Quest Baits Blog

by Gareth Watkins

I previously published this article on the Angling Lines blog, but it really does stand out for me as one of, if not the most memorable session I have ever fished. Not because we caught big fish, indeed I have caught larger from other less challenging waters. It was just the immense elation of banking an Orient 40lb Plus…
Here is the story:
It was with huge anticipation that I agreed to my friend Laurent’s invitation to try an assault on one of the most daunting of waters: the Lac d’Orient.
Orient is a veritable inland sea covering some 2600 hectares. Despite its size, and typical of French waters, the night sectors are very limited.
At the agreed time I rolled into the car park at the cafe in Geraudot and sat down with a cold beer to await Laurent. The conditions were ideal with a strong wind blowing and the forecast for some nasty weather for the next 48 hours. You see Orient is not a difficult lake, its the rough conditions and its size that increase its difficulty, the worse the weather the better ones chances of catching. Rotten conditions seem to bring the fish right into the bank, thus increasing the chance of a take. continue reading…

By Pat Gillett

I have just come back from an interesting weeks fishing with Paul Cooper on the Angling Lines Venue, Island Lake.

Island Lake is a mature looking Gravel Pit of approximately 25 acres in the Champagne Region of France; roughly 3 ¾ hours drive from Calais. As the name suggests it has a large island and 4 or 5 bays along with a lot of weed and underwater features.

The lake is totally different to most commercial French fisheries as it is relatively lightly stocked for the size of the venue. Most commercial French Lakes are overstocked and so the fish become virtually dependant on anglers’ baits, which more or less guarantees you catching plenty of fish. The fish in Island Lake are of an excellent average size and it would appear that they have reached and are maintaining these weights by feeding on the abundance of natural food in the lake. This can lead to very challenging fishing, but to me this makes it all the more interesting and rewarding. continue reading…

Hi,
My favourite story and capture goes back to 2004.

I had fished a small gravel pit the previous year without any real big captures. The lake was approx 6 acres and I was the only angler fishing it at that time. The majority of the fish that I had caught where small commons up to mid 20’s. It was early march when I wanted to try some of my new bought gear.  New rods, new pod,  everything had to be tested and looked at on the bank.

Because it was still very cold and early in the year I decided that I would give the particular gravelpit a go. I arrived in the early morning, just at 1st light. Everything looked dead..the reeds..the lake..all in their winter sleep.

After installing my gear I set up my new tackle I baited the rigs. 1st rod was cast to the left hand side…just in front of some dead reeds, a few freebies where scattered around it..that should do the trick. When I was preparing my 2nd rod..the 1st rod already signalled some bleeps..the hanger was moving slowly up and down.. continue reading…

By Jamie Simpson

I would be interested to read some of the other consultants and customers stories of their favourite sessions. It is always nice to reminisce about past results and moments on the bank that make you smile when you think back to them.

Setting the picture

I remember a session back in 1990 I think it was and I had been struggling in my early quests to catch Carp and hadn’t managed to catch a single double figure fish from my local pond.

Armed with a bag of ready made Richworth boilies and my 2 daiwa sensor rods I was off for a weekend sleeping on the floor in the back of my mates bivvy.

At this time I was only an apprentice toolmaker on about £40 a week so every penny counted and a bed chair and bivvy were way out of my price range.

It was either the last week in September or the first week in October if my memory is correct and it rained all weekend.

continue reading…

by Shaun Harrison

Just spent a week-end in real heavy winds. the Cambridgeshire lake I am fishing seems to always have a gale blowing across it. I guess because of the size of the place 1 3/4 mile around the bank then the wind builds up more momentum across it than it would appear to do on smaller sheltered lakes. Also Cambridgeshire isn’t the sort of place you go off on a hill walking or mountaineering holiday – it is pretty flat. continue reading…

Phil Parker put the following question about ‘proper’ size 2 man bivvies that will accommodate him and his fishing wife – plus all the gear we typically carry with us.

“On the subject of Bivvys, why do manufacturers make them so low. I’m not the tallest of people but I am finding it difficult to do any kind of adequate manoeuvring unless I’m sitting or laying down especially if the heavens open up. My two man bivvy is exactly not that, more of a one and a half, especially as I have to share with my fishing wife. The only one I have seen is more of a tent than a bivvy and that is the Rod Hutchinson geo 2.2 super tent. This seems to have masses of room, especially for storage. Can anyone recommend anything on the market which has a substantial height and capacity for storing the plethora of gear I carry including a carp fishing wife?”

continue reading…