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2009 Season

19th March - 25th March 
Just said goodbye to John & Jason who, despite us not officially opening until March 28th, wanted a few days break!!! 
Although we have had sunny warm days there has been biting winds and temperatures dropping to -2 at night. 
Despite this, and Jasons 4hr trip to le Mans hospital & them spending 2 full afternoons at Albinos, they still managed to catch 37 fish between them with Jason just outdoing John 

3    x 30lbs + 
22  x  20lbs + 
6    x over 15lbs 

& wait for it......... 

ONLY  6 singles 4 of which were the fully scaleds deliberately put back! 

*Week Mar 29th - April 4th 

This week we saw some new anglers to Rushes... Sean & his mates from the 'Pool'... 
The weather remained sunny days with frosty nights with some peculiar winds! 
Anyway not arriving till very late on Saturday night they started fishing Sunday & they had a fantastic week with 5 
of them achieving PB's and a PB Cat 
So scores on the doors.... 

15lbs +  22 
20 - 25lbs  26 
25 - 30lbs  39 
30lbs +  6 

Catfish 42.8, 30.06. 20 lbs

Week April 4th - April 11th 

Chris returned with Drew and Simon for his 10th visit to us, they had booked an exclusive week as Chris like to move around and it gives him that opportunity. 

Weather was drizzly for some of the week but the nights were less cold than they have been. Our fish arent renowned for liking the rain and Friday with some torrential rain saw the fish 'turn off'. Luckily though the previous 5 days had seen some lovely fish grace the bank. 
So scores on the doors.... 

15lbs +              8 
20 - 25lbs          19 
25 - 30lbs          27 
30lbs +             11    9 mirrors and 2 commons ...upto an impressive 38.8lbs... this fish still had its curtains and Chris (who had seen most of    
our carp) thinks he has had it once  around 3 years ago                                                                                               
5 Catfish 48.3, 25, 19  & 9lbs 

Chris lost our big linear at the net when a swan mussel slid down the line and knocked it off at the net... it is BIG, and he is positive if caught soon will be our new lake record !  In the 25 - 29lb category there were 5 29+ fish. 

We think this is an impressive result for 3 anglers! 
 *April 11th - April 18th 
We entertained Dale & Gordon (a couple of regulars) Neil & Martin this week and on arriving the weather looked like it was going to do its best to marr the fishing for the week. The lake was seeing a northeasterly  and together with the rain usually indicates the fishing was going to be difficult. 
Its always nice having old friends here and from Iain & mines point of view it was great having them here! 
Anyway scores on the doors for the week:- 
15lbs+   19 
20 - 25lbs   18 
25 - 30lbs   27 
30lbs+       4   

Cats 46.10 & 19.09 plus 2 small ones (one was 3inches long LOL) 
 April 25th - May 2nd 
Dreadful weather this week, with rain rain and more rain and some frosty nights (unbelievably) 
2 parties on this week Gary & Mick, & Ash with his family 
The 3 'serious' anglers had:- 
15 - 20lbs 20 
20 - 25lbs 26 
25 - 30lbs 36 
30lbs + 3 

Catfish 4 1@44lbs, 1 @30lbs, 2 just over 20lbs 
 Week May 2nd - 9th 
A difficult week both weather & fishingwise, warm weather & water temperatures started the fish spawning which with sudden drops stopped spawning and the fish were definitely holding up....  so was probably our less prolific week, but it was an absolute pleasure having Martyn, Mark Stuart & Jay here for the first time... it was a great laugh and obviously are delighted that you have decided to come back next year!
So scores....
22   20's  largest at 29lbs 
15     15 - 20lbs 
  no cats at all!!!

 Week May 9th - 16th 
Bruce, James, Glen Gavin & Rob from Kent were our visitors this week & still the weather is not playing ball, the bigger fish are still holding somewhere!  Indeed we havent seen any of the 25lbs + commons now for a few weeks, the doubles and smaller 20's are spawned out lets hope that the bigger girls can sort themselves out in the next week or so. 
A couple of nights with violent thunderstorms and extremely hard rain made it unpleasant at times!!!  It definitely meant them winding in to sit out the storms. 
Scores again 
20lbs+  58 
30lbs +   3 
7  Catfish of 19lbs + largest at 28lbs 
The anglers didnt give us a total of doubles unfortunately, but from our intermediate calculations reckon they had  33 in total.


