Date: February 2010

Details: World Cup 2010 at Joy Lake!

For those of you that don't want to miss all the drama of England's bid for World Cup glory, but still want a carp fishing holiday in June/July this year - DON'T DESPAIR!!

Whilst we have no TV at the lake itself, we have a very friendly landlord, Maurice, who runs a great little bar, The Momo Club in the centre of nearby Mauron.

Maurice has already entertained a number of our visitors in 2009, and will be showing all England games live (even if France get knocked out early on!)

Lifts to/from Mauron, which is only 5 minutes away, should also be possible, so there is no need for anyone to drive!

Maurice keeps the beer coming at his bar!

Date: January 2010

Details: 2009 End of Year report....

2009 has ended just as it began here at Joylake – frozen solid!

Unfortunately the weather has meant the postponement of our planned winter netting until later in the year – watch this space for further updates......

Anyway, we wanted to go back to the warmer months of 2009, and a record a few of our fondest memories from our first year with Angling Lines:

The season got underway in April and saw the first appearance of the year for ‘Two-Tone’, our most distinctive ‘30’, to Nick Cruse – (his new PB!) Nick cast a bright pink pop-up into the margins of ‘Pads’ swim after spotting a feeding fish & it tore off with it after less than 5 minutes!

May – belonged to the younger anglers (and the young at heart!). Odessa St Youth Group made a very brief visit (24hrs!) to us, which resulted in a new PB for Ross Myers (30lb 12oz) and master class from Carp Tours Roy Fulton who banked 2 upper 20’s and a double in around 12 hours of fishing.

Next to impress was 15 year old Tasha Ryan, fishing with Dad David. Tasha finished the week with 10 fish (1 x 30lb, 6x 20lbs and 3 doubles) although Dad did manage a couple more!

As for the young at heart, Ray Collins patience paid off (eventually!). He stalked a fish in the Point Bay for an entire day, and just as the Sausage and Mash was about to drag him away, a 30lb 13oz mirror finally came to the net, (I heard the cheers from the kitchen!!).

There wasn’t much cheer around for Dan Spooner and mates Chris & Craig on their journey to us from Calais. A mammoth 13 hour road trip involving breakdowns, several major wrong turns and a dodgy sat nav meant a very weary group arrived late on the Saturday. Thankfully the Joylake Carp set about cheering them up, and all 3 of the lads had 30’s (all new PB’s), and plenty more fish to help make the trip a very worthwhile one – although I still dare not show my face at the garage that we had to recover and bump start the Transit Van from!!!

Throughout the early part of the season Quest Baits Surf n Turf was undoubtedly the bait to be on, however with the onset of summer the fruity flavours started to come into their own, Quests Pineapple Crush more notably. Surf n Turf still accounted for a good number of summer carp, as did Mainline Activ8 and also maize, but the Joy Lake carp certainly have a sweet tooth come the warmer months.

After the carp spawned in late May, June and July saw a lot of hot weather and high pressure, which slowed the fishing at times. This didn’t stop more PB’s hitting the banks for the likes of John Kemp, Peter Mills & mate Glyn, and also the two Toms (Broxup and Bamber).

However one of the best weeks of the year had to be when Duncan Maugham arrived with son Mark (aged 15) and three friends also 15 years of age, in early August. Now I must confess I had anticipated a tough week (for me!) with four 15 year olds to cater for – especially if the fishing was slow. Thankfully the Joylake carp played their part again, and the lads (not forgetting Duncan) proved to be fantastic company, and more than a match for their seniors in both carping and banter!! Everyone had at least one 30, 4 out of 5 caught new PB’s, and Duncan’s son Mark had a truly remarkable hat-trick of three 30’s within 12 hours of fishing! And then there was Duncan’s eel.....

