Its been a stop – start few weeks at Ribiere with poor weather conditions hampering the fishing. But this week its kicked off with a bang as the fish seem to be more active and moving all over the lake again. Its safe to say its been very testing over the last three weeks but we are hoping that with warmer weather on the way the fish will kick on.
When anglers have been on the fish they have been very catchable. With Mac and Bev Stevens doing well with two fish over 50lb and Laurent with a stunning fish and new pb at 55lb.10. Peter Boulton has also had a great week landing three fish over 50lb and a number of 40lb fish in testing conditions. His best was “the long grey” at 59lb.
With better weather peg 9 has sprung to life this week with Julien Filleul one of our regular and very experienced French anglers having 10 runs and banking 7 fish in just 48 hours. This included 2x30lb, 3x40lb to 48lb and two over 50lb to 55lb6oz. Great fishing from a great angler.
The future of Ribiere
One of the main reasons I decided to take on Ribiere was the huge potential of the fish. There are a lot of very nice fish here and very big fish that can go bigger. I have publicised the fact that I have fed the fish over the winter to ensure they are in top condition for the spring and will continue to feed the fish over the year when I feel anglers are not putting enough in. This is because I want the fish to reach their true potential which I think is without doubt at least two close to 90lb.
To do this requires anglers to play their part. If you are going to be a regular on Ribiere then you need to come on the journey with me here. That requires two things.
1) A total focus on the care of the fish – on the bank and when you lose one. In my view from what I have seen so far there are some anglers who are not fully observing the rules. No lead core, means no lead core. No leaders, means no leaders. No plastic baits, means no plastic baits - even as a topper. Also you need big mats and nets and slings here. Our fish are over 1 meter long. Alex is 1 meter 10cm. We have some of the grass carp even longer. You also need to make sure you have the carp care kits and water ready on the bank. It’s your responsibility to bring the right equipment. If you don’t have it or are unsure then ask. Can you also note that all fish over 50lb should be in the water when you take the pictures. Again that’s not pictures on the bank first then in the water. It’s in the water only. Yes, I know it’s a pain to do it on a cold wet day in March, but get your waders on and get it. No excuses.
2) The right amount and quality of bait going in on a regular basis. I have introduced a boilie which has been designed to give the carp the nutrition they need. I am not insisting you use it, but it is here and anglers and myself are feeding it. I am doing it at a good price to ensure you buy it. So how much should you feed per week? Well, we have 500 big carp. If every carp eats 1kg of bait per week then ten anglers would need to put in 50Kg per week to feed them. The average weight of our carp is 40lb so please think about it. You will find it very difficult to overdo the baiting. My recommendation is that you use a mix of boilie and, to keep the cost down, pellet and maize etc. Lots of anglers are using bait boats so again think about how you can spread your bait and do something different.