 Week May 16th - 23rd 
This week we welcomed 2 parties of 2 new anglers to Rushes,  Trevor & Graham & Jim & Andy. 
The week started off with plenty of rain for the first couple of days with some strong south westerly winds blowing hard into the bluecamp corner. 
Tuesday temperatures started to rise significantly, which started the fish spawning, reaching 26 degrees by Friday! 
So all in all very difficult conditions to catch fish and all the lads did well to get a number on the bank. 
So scores as per.... 
Upper doubles  - 29 
20's                 - 44 
30's                 - 5 

Cats -  47.5lbs, 29lbs,28lbs,21lbs,20lbs,14lbs & 2 under 10lbs 
We must mention Andy who came to France for the first time with a PB of 8lbs...  and went away with a 47.5lbs catfish and a 31lbs Mirror, well done that man!!! 
Jim ( Kestrel) was top rod banking 20 20's & 2 30lbs + mirrors. 

Week May 23rd - May 30th 

Being half term in the UK we welcomed back 2 families... Jim, bro in law Steve and Jims son Tom fishing Beatties & Goffees, in BlueCamp we had Steve & his son Jack on their first visit.  They all had a fantastic week and got on like a house on fire, and it turned into a bit of a catfest.... 

I am still waiting for the final tally so will update the scores on the doors hopefully within the next day or so... 
But just thought for now I would share some photos of the cats they had & one of Toms carp... 

See you all next year!!! 

May 30th - June 6th 

Cant believe where all the weeks are going to....   
Anyway we welcomed back Slinger who bought Adam & Tim, and in BlueCamp we had Peter & Mark. 
The week started off extremely hot with daytime temperatures soaring which basically killed the daytime fishing, not at all sure that the fish had got back onto the feed after spawning.... masses of fry in the margins and the cats were certainly feeding & showing in the early evenings. 
Although no 30's this week we had 2 large catfish caught within 5 minutes of each other on opposite sides of the lake Peter having the largest at 52lbs... with Adam having a very creditable 48lber. 

Scores on the doors:- 
11   Large doubles 
42   20's 
Catfish 

52lbs, 48lbs, 22lbs, 21lbs, 3 small ones 

JUNE 6 - 13th 
The year is just flying past !! 

We welcomed  Pete Midgeley and friends back to Rushes again 
and they were not disappointed with a couple of 30s, 20 x 20s and some big doubles 
They also managed to land some of our catfish, mostly mid 20lbs with one going 42lbs 8 ozs 
(a new PB for Pete) 

JUNE 13 - 20th 

This week saw the Calkin family arrive for their annual trip. Pete and Darren fishing days only 
managed PBs in the mid 20s, whilst grandson Daniel helped himself to a couple of 30s 
and 22 x20lb ers along with a brace of 30 lbs + catfish 

JUNE 20 - 27th 

Where to start on this week?? 

David Cage and his 4 friends arrived for a second trip to Rushes, and what a trip it turned out to be 
Peter, fishing from Blue Camp managed a total of 17 x 20s up to 27.08, a couple of cats of 20 and 22lbs and also managed to nearly kill himself by setting his brand new bivvy, bedchair, sleeping bag, tackle bag, camera and various other items (including several fingers) ON FIRE !! 
A candle left in the bivvy was responsible, the second time it has happened here, PLEASE, PLEASE 
DO NOT USE CANDLES OR COOKERS INSIDE A BIVVY, THEY ARE NOT FIREPROOF AND CAN 
BURN VERY EASILY 

David set up in Goffees, in the corner opposite Blue Camp and did his best to empty the lake of 20lbs fish 
In seven days he managed an astonishing 74  20lbs + carp including 31 over 25lbs,  41 up to 25lbs and 2 x 30lb commons 
along with 10 big doubles 
At the end of the week he said 'not a bad weeks fishing really, Im gonna come back and try for the 100 x 20s in a week' 

The rest of the party also got amongst the fish, but as yet we are still waiting for their lists and pictures 


 JUNE 27– JULY 4th 

It was nice to welcome back again some great friends the ‘Mad uns’ on one of their annual excursions. Makes, Blondie, JP, Justine, Scott, Clive and young Ashley. 
Well as you all know this week we saw a heatwave  and any fishing was nigh on impossible!  Temperatures soared into the nineties and they spent their days down at the local lake skinny dipping or sat with us on the terrace having long picnic lunches with much laughter. 
However they did manage some fish with a number of 20’s (don’t know the exact amount) and Scott, to his credit, persisted and finally broke the magic 30lbs mark with a nice mirror.. a well deserved PB. 
Will be nice to see you back in September for some better fishing and some more laughs. 
JULY 4 - 11th 
The weather had cooled down considerably after last weeks heatwave and Gary Allison, son Jack, brother Rich and friend  Barry arrived from Hull. 