The long hot summer continued well into September, with the water levels down by over a foot in some places. This didn’t seem to put the carp off feeding though, as plenty more PB’s, Vinny and Aiden O’Hara, James Winter and Ted Handley to name a few, hit the banks. Most of the runs were now coming in the early hours with the days fairly quiet (ideal for catching up on some kip after being rudely awoken by screaming alarms in the night!!).


As always though, the ladies have to have the last word (!), and one of our final guests of the year Christine Ward showed the boys how it’s done with three 30’s, three upper 20’s and a double from the super consistent Stump swim, during October.

So what will 2010 bring? Plenty more PB’s for sure, hopefully the first 40lb fish under our management, and definitely many, many, more memorable moments to write about!

For now though it’s time for long, cold and wet days working on the swims, cabins, trees etc, but at least we know if 2009 is anything to go by it will be well worth it!!

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year and we hope to see you here in 2010.

Neil, Caroline and Family.

Never mind a bivvy – bring an igloo!!	Nick Cruse with Two – Tone @ 32lb 4oz.	Young Tasha Ryan with a lovely mirror of 28lb 8oz
And the Young at Heart Ray Collins with his new PB of 30lb 13oz.	A hat-trick of 30’s for Mark Petch!

Date: August 2009

Details: Maughams Marauders storm Joy Lake!

Duncan Maugham brought a party of four fifteen year-olds to Joy Lake last week.

The group had a week to remember, as they all had 30lb+ fish, 3 of which came to Duncan's son Mark within a 12 hour spell on the Monday!

The lads ended the week with 36 fish (and over 50 runs) between them with the 'top rod' award being shared between Matt Fitzpatrick (Pads swim) and Ryan Holmes (Stump swim) with 10 fish each.

Biggest fish of the week went to Frazer Bell (Brace swim - new record for the swim too!) with a mirror of 34lb 8oz and special mention must go to Duncan himself. A relative newcomer to carping, Duncan lost a few but still managed a clonking new PB of 31lb 8oz and then had the shock of his life whilst dead-baiting for pike one evening.....a huge 4lb eel! Fair play to Duncan too for not only unhooking the slippery customer, but also for posing with it - there was no way I was helping him with it!!!!

All in all a memorable week and the lads were a great advert for junior carpers with excellent tactical know-how, and fish care skills.
I'm sure Duncan's ears are already being bent for a return visit................

Biggest of the week, Fraser's mirror of @ 34lb 8oz	Hat-trick 30! Mark's 3rd in 12 hours at 31lb 12oz	New PB for Matt @ 30lb 4oz
Nice brace for Mark & Ryan!	Duncan's new PB @ 31lb 8oz	The Slippery Customer!!!

Date: June 2009

Details: Joy Lake May Report - PB's aplenty!

As previously reported, May kicked off with the first of many PB’s to be broken during the month – mine!

I had a 31lb mirror from the new Kingfisher swim whilst fishing a weekend with pals Justin & John, although John took the biggest fish honours with a 36lb mirror from Box.

Also benefitting from the new Kingfisher swim was young Ross Myers, who despite only having 24 hours to fish Joy Lake (as part of the Odessa St Youth Group’s first ever trip to France), managed a superb 30lb 12oz mirror – having only ever caught fish up to 10lb.

Next up were father and daughter due Dave & Tasha Ryan. Dave beat his previous PB (just!) with a 33lb 6oz mirror, but special mention must go to 14 year old Tasha. Despite not upping her PB (which already stands at an impressive 32lb) Tasha managed a 30lb 12oz mirror, 6 x 20’s and several doubles during the week, all played, landed & handled like a carper with many more years experience!!

4 of Steve Morley’s group of 6 broke their PB’s, and 1 of the other 2 equalled his in a week where the fish fed sporadically.

First off the mark was Steve himself with a new PB 19lb 8oz mirror, later bettered by a lovely stalked common of 22lb, and closely followed by Nick Solanki’s 36lb mirror from the Kingfisher swim.

