A week in France, five anglers and one island surrounded by carp. We arrived at Woods Lake on the Goncourt complex with personal bests to chase, a target of 50 fish between us and Kingy determined to meet one of the lake’s big catfish.

Wayne, Foxy, Old Man River, Jay and Kingy made the trip. The opening days brought some brilliant carp, plenty of grass carp and more than a few battles with the weed. By the end of Part 1, two PBs were in the photos and one enormous catfish had left us wondering what might have been.

The journey to Woods Lake

The trip started on Friday night with a Chinese meal and a stop in Ashford before the early ferry on Saturday. The cars were packed to the rafters, the ferry queues tested our patience and eventually we were on our way to France.

Once we arrived, choosing swims was surprisingly straightforward. Jay took peg two, Kingy chose a swim on the right, Old Man River settled into his own spot and Wayne and Foxy shared a double. A supermarket run came next, followed by bivvies, rods and the first evening on the bank.

Why the island makes it so social

At Woods, the fishing wraps around a central island. That meant we could each have our own water while still being close enough for a brew, a barbecue or the football in the social hut.

The hut was much closer to the swims than we had imagined from the videos we watched before travelling. During our visit it had a fridge, freezer, microwave, kettle, electricity, a TV and Wi-Fi. We brought a Fire Stick along for the football, and the hut soon became the centre of the trip.

For the practical details about the swims and facilities, read our Woods Lake Goncourt guide. This is the story of how our session unfolded.

A 35lb common on the first night

Jay got things moving with a grass carp, then Foxy’s turn on the shared rods produced a lovely 35lb common just as we were thinking about bed.

At first, the distance made it difficult to judge what was on the end. As the fish came closer, it became clear that this was a proper start to the week. Wayne and Foxy were taking turns on the bites, so Wayne would be up next.

Around 2:20am we also had our first taste of what seemed to be one of the big catfish. That fish came off, leaving the first unfinished battle of the trip.

Finding clear spots changed the session

The following morning, Wayne and Foxy headed out in the rowing boat to get a better look at the far-bank areas and find clear places to present the rigs. They also marked spots on the bait boats to help return to them.

The first evening’s bait-boat drops had involved plenty of guesswork about the distance to the bank. Getting a closer look took time, but it quickly became one of the main themes of the opening days: the work finding spots was followed by bites.

Wayne’s 44lb personal best

The first fish from those newly found spots was a big one. After a proper battle, Wayne landed a 44lb carp and a new personal best.

That fish came on a white Mainline pop-up. It was a brilliant reward for the morning’s effort and, naturally, the buckets were ready for the PB celebration.

We had brought plenty of Enigma Baits for the trip, using it in our mixes alongside particles and other bait. A later 32lb common came on an Enigma test pop-up, giving Foxy another lovely fish for the album.

Grass carp, a mirror and rods flying off

One of the best moments happened while Foxy was filming some close-ups of Wayne’s new bobbins. The rod went while the camera was already rolling, and Wayne ended up holding a 30lb grass carp.

A 29lb mirror followed during the busy spell. With so many commons appearing, it was good to see a mirror on the mat too. The fishing was lively, but there were setbacks: some takes ended with weed on the line and no fish, and Old Man River also lost a fish after a struggle.

Overnight, Wayne and Foxy were back out in the boat trying to free another fish. A later take produced another common at around 4:30am. There was not much uninterrupted sleep to be had.

Old Man River’s persistence pays off

Old Man River eventually landed a 40lb 7oz carp after a fight involving weed, the boat and a tangle with another rod.

It was a hard-earned result. We had already seen how quickly a promising take could become a frustrating loss, so getting that fish safely into the photos felt all the better.

Foxy’s 50lb common

The next big morning bite brought Foxy a fish that looked heavy as soon as it came close. There was plenty of debate at the net, but the scales settled it: 50lb on the nose.

That was a new common-carp PB, beating his previous best common by 10lb. His overall PB remained the 51lb fish he mentions from a previous trip, so this was a species best rather than a new overall record.

The rod had only recently been reset. Foxy had seen a fish show close to the spot shortly after the drop, then this huge common arrived to make the morning. Another bucket celebration was inevitable.

Kingy joins the party

After help finding spots, Kingy’s first carp of the session was also his first-ever grass carp: 36lb 1oz.

Another 35lb grass carp came on an Enigma test pop-up during the next spell of action. Later, with Wayne and Kingy occupied out in a boat, another bite on the shared fishing produced another grassy. There were plenty of rods to watch and plenty of opportunities for everything to go at once.

The monster catfish that got away

Monday-night football turned into Monday-night mayhem. Multiple rods went, weed complicated the fights and Kingy’s catfish rod produced the encounter he had been hoping for.

The fish took the battle around the lake, with the boat involved and the action eventually reaching Old Man River’s swim. The lads described it as a huge mandarin/albino catfish and estimated it at over 100lb.

We never landed or weighed it. After roughly 40 minutes from hookup through the fight, it came off. Its exact size remains unknown, but the disappointment was real.

Elsewhere, more takes and another snagged fish meant another boat trip and lost terminal tackle. By the time we called it a night, it was nearly midnight and everyone was ready for bed.

Two PBs down. Plenty still to come.

Part 1 gave us Wayne’s 44lb PB, Foxy’s 50lb PB common, Old Man River’s 40lb 7oz carp and Kingy’s first grass carp. It also showed just how quickly a relaxed evening in the social hut could turn into chaos on the bank.

The opening days had delivered some unforgettable fishing. The week was far from over, and Part 2 would pick up the adventure with more carp, more catfish and the usual Fresh Fishing banter.