For the last few years I’ve crossed the channel for a spot of early spring carp fishing in France. However, this year I fancied an even earlier trip and contacted the staff at Fishing in France to see if they had any available spaces for me to fish at the beginning of March on Etang Le Rocher in Normandy, as I knew that this lake was stocked with the large fish I was looking for from a cold weather trip overseas. The staff at Fishing in France was very helpful and the date of my trip was set. I began to make plans for another trip away from Yorkshire and as the date of my trip grew closer, I kept a very close eye on the weather, as this would help me decide what bait I was going to take with me for the session. Unfortunately things were not looking very promising and it looked like I would be fishing in very cold winter conditions - it looked like it was going to be a hard week!

Maggots
I had had some fantastic results during the cold winter months in Yorkshire using large quantities of maggots in the past, so I thought I would try the tactic in France, although I was a little unsure as to how French fish would respond to this type of small natural bait. Maggots were untested territory for me in France and even though I had taken fifty pints with me when I went to Maurepaire in 2003, these were regrettably wasted as I was catching well on method feeder and there seemed little point in using anything else. Nevertheless, as things were looking very cold for this trip I decided to see how many I could get hold of from the local tackle shop at short notice. When I got to the lake and noticed that the cold Northerly wind was still blowing, I realised that I had done the right thing by bringing a large quantity of natural bait with me. The clarity of the lake also looked a little clear and although spring was only just around the corner, there was certainly still a strong feeling of winter in the air.

The Lake
On our arrival the lake looked fantastic and although there wasn’t any fish showing, I was confident that I might be able to winkle a couple out during the week on the maggots. I cast my first rod towards the dam wall just past the house and proceeded to catapult around 6-to-8 pints on that rod to see how they would respond to a baited area. The other two rods were put out to the far margin with just a couple of handfuls of bait over them because I didn’t want to over do it on all my rods on the first day of the week and potentially kill the swim. It was fairly quiet throughout that first afternoon and although the wild birds and other animals were extremely active in the woods behind me, there was little sign of any carp in the area.

Then, all of sudden, the heavily baited right hand rod was away and after a good fight I managed to bank a cracking mid-twenty within only hours of being at the lake. I realised from then on that the fish obviously liked the maggots and had to be careful that I didn't put out 6-to-8 pints of the maggots each time I cast every rod as they wouldn't last the week. The lake had been baited with a fair amount of pellet during the winter period and I decided to put out a handful of pellet over each rod and only half a pint of maggots so that they would hopefully last the trip.

Five Scale and a 40lb Common
On the first night things were still looking fairly quiet and there weren't really any sign of fish at all. I got my head down early as I was a little tired after all the traveling, but was rudely awoken by a slow drop-back in the early hours. After a slow hard fight, I had a huge framed fish in the net. I looked at one side of the fish in the net and it just looked like a great big fish, but as I turned the fish over I couldn't’t believe my eyes: I had ‘Five Scale’. I caught this fish in the spring of last year from Maurepaire in the Champagne region of France and it was quite unbelievable to catch it nearly a year later from Normandy. This massive framed fish looked superb and it was good to see an old friend!

Later that morning I had another slow drop-back on the same rod and this also felt like a really good fish. This one, on the other hand, put up a tremendous fight and after some really long runs, I had what looked like a forty pound common in the net. When I put her on the scales she weighed in at a new personal best French common by six ounces at 40.8lb. This golden fish was immaculate and she looked fantastic as I returned her to the dark depths of the lake.

The Move
After that bit of hectic activity the swim went very quiet for a couple of days and although I luckily managed another couple of mid-to-high twenties, things just didn't look right anymore – the freezing wind was getting stronger and colder. I reeled in and went for another good look around the lake and found a lot of fish under some overhanging branches at the far end of the lake on the back of the wind. There was space for me to move and although there was a lot of gear, it certainly paid off. I had another forty at 41.8lb on the first night after the move and proceeded to get a lot more runs, which resulted in several thirties up to 38.8lb and another big framed forty at 44.8lb. I actually saw a big sandy coloured fish over the baited areas during the day on Thursday and to my amazement I had it later that afternoon. These fish obviously loved the maggots and every one caught from midweek onwards was excreting a mixture of maggots and pellet all over the mat.