Andy Corrigan fishing on Stump then beat his PB with a 20lb mirror, and finally Ray Collins was ‘slightly’ chuffed as he smashed his previous PB of 11lb with a stunning mirror of 30lb 13oz, stalked from the Point bay with Brian Duxbury’s assistance (the cheer could be heard all around the lake!).

Brian himself was unlucky not to up his PB of 33lb as he landed a mirror of exactly the same weight from the Withy swim, but went on to add several 20’s including a lovely common of 23lb 8oz. The final member of the party, matchman Tony Deegan was struggling for runs on method tactics, but finally broke his duck on the last day with a mirror of 19lb 8oz from Pads swim.

Finally for May, trio Dan Spooner, Chris Flatt & novice Craig Angliss eventually arrived at Joy Lake after a marathon 12 hour journey from Calais which involved breaking down and getting lost ‘several’ times (watch out for the article from Dan – the tale needs to be told!!)

Their endeavours were quickly rewarded however, as first Dan (33lb 8oz) and then Chris (31lb 8oz) broke their PB’s on the first night. Dan, fishing on Stump, then added a further mirror of 32lb 8oz and Chris, on Pads, a 29lber on the Sunday morning. Not to be out-done, Craig then smashed his previous PB of 10lb with a lovely mirror of 27lb 4oz, and then went one better with a 33lb mirror, all from the Box swim.

The lads finished the week with 21 fish between the 3 of them, despite the fish starting to spawn on the Friday.

Bait-wise, Quest Baits Surf N Turf is still doing the business over all other baits, although Pineapple Crush is starting to produce consistently too. Bottom baits and snowman rigs are both working well, as is stalking the fish in the pads during bright sunny days. With the warmer weather moving in, a few fish should also start falling to surface baits....

With spawning now out of the way, more PB’s are likely to fall during June.......watch this space!

Neil.

Ross Myers, 30lb 12oz mirror new PB!	Dave Ryan, 33lb 6oz new PB!	Ray Collins, 30lb 13oz new PB!
Dan Spooner, 33lb 8oz new PB!	Chris Flatt, 31lb 8oz new PB!	Craig Angliss, 33lb new PB!

Date: May 2009

Details: Kingfisher swim update....

Having installed the new Kingfisher swim over the winter, owner Neil decided to try and be the first to catch from it last weekend. Fishing with pals Justin & John, who opted for the Stump & Box swims, Neil did’nt have to wait too long and had a 22lb 8oz Mirror and a new PB 31lb Mirror on the Saturday afternoon within two hours of each other. Successful bait was Quest’s Surf N Turf bottom baits with a piece of imitation maize and small PVA bags of lake pellets/crumbed boilies.

John had also got off to a flier on Box with early morning mirrors of 16 & 17lb, closely followed by a clonking 36lb Mirror @ 7am. Two further doubles (one a lovely silvery common) and a 27lber completed a fine weekend.

Fishing the ever reliable Stump swim, Justin had 5 fish, amazingly 4 of which were 16lbers!! (16lb, 16lb 4oz and 2 @ 16lb 8oz), topped by an 18lb 8oz mirror.

Surf N Turf was again the top bait, with all bar 2 fish falling to this new flavour (Rahja Spice claiming the other 2). With the weather now warming up it will be interesting to see if the trend continues, or if the sweeter flavours (especially Pineapple Crush) will take over for the summer - we shall see........

The fish are becoming increasingly active, and are now crashing out all over the lake regularly, May should be a cracking month!!

Neil Houghton, 31lb Mirror from Kingfisher	John Connell, 36lb Mirror from Box swim

Date: April 2009

Details: 'Two-tone' makes Nick's week!

Joy Lake’s distinctive ‘two-tone’ mirror, last caught by Ron Key in Oct 2008 @ 30lb 4oz (see Article), made Nick Cruse’ week and smashed his PB in the process. The fish had obviously had its head down over the winter, as it came out this time at 32lb 4oz!

