Carp fishing at the Etang des Gaulois

Carp fishing at the Etang des Gaulois

At last it was time! After months of anticipation, Mario and I went to the famous Etang des Gaulois in mid-September.

At 5:00 sharp my alarm clock woke me up. Quickly made a good morning coffee and off we went into the car. The anticipation was unbelievable!

Meeting point French border. After about 3 hours of driving I had reached the first milestone. The French border. Mario was already waiting for me there with a car that was also loaded to the brim. We both had a big grin on our faces, it's unbelievable how long we've been looking forward to this trip! After a quick Red Bull "Booster" together, the journey continued to our destination.

We had reached the Etang des Gaulois just in time for check-in. Upon arrival, we were given all the important news and catch reports from our office over the last few weeks. Highly motivated, we packed our complete tackle and fodder into the boats and crossed over to our new home for the next 7 days. Thanks to two electric motors, we quickly reached our goal - position 7.

What a great spot! Complete tranquility and a completely separate area from the otherwise very busy Etang des Gaulois. We loved it! Now nothing could stop us and the tents and our "feel-good camp" were set up in no time.

After the sweaty set-up, we first sat on the jetty for a good hour and watched the water. After a short time we saw the first carp jumping in our area. With the RT4 we created a depth map of our area and were thus able to save the supposed hot spots directly and put them under lining with pinpoint accuracy.

Mario and I had planned our feeding tactics down to the smallest detail in advance over the last few weeks. A mix of Natural Bloodworm Boilies, Liver Bomb Boilies and Classic Krilly Boilies was used for Mario. In addition, he fed the appropriate stick mixes, pastes and bloody liver pellets.

I decided on a mix of Natural Beauty Boilies, Natural Beast Boilies and the Classic Corny Boilies. Like Mario, I also fed the appropriate stick mixes, pastes and bloody liver pellets. As an extra "booster" I also used some ready insects (bloodworms, mini shrimps and artic krill).

Start of a crazy week! After the camp was set up, the location was successfully completed and the food was ready for use, we could finally start. We lined the spots we chose properly and placed the rods precisely on them.

In the meantime it was already evening and the first highlight of our trip was coming up. We had booked dinner service for ourselves in advance. So much in advance, the food was sensational and we can only recommend the dinner service to everyone. We ended the first day of our holiday with a delicious meal on the jetty. And as it should be, we philosophized about possible catches in the first night, typical carp anglers!

Disillusionment set in the next morning, the bite indicators stayed silent and it was time to discuss the situation over a first cup of coffee. While we were discussing possible tactics and plans, it happened that...

Beep, beep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep, beep, beep, beep - full run!!! My bite alarm screeched and the adrenaline shot through my veins. "Yeees is sitting" I yelled Mario and started a heavy drill. After a few minutes my opponent appeared on the surface for the first time. "That's a good one!" said Mario and, armed with the landing net, jumped into the water. The relief and joy was indescribable when the mirror was safely in the net. In bright sunshine I held my first Gaulois carp weighing 20kg+ in my hands. What a crazy start and successful start!

The rest of the morning passed quietly. But there was a lot going on at our spots, the carp jumped and so we decided to feed the spots properly again. Then things got hectic! While we were firing one Spomb after the other at our spots, Mario's rod ran out. After a short drill we could hardly believe our eyes. "An absolute dream fish!!!" I yelled at Mario. Big applause spread when this dream fish lay safely in the landing net. A Ghost Zeiler weighing just over 15kg, absolutely amazing! Mario said what we both thought "the fish of my life!".

In the course of the day we were able to catch three smaller carp and so we lay down on our loungers in the evening, overjoyed.

The alarm clock in the morning had it all again. With a violent full run I was ripped out of my feathers. The carp swam for a moment, but freed itself from the obstacle and we were able to land it safely. After a short photo shoot, the pretty mirror was able to swim again.

Throughout the day we were able to outsmart 5 more carp, our tactic seemed to work. The following night Mario was able to catch two albino catfish. A great catch!

On days 3 and 4 we were able to catch 12 carp together. With a solid average weight of 15kg.

Day 5 started brilliantly once again. After a hard drill that felt like an eternity, I was able to outwit a really long Schuppi. The scales showed once more 20kg+! "What a crazy session!" I said to Mario.

Completion of a one-time session. The last few hours we were able to put some carp on the mat again. In the end, Mario and I were able to catch 36 carp and 2 albino catfish. The perfect session for both of us. Overjoyed and satisfied, we packed our things on Saturday morning and started the long journey home.

One thing is for sure, Etang des Gaulois - we will be back!