Interview with Ian Mouncey

Today’s blog post is an interview with Ian Mouncey, owner of Etang De Vost, a carp lake in France. Recently Carp Talk came to do a feature on the venue that will be in the Christmas edition of the magazine. Out on the 19th December http://www.carptalk-online.co.uk/

1) Ian can you tell me a bit about Etang De Vost?

Carp Creuse was formed in 2007 to provide access to one of France’s hidden gems (Etang De Vost). We’ve added over 1 ton of fast growing carp to complement the original stock, with carp to over 48lb

The lake was formed over 30+ years ago and was stocked with a large number of carp, roach, perch & some pike. The lake was privately owned and when the former owner passed away, the lake was not fished for over 10 years. We took ownership in September 2007 We added over 1 ton of fast growing carp to complement the original stock, & we have been working hard ever since to get the lake ready for the Anglers.

2) Owning your own lake is a bit of a dream for many anglers but I suppose there is a lot of hard work that is involved?

Yes you are not wrong their  apart from the normal every day thing that we all do i.e. like cutting the grass, pruning the plants or the trees, you also have the daily task of cleaning the intake & outlet grills of any debris, then you have to keep checking  the water quality PH & oxygen levels, although this is not normally a problem because the lake is river fed so we have good high oxygenated water. Then of course when you do not have any punters (anglers fishing) we also have to feed the fish because we do complete packages where we supply all the gear apart from reels and terminal tackle we also have to keep an eye on all the equipment to make sure it is up to standards we would want if we were fishing ourselves (all rods & bivvies’ up for the job) this is without the shopping runs for supplies, preparing the food and then the cooking and washing up (yes I do the washing up). It can be long hard days but when you have your own business you have to put your all into it to be successful. 

3) How did you get into fishing?

I am from a big family  I had 5 older Brothers & 1 younger sister & my brothers all fished so I got the bug from always wanting to go with them even when I was at the age when It was not cool to have your younger brother tagging along. So in the end I just went with me mates, now my brothers that are still with us want to go fishing with me (R.I.P Barry)

4) I know you like carp fishing in the UK where do you mostly go these days?

To be totally honest now I have the lake I don’t get much time to go in the UK but I   know I can always get a couple of guest visits at my local church Langley carp fishery (Sopers)

5) Have you ever fished for other species?

Only when I was a kid I started on the silver fish Roach, Rudd, Perch & then Tench Chubb, & Barbel

6) What is your most memorable fish or fishing experience?

I have a lot of fond memories on the bank with my Brothers beside me but I think the one that sticks out is my 1st double figure common carp 16lb, I was 17 years old before I had joint the Malcolm barker memorial lake which came with the Bishop Stortford angling club ticket (and I think it still does) me and my brothers had a great day but best of all I caught this Carp on my first home made boilies which in baked instead of boiling so they would float. Back then I just attached to a hair rig a size 6 hook and a large bubble float half filled with water to get the weight for casting.

7) Where can people get more information if they are considering booking a holiday at Etang De Vost?

There is a website www.carpcreuse.com or they can also look on twitter ‏@carpcreuse   and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/carpcreuse

Or they can call me direct on 01279 451844, mobile 07734448579

Thank you Ian for your time and best of luck with the fishery.

Sunshine Award

I am happy to say that i have been awarded a Sunshine Award for my blog by Hemmie, http://hemmie-writing.blogspot.co.uk/

I now have to answer some questions below and then award some other good bloggers I know.

What is your favourite Christmas Movie?

Don’t really have one other than Tight Lines Christmas Special

What is your favourite flower?

Bougainvillea

What is your favourite non alcoholic beverage?

Coffee

What is your passion?

All types of fishing but most recently i have been Session Carp Fishing and sea fishing from a boat.

What is your favourite time of the year?

Late Spring Early summer

What is your favourite time of the day?

Dawn and dusk as this is the witching hour for fish to bite.

What is your favourite physical activity?

Carrying all my fishing gear to my swim

What is your favourite vacation?

Sandy Balls in Hampshire, a great family holiday for all with private fishing on the fabulous River Avon.

My awards are for the following have a browse around their blogs

 http://satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/

http://fishing-for-memories.blogspot.co.uk/

http://talesofafisherman.blogspot.co.uk/

http://coarsefishingpaul.blogspot.co.uk/

Leaving it to the Last Minute.

I am sure we all know the feeling when we delay finishing a fishing session and go home. That last cast turns into ten last casts. This happens more when it has been a slow day. Match anglers have no such dilemma as you stop fishing when hooter sounds. Pleasure anglers, however, can, within reason, stop when they want to. This feeling is often enhanced when fishing into dusk in the winter. All the articles i have read on fishing for big perch say that leaving it to the last minute and staying put in the swim often leads to the biggest fish as the wiley old big perch feed hard at dusk.  Carp also feed well in the dark which is why so many of us fish for them through the night.

This issue was bought home to be on the recent pike fishing session. The clocks had gone back and i had been by the water all day. The day was drawing in and dusk approaching even though its only early evening. Apart from two dropped runs early in the day my pike float had stayed still. Autumn was spitting some venom at me as high winds blew the leaves across the lake and constantly catching on the line and float. I was fishing with my brother Andy and he was going to go out that evening so wanted to be away. The approaching darkness also said pack up. I had only just started to tidy the area when i looked up and saw my float snaking across the surface of the water.  I struck into a nice size Jack pike of a few pounds which saved me from a blank. It was nice to get my winter predator fishing off to a catching start and leaving it to the last minute is something i will be doing more of from now until spring.