Nick stalked the fish after spotting it stirring up the bottom under the trees to the back of the Pads swim. A single tutti-frutti pop-up proved irresistible and the fish took off almost instantly. A nerve jangling 10 minute scrap ensued with the fish making several lunges into the lilies, until the net was finally slipped under it.

Nick was fishing with mates Dave Coleman and Dave Foresuch, and the party had a total of 12 doubles, 8 x 20’s and the two-tone 30 between them. Not bad considering the changeable weather which included some very chilly nights and heavy rain.

Best bait was again Quest’s Surf N Turf, fished in a variety of ways (snowman, dumbbells, single bottom baits), but Rahja Spice and Tutti Frutti pop-ups also worked.

Nick Cruse with 'Two-tone' @ 32lb 4oz	Ron Key with Two-tone @ 30lb 4oz in Oct 08	Dave Coleman with a 28lb 1oz Mirror

Date: February 2009

Details: First '30' of the year!!!

Lake owner Neil took a few hours off from branch-cutting, leaf raking etc, and had 3 fish in 2 short afternoon sessions this week.

The first fish came on Thursday 26th Feb after less than an hours fishing and weighed in at 18lbs 8ozs.

The following day, and again after less than an hours fishing, a cracking 30lb 8oz mirror came out, closely followed by a 24lb mirror.

All of the fish came from the Stump Swim, and fell to the new Surf 'n' Turf flavour boilies from Quest Baits.

The fish have become very active since the weather warmed up two weeks ago here in Brittany, and obviously have their heads down right now!

What a great time to get those rods dusted off and take advantage of our Winter Breaks prices - running until the end of March!!

18lbs 8oz Mirror	30lbs 8oz Mirror	24lb Mirror

Date: January 2009

Details: New 7th Swim Completed at Joy Lake!

Work on the new 7th swim, (named 'Kingfisher' after numerous sightings of one of our residents during the work) has now been completed.

The swim is on the same peninsula as 'The Point' swim, and opens up a previously unfishable area of Joy Lake (see Lake Map for overview).

As with all of our other swims, this one has plenty of features - overhanging trees to the left margin, lily pads to the front, (with several clear channels) and more tree cover to the frequently productiove far bank (right) margin.

Looking forward to seeing the first fish come out of here!

Work is also underway on the upgrade of the island shelter area, (including the addition of a new stone bbq on the island) and the cabins - whoever said running a fishery was relaxing?!?

More on these projects upon completion - watch this space!

Kingfisher Swim from the far bank	Kingfisher Swim Left Hand view

Date: May 2008

Details: 'The Veteran' leads the way

Steve Sheppard returned to Joy Lake for his fourth visit, and used all his experience to bank a best ever five 30's in a week.

The other 4 anglers in Steve's party also chipped in with a further five 30's, giving a weeks total of 10 x 30's, 19 x 20's and 35 doubles.

40th Birthday boy Kevin endured a frustrating start to his week on Point with hook-pulls, parted line and lily pads testing his patience. He persevered though and had several doubles, three 20's (including a lovely 22lb 8oz Common) and a 30lb 8 oz mirror - which unfortunately meant a forfeit for his troubles (don't worry Kev, I'll not post the piccies on the website!).

Chris (aka Badge) had a great week in the Pads swim, beating his PB on several occassions. His best two fish being 30's at 30lb exactly and 31lb 3oz, and backed up with three 20's and numerous doubles. Even a wade into his swim (to retrieve a rod pulled in by an unknown carp) could'nt dampen his week!!

Dave's week on Brace swim started well with a 28lb 8oz Mirror on the first day, two 20's on the second day and two more on day 3. But the runs tailed off (nothing to do with a dip in the swim Dave??!), although a new PB of 29lb did put in an appearance on the Wednesday.

