to be feeding. 90% of the time they get hooked in the scissors,
we’ve tried everything to combat this but to no avail.
I believe there are 3 main issues which cause EXTRA mouth
damage.
Not dropping your lead.
Not playing them properly.
Not removing the hook correctly.
All of the above aren’t a problem if the fish is nailed
in the bottom lip, but become a problem when the hook catches in the scissors.
Dropping the lead.
I know an awful lot of anglers disagree on this point but
I can only go by my own observations. If the carp is hooked in the scissors the
hole will be considerably bigger if it has been played with the lead still
attached. If the fish gets caught several times in quick succession in the same
place it’s not long before that hole is of considerable size.
Please insure that your set up allows the lead to drop
with ease. Obviously when using a lead clip this sometimes wont happen. However I will not accept tail rubbers being jammed in place.
Playing the fish properly.
Because of the size of our lake it sometimes doesn’t take
long to get a decent sized fish under your rod tip. This means you have a large, powerful, fighting fit carp ready to tear off at any second. Because of the
sheer size of some of our carp, if they decide their going to run something
MUST give, if it’s not your tackle it will the fishes mouth.
Please be aware of how tight your drag system is during
the fight. Back it right off when the fish is close in and use your finger to
control the spool. Never lung at the fish with your landing net, wait for it to
give up the fight.
Removal of the hook.
Again, much more of an issue if the fish is hooked in the
scissors. If the hook is just ripped out with a pair of forceps for example, it
will leave a bigger hole. I’m no fish biology expert but I imagine that the
scissors contain something similar to tendons which if broken are going to be
much harder to repair.
Please remove your hook with the upmost care. Never use
forceps as you can exert way more force than you realise, sometimes you may
find it easier to push the point out and cut off the barb (with cutters
provided) If you’re struggling I’m happy to come over and remove the hook
anytime day or night.
What you must understand is that our bigger fish are
catchable and do come out fairly regularly throughout the season.
It’s not the case that one angler is causing damage but
rather an accumulation of captures which is doing the harm.
For the future of our fishery and your enjoyment of it,
we need to get on top of this problem. Damaging the fish’s mouth benefits no
one, we end up with damaged carp and you the angler stand a greater chance of
losing the fish of a lifetime.
Thank you in advance for helping us get on top of this
issue before it becomes a problem.
I didn’t want to use this photo because it’s not a good representation of our fish, this is by far one of the worst mouths we've seen. I have however chosen to use it because I believe it highlights what I’ve been saying and hope that it will help prevent other fish ending up in the same way.
Although this fish has been caught this year no fresh damage has been done, all of what you can see is old damage from last year.
The fish started last season at 43lbs and is now 55lbs. The only way it’s managed a weight gain like that is by feeding hard, hence the reason it got caught several times and sustained this damage.
Most of what you can see will heal given half a chance except for the lower lip nearest the hand. That part of the lip is now completely missing and the surrounding tissue has healed.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
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