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Fishing at Moulin De Guinche (and the surrounding area) Rules, Information, Hints & Tips

For fishing on the private lake:

• In order to attract the fish then small pieces of bread (pinched between the fingers so it will sink) is fine and you can also throw in pieces of sweet corn every few minutes to attract more fish. As a general guide two or three tins of sweet corn is needed for one days fishing.
• Only barbless hooks must be used.
• No keepnets – all fish to be returned straight away after capture.
• The best bait to use is standard "off the shelf" sweet corn (available in supermarkets) or bread. Worms can also be used (dig around the gardens!). You might also try tinned maize. For the more specialist anglers then boilies catch a lot of the bigger fish. If you are catching too many small fish then try using larger hooks and more/larger bait.
• If you wish to buy any more tackle or bait for your use then there is a selection available in the angling/sports area in the larger supermarkets in Fontenay or Chantonnay etc.
• Please help younger anglers who have caught fish by unhooking them carefully for fast return to the water. Some of the fish are very large and will get hurt if not handled very carefully. We provide a green un-hooking mat; if you are lucky enough to land a large fish please place the fish on that whilst unhooking it and please return all fish straight back to the water immediately.
• Float fishing works best and with 1 or 2 pieces of sweet corn on the hook. Ledgering is also good though.
• Try fishing close against the trees around the edge of the lake for the larger carp but be careful to avoid over-casting and losing hooks and floats etc by getting snagged in the trees (very easy to do!).
• The lake is shallow and is best fished at a depth of no more than 2½ feet. However this does not mean that all of the fish in it are small as some approaching 20lbs in weight have been caught. If you are lucky to catch any larger fish do send us some photos for use on our website. Any contributions will be greatly appreciated!
• There are two large air pumps providing a large amount of additional oxygenation into the lake and these should be left running during the summer months (please do not turn these on or off and don’t let children play with them). The fish are quite used to the air pumps running and the greater oxygen levels are there to help improve the health of the aquatic habitat, the fish and other wildlife. If by any chance you are unlucky enough to hook and snag one of the airlines please leave in the water as best as you can and leave a note for our housekeepers to re-set them back into position. The use of the oxygenating system greatly improves the environment for the fish making them grow larger, healthier and easier to catch.
• Strictly no swimming in the lake. Underwater obstacles can be dangerous.
• Please pick-up and remove any discarded pieces of tackle (hooks or line etc) and put these in the bin to prevent harm to the local wildlife. Please leave the surround area clean and ready for the next guests.
• Never leave rods unattended at any time. If a fish were to get hooked it could be hurt or otherwise could easily pull the rod into the lake (this does happen!).
• Please leave the fishing rods ready for the next guests and leave them in the same condition as you found them; in case of any problems please let Tim know.

 

For Fishing around and about in the locality:

• There are many great places to fish within a short car journey from the house. The Vendée has more kilometres of canals and rivers for fishing than any other Department in France!
• You will need to buy a license to fish wherever you plan to fish publicly owned lakes and stretches of river. Private lakes are usually covered by a block permit = no separate license is required. (You do NOT need a license for fishing at Moulin De Guinche!) but this is not always the case. It's as well to check with the site owner or whoever sold you your tickets if the national license is also needed – often a day ticket is all that you need. Permits are usually sold in nearby cafes, bars, the local post office and, of course in tackle shops.
• What you must ask for is "UNE CARTE DE PECHE POUR LA CARPE UNIQUEMENT, S'IL VOUS PLAIT." By asking in this manner you make it clear that that you are fishing purely for carp.
• If you think that you may enjoy more than one trip in any one calendar year you should buy a yearly license. However, most areas now offer a "carte de vaccances" (holiday fishing license) which is much cheaper so for the vast majority of times please simply ask for "une carte de vaccances S’il vous plait".
• A standard carte de peche and the stamp that indicates that you have paid the French fishing tax for one county area (known as “une department”) will cost you approx. £35 and entitles you to fish all the public lakes and rivers within that county. You can also buy additional reciprocal stamps that allow you to fish the public waters in all of the bordering counties.
• There is a huge lake fishing complex at Rochereau near Chantonnay that even has a special 2km stretch for carp fishing at night!
• For truly amazing coarse fishing checkout the massive Pescalis complex. Pescalis offers the possibility of practicing all styles of coarse angling within an area of over 150 hectares. Swims are designed for the English style of angling, quiver, swing-tip,waggler and pole fishing. Tench, roach, gudgeon, rudd, perch, carp and sturgeon are present in exceptionally high densities will please both novice and expert alike, with the potential of some great specimens. Visit here and you will catch big fish! Pescalis

 

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