Between them they managed to land 12 x 30 lbs carp (36lbs,35lbs, 4x32lbs, 4x31lbs and 2x 30lbs) and 12 other carp over 20lbs 
They were also delighted to land catfish of 57lbs, 50lbs, 47.5lbs, 30lbs, 2 x 29lbs, 27lbs and 25lbs 

See you again next year! 

*********************************************************************** July 11 - 18th

 This week saw the return of 2 anglersfrom Yorkshire, PC Rob Walker and Coroners Officer Alan Cooper.Their firstvisit last season saw their PBs increase from about 7lbs up to over 20lbs sothey were both keen to increase them further and they did so in style , sharinga total of 19 x20s including commons of 25.06, 19.09 and a cracker of 28.08along with 16 mirrors over 20lbs up to a new PB of 28.12 Not content with those, they added adozen catfish up to a new PB for Rob of 51.11 and others of 44.14 and 39.08 All this was just fishing days only !! To complete the week Rob actually retiredfrom the Yorkshire Police Force at midnight on the Wednesday, so we wish himwell in his retirement and hope that Clare doesn’t work him too hard and letshim come back and see us next year Across the lake in Goffees was Mick Wise,whose fishing partner had to go home early due to illness, who had a prettygood week with 4 x 30s up to 32.06, 9 x 20s to 28.14 and a catfish of 22.08  
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July 18 -25 
Jemsue and his son Matt arrived foranother week at Rushes and set up in Goffees where they proceeded to haul 51 x20s up to just under 30lbs and a couple of cats over 20lbs Jemsue’s future son in law went in ‘BinThere’ and first fish was a 49.08 cat on two pieces of fake corn!!! Nat alsomanaged 4 x 20s and quite a few double figure fish, not bad for a beginnerNat!! Andy went in Stumps and had a shedful ofdoubles and 3 x 20s including a PB 27lb common Jon and Laura were over in Blue Campwhere Jon managed to attract 7 x 20s and 2x30s along with 6 catfish including anew Rushes best cat of 59.00lbs (which he had promised to catch before hearrived)   July 25-Aug 1st The King family from Birmingham were nextto arrive for their 3rd visit Jason was in Blue Camp wherehe  had 18x20s including a 29.02 mirror, and a PB 32lbs mirror alongwith 6 big doubles Darran fished Beatties, finishing theweek with 2x30s (30.08 common and a 30.04 mirror) and 15 x 20s whilst fatherMick had to be content with a string of doubles and 2 x 20s both just over27lbs
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August 1-8th
The Tithecott family from Canterbury madetheir annual trip here along with friends Ben and Kim. Set up along the BlueCamp side of the lake, the massive circus tent sleeping accommodation dominatedthe view. Matt and the kids Harvey and Ollie fished Blue Camp for 16x20s and a30 for Matt, whilst Ollie managed several doubles and 3x20s to 28.10, andHarvey weighed in with a few doubles and 2x20s to 27.04 (inbetween playingSwingball and endless PSP competitions) Ben set up in Stumps and settled for 11 x20s to 27lbs and a PB catfish of 44lbs Meanwhile over the other side was theMesquita family from Worthing straight off a week at another French lake Nick in Goffees fished, shall we say,sporadically, for 17x20s and 2 x 30s while dad Richard next door in Beattiesmade do with only 8 x20s but he also had 5 x 30s !!! Mum Louise said that Richard always was alucky so and so !!!  
*********************************************************************** August 8 – 15th 
Bob Burns’s party were next up Bob finishing the week with  11x20s from Goffees, Mick in Stumps landed 7x20s and a couple of nice catfish Over in Blue Camp Sam helped himself to6x20s and a 44.08 catfish (his first cat) and ‘Birch’ in Beatties startedslowly and stayed that way with only 2 cats and 2x 20s for the week   Weather during August has varied betweenhot, very hot and bloody hell its hot, so the fishing of late has slowed down abit, most catches coming late evening or early morning when its cooler, so weare hoping for some rain to cool everything down and freshen it up a little 
********************************************************************** August 15 -22nd
Scott and his mates from Sheerness arrived and got sorted before dinner after taking a slightly strange route to Rushes, involving a detour to somewhere near Paris Apart from some impressive suntans they also managed a fair few carp and cats as well..Scott having 10 x 20s up to 29lbs and a 30.07 common Ricky in the swim next to Scott had 8 x 20s inc. a new PB of 28.05 and a few doubles Bill and Jim aka Statler and Waldorf shared 9 x 20s and a 30.07 common along with a few doubles over in Blue Camp Bruce went up in the shallows and had 5x 20s and a handful of doubles Bearing in mind the extremely hot weather, the guys did amazingly well to catch what they did, seeing as it was up around the 90 degree mark most days
