James Walters Les Fortinieres April 2007
Les’Fantastic!

The phrase “Breath-Taking” springs to mind when describing a recent trip to Les’Fortieneres.

Set in the most tranquil surroundings this lake is certainly the most stunning lake I have fished, and its uniquely beautiful and peaceful setting is clearly apparent as soon as you pull through the main gates.

On a scorching hot April afternoon we were greeted on arrival, straight away our party of four were shown around the outstanding facilities and kindly given a guided tour of the lake and current ‘Hot-Spots’ worth exploring. It was all very useful stuff. Almost every step along the bank caused fish to spook, which further fuelled our excitement. The shear size and volume of shadows cruising on the top was astonishing. We just couldn’t wait to get a baited rig in the water.

With features at every angle it is almost impossible to select a preferred swim to fish from, however on the toss of a coin we distinguished our locations for the next 6 days. Tony and myself where to fish the swims in front of the house while Lee and Gary where allocated those opposite the main island. All swims gave us a lot of water to go at, and my swim also offered the option of exclusively fishing the shallows.
During the short time it took to set up and get sorted it became apparent that a number of carp had been showing right over in the far margin. It was therefore imminent for a bait to be heading in that direction. Almost instantly I was into the first fish, an immaculate 21lb mirror that fell to a popped up grain of maize. As of this moment the rest of the trip proved chaotic, with run after run all week. On a personal level the session was so action-packed that I had to restrain myself from fishing several nights in-order to gain some sleep.

In terms of productivity I definitely hit the ‘Jack-Pot’ with 60% of the group’s total catch. Amongst the 43 fish I landed, 13 were over 30lbs, with my biggest being a 39.08lbs mirror.
The largest fish of the week went to Lee who caught a 46lbs catfish from off the edge of the main island, while Gray landed the largest carp at 43lbs from the edge of the spit.

With the exception of Tony, this was our first French fishing experience and inevitably we all smashed our current PB’s. I speak for us all when I say we couldn’t have wished for a better fishing experience.

As far as Fishing goes, Les’Fortieneres has it all, the accommodation/facilities are second to none and the lake is overwhelming. More importantly all fish caught were immaculate and certainly enjoy a scrap.

The Millers have an absolute gem on their hands. Thanks to their sheer hard work and knowledge Les’Fortieneres is an incredible venue.

I’ll certainly be back….


James Walters

Brian & Julie Stevens
Meunier April 7 - 14
Les Fortinieres April 14 - 21
Le mans April 21 - 28

To Tony, Jean and Lee,

Just to say thank you for a dream holiday. Starting off at Meunier, after a
slow start the fish really came on to feed, ending the week with a total of
22 fish. The highlight being a 51.02, first 50 for Julie with back up of
9x30 and 6x40, great weather and help from Brian.
Moving on to Les Fortinieres, which we have never fished before, we were
amazed by the amount of quality fish and the accommidation. With a grand total of 84 fish, 27 over
30lbs and 4 over 40lbs, we were quite looking forward to moving on to our
last week on Le Mans for a nice rest. This couldnt have been further from
the truth.
Having fished Le Mans before we know it can be hard but the prizes are out
there, and the prizes certainly came thick and fast. Obvisously, timing it
just right as all the hot weather had bought the fish on the spawn towards
the end of the week. With the amazing total of 3 doubles 6x20, 16x30, 10x40,
1x50 (Brian's first 50), we didn't even fish the last 24 hours as we needed
the rest for the drive home.
Having fished a number of waters in France before, the Miller's waters are
by far the best. Which is why we keep coming back.
Once again, a big thank you and see you in April 2008 (Les Mans)

All the best,

Brain & Julie Stevens

Paul Cooper
Paul Cooper’s New Lake record of 55lb 6oz caught from Etang Meumier in October 2005.


55lb 6oz

It was the 2nd week in October 2005 and Pat Gillet and myself were on Etang Meunier in the Limoge region of France.
We set up well apart on one bank so that we could cover as much as the lake as possible.
We were armed with 40 kilo’s of pellets and 30 kilo 0f Special crab boilies, which was made up of air dried 20mil and 24mil baits.
My plan was to select 5 areas of the water in front of me to bait up from day one, so that I could move my baits on a roaming method over the coming week and to fish both 20 and the 24 mil baits on the end tackle.

The week started slow with the first fish arriving after 2 days into the campaign, a 36lb 8 oz mirror. High pressure prevailed with bright sunshine in the day and clear star filled nights, not the ideal conditions for mid October. By Friday evening I had captured 14 carp to 44lb 8oz, and a 60lb 6oz catfish, and Pat had 7 carp, one a 47lb 10oz mirror along with a 33lb and a 31lb carp.
It was around 6.30pm on the Friday and I was having a slow pack ready for my long drive back to the UK when one of my Delkims screamed off. I hit the rod and my immediate thoughts were that I had snagged up on a log or some other large item on the lake bottom. I put additional pressure through the rod and felt the obstacle begin to lift off the lake bottom. I began to gain line slowly and it was not until my end tackle was around 30 yds from me that I realized that I had an enormous carp holding its own out in open water. Another 30 minutes passed before I slipped the fish into the net. Onto the unhooking mat and a quick call to Pat to witness the weighing of the fish. The scales that were secured to a secure point, were zeroed to the weigh sling and the fish weighed. A new lake record of 55lb 6 oz.

What an end to the week which also included carp of 30lb 2 oz, 35lb 4 oz, 36lb 8oz, 38lb 12oz, 42lb, 44lb, 44lb 8oz, and a 60lb 4oz catfish.

Paul & Diane Cooper
This is the third visit that Diane and myself have holidayed at Etang Meunier.

The first 2 visits have been in October of previous years and on each occasion I have had some excellent results with 37 fish on the first visit and 49 on the second visit

This time we had 61 fish in total with 29 over 30lb and 2 of them 41's, all the other fish caught were over 20 with the exception of 2 doubles and a single

Barry Durrant
"Came to L'Etanchet and had never caught any carp bigger than 19lb 4oz, and so hoped to break the 20lb barrier. We exceeded that by a long way with Carp of which 12 were doubles, 6 twenty's - largest 29 1/2lb superb mirror and 4 over 25lb. Tench, we had 34, biggest was 8 1/2lb.

What a wonderful place, surperb fishing, lovely countryside and excellent accommodation"

Mark Heald - Leeds. Yorkshire.
"I came expecting to catch the odd fish, or maybe a twenty or two. But fishing only short sessions only, I caught 31 carp including 15 twenties and a magnificent thirty. Can't wait for my next visit..."

Rob and Mags - S. Yorks
The week we spent at this big-carp venue was simply superb. Comfortable accommodation set in mature private grounds with excellent fishing right out of the door. A true carper's dream and one which we will never forget. Many thanks