Carp Fishing In France

Carp Fishing In France. What should i take?

Carp fishing in France is no different to fishing in the UK, the only difference is you cannot pop home to get something you forgot. So the best advice is to list everything you will need and tick it off as you go. Another thing to consider is that you have paid to fish for a week so you wont want to be running round the French towns trying to find some boilie stops.

So you are all booked and ready for your carp fishing adventure to France, you have double checked passport, ferry ticket, driving license, car insurance and road side assistance, you have right? but what else?

Do you have a red warning triangle, hi viz vest, spare bulbs for the car and head light deflectors? The French authorities are becoming really strict now and they are targeting foreign road users, check with Drive alive here for the official rules.

Ok you are now legal to drive in France, what about the fishing gear? The average UK carp anglers fishing gear is normally more than adequate for fishing in France however as a guide i would check the following.

1. Line is minimum 12lb breaking strain
2. Carp roads with at least 2 1/4 pound test curve
3. Good quality bait runner reels
4. Decent buzzers
5. Good quality bank sticks or rod pods
6. 40inch landing nets
7. Decent un-hooking mat, bean bag type if possible
8. Weighing sling
9. Scales upto at least 50lb
10. Good quality bivvy & Bedchair
11. Antiseptic for hooking points
12. All the required end tackle.
13. Bait if taking your own
14. And a camera to get that trophy shot.

France does have some tackle shops, however Carp fishing in France is not as popular as in the UK and although tackle shops do stock some carp tackle it will be limited and not always of the best quality, so best check the tackle box before you go and make sure you have all you need.

Food is another subject as this may or may not be a concern depending on which venue you have booked, however if you live on Heinz baked beans then you better stock up as English type brands dont exist, unless the area has a high number of Ex pats living there.

Catch up on my next blog when i will be writing about the best times of the year to go fishing in France