The Best Ever Carp Fishing Conditions In France
Who said mid-summer and extremely hot weather kills carp fishing?
French Heatwave Creates Perfect Carp Fishing Conditions
Extremely hot weather is not normally associated with great carp fishing conditions in France, but that was before the pandemic of 2020 turned the whole world on its head. The month of August started with soaring temperatures and severe drought warnings for the French countryside. In keeping with a world turned upside down, carp catches during the period rocketed to a record high.
Who Had The Record Breaking Carp Catch At Oakview Lake?
Oakview regulars Ian Woodland, Richard Inman, Jason Rainbow and Bob Inman, aka 'The Gentlemen's Club' caught a record breaking 57 carp during the first week of August 2020. They smashed the previous lake record of 53, set nearly a decade ago when the carp were a lot smaller.
What Were The Carp Sizes During Oakview Lake's Record Week?
The total number of carp caught during the record week was 57, which is an average of over 8 carp a day. The carp sizes were: 6 x 40s, 22 x 30s, 20 x 20s, 5 x teens and 4 under 10lb. The graph below shows the number of carp caught in each weight range.
What Type Of Carp Made Up Oakview Lake's Record Catch?
36 Mirror Carp made up 63% of the total catch, 19 common carp made up 33% of the catch and 2 ghost carp made up the remaining 3% or so. The graph below shows the number of carp caught in each category type.
Who Caught The Most Carp During Oakview's Record Fishing Week?
Ian Woodland caught the most carp with a total of 27 catches. Jason Rainbow came in second with a total of 16 carp and Richard and Bob Inman fished together to add another 14 to the grand total of 57 carp caught in one week. The graph below shows the total number of carp caught per angler during the week.
The Biggest Carp Of The Week
Ian Woodland caught the biggest of the six forty pound carp at 46lb 9oz.
Other Forty Pound Carp
Jason Rainbow's biggest carp of the week was a 45lb 5oz mirror.
A Notable Catch
Bob Inman is a very experienced angler, but this was his first attempt at carp fishing. His first ever carp weighed in at 39lb 10oz. Not a bad PB to start off with!
Summary Of The Record Breaking carp Fishing Week At Oakview Lake
Despite the extremely hot French weather, the carp fishing at Oakview Lake during the first week of August was outstanding. The previous two weeks at oakview lake also produced very good results in hot weather. Could it be that the carp were just very hungry after the lock-down months? Unlikely because the carp were fed large amounts of pellet every day during the lock down. Could it simply be because of the lack of angler pressure in the early season? very likely!
Credit and thanks to Ian Woodland, who's analytical skills provided all of the source material for this article. A Final thank you to Richard Inman, who organised this carp fishing trip to Oakview Lake this year. What a trip it turned out to be! See you all again in 2021.
