Etang Bertie is by French standards relatively small waters, so all your normal carp rods and reels will cope perfectly well. Rods in the 2.5 tc to 3.5 tc are perfectly adequate. Nowhere will you need to cast long distances so again reels do not need to be of the huge big pit type. You could well encounter one of the larger cats so we would recommend you look at lines around the 15lbs breaking strain.

The bottom is light clay, and fine silt, with very little weed, so you don’t need specialist rigs etc. We would recommend a lead clip or basic inline system. Leads do not need to be more than 3 ounces in any of the swims. At times you might want to fish the margin slopes so have some flat sided leads in your tackle box. You could encounter some of the larger cats during your stay so abrasion resistant hook-lengths can be a good idea. In most of the swims you can get a bank-stick in but the ground can get hard in the drier summer months so a pod can be a good idea.