Winter 2005 Projects at Hooked in France

For once fishing has not been the main activity at Les Montautiers over this winter period. As the main fishing season here runs from March through to the end of October, the winter slot gives Lee, the owner, ample opportunity make improvements and maintain the house, the lake and the facilities for the anglers.

Winter anglers on the "£200 fish whenever you like over the winter ticket" came and went as they pleased. In the meantime Lee enlisted the help of neighbours and friends from the UK to assist with various winter lake and facility improvements projects as described in this report.

I went over to see Lee and the lake in mid-February. I did the Luton to Dinard airbourne route this time instead of driving as Lee promised I could borrow a bit of his kit in exchange for sorting his troublesome computer out.

On arrival to Les Montautiers for my fourth visit in less than 2 years, I realised how much the property had changed since I first came.

Despite the water levels being a bit low for maintenance work purposes, the lake is now the deepest it's been since opening as a fishery. The curving bay bank between the Double Island swim and the Roadside is now stablised. Lee extended that part of the lake by several metres in his operation to secure the stability of the bank in Winter 2003.

All four of the main swims are now perfect fishing platforms. The swims are held in place with railway sleepers and gravelled over which helps keep the walking area dry. Designated areas have been setup for bivvies, 2 in each of the double swims and 1 on the Roadside and Natural swims. There's bins for rubbish and Lee has even gone to the trouble to set up a few climbing trees to help anglers spot the lurking carp.

In addition to the 4 main swims, stalking areas have now been established in places that were once overgrown.

Winter this year has seen the introduction of further reed beds along the eastern side of the lake between the Natural and Big Double swims. Also the water has been treated to prevent the overgrowth of the main weedy areas of the lake. The banks have been re-seeded in places as well, in particular, alongside the path connecting the Big Double and Natural swims. This area is often used for stalking showing carp.

Lake aside, I was most impressed with the work done to the anglers kitchen. The floor is now fully tiled - easier to clean off the mud the anglers bring in ;o). Also the cooking area has moved down to one end with the dining bench at the other in front of the impressive display of HinF carp photography. On top of that the place has been finished of with a fresh coat of paint and TV with Sky added to the room (ideal to catch up on them footy scores!).

Many thanks to the winter working party which consisted of:

Nick Wallwork (bailiff)
Nick Dixon
Scott Wallwork
Malc and Lesley
Simon Preston

None of it would have happened without you.

Cheers all and Tight Lines

Mike (Lee's Website Guy)