*********************************************************************** August 22-29nd
Next were Alex, Greg, Dean and Nick. Using Bounty Hunters Mega Reds and Rushes pellet they helped themselves to  66 x20s over the week, Dean coming out on top with 34 of them 
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Sept 5-12th
Graham Whitehead was next, as a result of winning a competition on a forum and he chose to go in Blue Camp where he enjoyed his week fishing with 9 x 20 s and 1 x 30, once again in very hot temperatures (he also enjoyed Kims puddings too). Along with the carp he had half a dozen catfish to 26.08 
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Sept 12-26th
saw the Makins arrive for their 2 weeks of fishing and fun. Various guest anglers joined them for varying times over the fortnight, Clive and Craig from Birmingham started off in Blue Camp where they helped themselves to plenty of 20s and a couple of 30s including a PB of 33.08 for Craig..along from them in Stumps were Dale and Aaron just for 4 days, mainly drinking but also managing half a dozen 20s and a 28lb cat During the first week Andy and Julie took it easy, soaked up some sun, enjoyed impromptu picnics on the patio and generally avoided fishing if at all possible although when they did try they had a fair few carp…..and they are still using that old Nash bivvy that should be retired for a bigger one… Robin the Carpenator came for the second week and had 4 x 20s, too much food and probably too many beers too Andy and Julie’s second week saw them pretty much avoiding fishing again, what with more picnics, a few trips to Lidls for more gin and a trip to the local Chinese ‘all you can eat for 10 euros’ and a day in Le Mans Having hardly fished nights and having several days out, they still managed 20 x 20s for Andy up to 29.08 common and a 31.08 mirror plus a 28lb cat and Julie had 6 x 20s to 29.10 ,a new PB for her
*********************************************************************** Sept26 – Oct2nd
Tony and Kenny were next along with their girlfriends for the girls first taste of French carp fishing.. After prising them out of the Ford Focus 3 door that they all travelled down in, along with all the gear needed for week, reviving them with tea, they set about the lakes carp stocks. Up against it with temps in the 90s and very low water levels, the still had a respectable 11 x 20s between them and 2 x 30lb carp including PBs for both of them a 28 for Tony and a 32.01 for Kenny. Kenny also managed a 32lb catfish. The trip also saw Kelly actually hold a fish for the first time for a photo, much to her disgust cos it was ‘ all slimy and wet’…. Over in Blue Camp (maybe called The Willow next year) Jimmy H arrived, fished, drank beer and then went home……
*********************************************************************** Oct 2– 9th
Chris Reet from Lincolnshire came down next to do his annual end of season ‘stocktake’. Fishing from Blue Camp (really must think of a new name for that swim), using copious amounts of maize and hemp introduced via a baitboat, Chris and his mate Terry had a quiet first day, then a rather busy Sunday and Monday…. several 20s to 26lbs started the ball rolling . On Monday evening Chris’s baiting strategy began to pay off when in 55 minutes they had 4x 30s, one a fabulous looking 38.03 Zip linear, followed by a succession of new lake record commons, Terry taking the record with a common of 35.04, only for Chris to take it with another common of 35.07, only to beat it again 10 minutes later with a 35.08 common. Incidentally the two biggest commons were very different fish, one being 38 inches long (as long as the weigh sling) and the other being 5 inches shorter but much deeper. After that the fishing went quiet for 2 days, only picking up again when it stopped raining on Thursday. By the end of the week they had racked up 26 x 20s to 28.08 and 13 x 30s to 38.03, a solitary catfish of 17lbs (although several cats were lost due to hooks straightening) and a pike of 18lbs ( a rare catch as there’s only 9 or 10 pike in the lake) Most of the fish came to Trigga or maize hookbaits over maize/hemp although one or two were caught on the Method Well that’s about it for this season from Rushes, although we do still have a few more anglers coming before we shut down (go into hibernation) for the winter Last report in a few weeks 

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