Also off to a flier was Wayne with a 31lb 15oz Mirror from Withy on Day 1. A number of doubles followed, plus two 20's (best 27lb 8oz), before a lovely Mirror of 31lb 9oz finished the week on a high on the last day.

Finally as mentioned above, Joy lake veteran Steve fishing on Stump had a best ever five 30's (topped by a Mirror of 33lb 4oz), four 20's (best 28lb 12oz) and eleven doubles.

Two of Steve's 30's came during a hectic hour on the Tuesday, with fish of 31lb 3oz, 31lb 9oz and 27lb 14oz all coming out.

An excellent week had by all, look forward to seeing you all again (even the Rovers fans!)........................

Chris (aka Badge)	Steve Sheppard

Date: April 2008

Details: More PB's smashed

Thankfully the weather had improved somewhat by mid-April when Ben, Hazel and Mick arrived.
Hazel set the pace for the guys early on with a superb new PB of 34lb 2oz from the Stump swim, and went on to add 20's of 22lb 2oz, 28lb 4oz, 28lb 8oz and another '30' of 31lb 8oz.

Rising to the challenge, Ben responded with a brace (hooked at the same time whilst stalking in the Point swim bay!) of 22lb 1oz (Common) and a 30lb 8oz mirror, and had further 20's of 25lb 4oz, 27lb 12oz and a new PB of 33lb - also coming from the Stump swim.

Both Ben and Hazel took full advantage of having exclusive use of the lake and caught a number of fish whilst stalking.

Taking life a little easier in the Withy swim, Mick found the bigger fish had deserted the area, but thankfully a few of our stockies kept him occupied, including a nice 19lb mirror!

Looking forward to the re-match in July!!!

Hazel Spencer & Ben Dixon

Date: April 2008

Details: This Years First Customers

Joy Lake's first customers this year under the new management had a fantastic week. Mick & Julie Knaptons party of 6 anglers endured some very 'unwelcoming' weather, arriving in sleet closely followed by hail and lots of cold rain!!
Despite this, the galant band managed to bank some lovely fish and 4 out of the 6 anglers upped their personal bests.

Mick & Julie (pictured with their new PB's) endured a run-less first few days in the Brace swim, before deciding to move to the more sheltered & deeper Withy swim. The move paid off with Mick landing fish of 24lb, 26lb 9oz, 28lb 2oz, 28lb 6oz, 2 different fish @ 29lb 12 oz and a cracker of 35lb 12oz (pictured). Not to be out-fished, (and despite also doing the cooking for the entire party!) Julie also managed fish of 15lb, 22lb 7oz and her new PB of 33lb 6oz (pictured).

Also beating their PB's were Peter (Stump swim) who had a number of our new 'double' stockies before hitting into fish of 21lb 2oz (the only Common of the week!), 27lb 12oz and his biggie at 30lb 2oz, and Roger who struggled for runs on the shallower Pads swim, but still had his new PB at 18lb 15oz.

Finally Mark (aka Pug!) in the Box swim, also had several of our new 'doubles', 2 x 20's and a 30lb 9oz mirror and Alan (aka Tank!) on Point - also struggling for runs in the shallow bay, had 2 fish, both 24lbers.

Once the rest of the photos arrive (ROGER!!) I'll post them in the 'Latest Photos Gallery' for all to admire.

Well done to all and hope to see you again soon - bring some better weather next time though!!!

Julie Knapton	Mick Knapton

Date: March 2008

Details: Under New Management!

Joy Lake is under new management! We recently took over at the beginning of March, and hope to continue and build upon the good start made by its previous owners. The lake has been a carp fishery for nearly 4 years now, but used privately.

We stocked a further 50 fish at the beginning of 2008 to supplement the exisitng stocks taking levels to around 150 carp. The 'stockies' weighed between 13lb and 26lb (including a couple of gorgeous commons), and have already started putting in regular apperances on the bank.

We hope you'll come and see for yourselves!

Neil and Caroline at Joy Lake, April 2008.