A Fishing Trip Abroad or a Holiday?
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The History
The Graviers, if you didn’t already know is a very prestigious and legendary carp fishing venue. It’s situated between two national parks deep within the Burgundy wine making region to the east of France approximately 20 minutes outside of the city of Dijon. It’s approximately five hours drive from Calais and around 318 miles south of Paris.
It is owned by British expat Luke Moffatt, who took ownership of it in October 2001.
Previous to that the complex had been used for water sports and other leisure activities and the house that Luke now lives in was formerly the onsite restaurant.
Shortly after acquiring the lake Luke set to work developing the land and the lake to make it into somewhere special for people to come and spend time targeting its amazing stock.
From the beginning Luke began to get a good understanding of lakes stock. What he didn’t know at the time was what the future would hold for one of the lakes residents.
Over time Luke set about creating a habitat that would encourage the carp’s natural quarry to flourish as well as implementing a supplementary feeding program. This saw a number of the carp grow at an insane rate, none more so the infamous “Scar fish”.
The first known capture that Luke is aware of was back in 1998 prior to him taking ownership. A UK angler called Derek Dransfield had obtained the fishing rights from the restaurant owner and during one of his sessions he recalled capturing a carp that he estimated to be around 40lbs.
The poor thing had a length of blue nylon rope tied around its middle which had torn into its flesh leaving it badly injured. Derek cut the rope from it before releasing it with little hope it would get over its terrible injury, however the injuries it sustained eventually healed leaving it to go on a rampage making up for lost time and gorging its self on any food available to it.
How did the fishing end up being tethered with blue nylon rope? Its still a bit of a mystery however one strong possibility is that the former owner had purposely bound the fish so he could retrieve it at will and flaunt it to the restaurant patrons and his friends.
As the years passed this fish became known as the “Scar” and its growth rates sky rocketed until in June of 2010 angler Ambrose Smith caught it at a world record weight of 99lbs.
To this day it has to be the highest accolade for any lake owner to nurture a carp to a world record weight. Its Stands as testament to Luke’s knowledge, hard work and resilience.
The scar fish sadly passed away in 2017 but it was quickly superseded by a fish known as the Brown fish before that sadly moved on to the lake in the sky. As it stands now the lakes largest resident is “the Swain thing” proving the calibre of the lake and the excellent balance and fishery management Luke manages to maintain year after year.
The Complex
The main lake is 25 acres in size and was dug in the late 70’s early 80’s initially to provide gravel for the construction of a local auto route. It has a stock of about 300 carp ranging from 25lbs and 85lbs in weight and was the former home of the aforementioned “Scar fish”.
Angling pressure kept to a minimum where possible to ensure the lake has not been exploited and overfished like many of the other foreign fisheries.
It doesn’t give up its prized carp easily and isn’t for the faint of heart. Its safe to say its suited to more experienced anglers and fish care is of the utmost importance. If you’re willing to put in the hard work the spoils can be unparalleled with numbers of massive fish having been reported during peoples stay.
The Long lake
The long lake was first dug with the intention of it being a stock lake to supply the main lake with a steady flow of top-quality new recruits as and when they were needed. Luke saw the potential in having this as an option for the less experienced anglers to cut their teeth before attempting to tackle the main lake.
So, in 2004 it was opened and made available for bookings. The lake its self is approximately 5 acres in size with about 500 fish ranging from 15lbs right up to 50lbs and from its inception the fish seem to respond well to anglers’ bait. It offers amazing sport for anglers looking to bank numbers of fish which can be caught using standard bottom presentations but the surface fishing here really comes into its own. It’s the perfect place to get a good insight into what to expect from the main lake.
Where does DT fit in to this?
DT have a long-established working relationship with Luke Moffatt and his lakes.
As previously mentioned, fish welfare and the gold standard of fishery management are both top of Luke’s priorities.
At DT our priority is producing the highest quality baits which not only benefit the angler but also the fish and their environment.
Luke recognised our bait as a standout from the others available on the market so back in 2015 he approached us and requested we supply him with one of our baits to use as a supplimentary feed.
He settled on the awesome Cold Water Green Beast which is predominantly our winter bait. In our opinion that makes perfect sense because Luke can carry on feeding the carp long into the winter months with no digestive issues due to its very effect water solubility.
The same love and attention go into all our baits ensuring they are of the highest nutritional value so regardless that it’s designed for the colder months you’ve only got to look at our catch reports to see it’s a phenomenal bait any time of the year packed full of the finest ingredients. If you’re planning a trip the Graviers and you’re in a quandary as to what bait to take look no further.
If you are interested in any more information on The Graviers or you would like check availability or book a trip then head to www.lukemoffatt.com
The Complex
The main lake is 25 acres in size and was dug in the late 70’s early 80’s initially to provide gravel for the construction of a local auto route. It has a stock of about 300 carp ranging from 25lbs and 85lbs in weight and was the former home of the aforementioned “Scar fish”.
Angling pressure kept to a minimum where possible to ensure the lake has not been exploited and overfished like many of the other foreign fisheries.
It doesn’t give up its prized carp easily and isn’t for the faint of heart. Its safe to say its suited to more experienced anglers and fish care is of the utmost importance. If you’re willing to put in the hard work the spoils can be unparalleled with numbers of massive fish having been reported during peoples stay.
The Long lake
The long lake was first dug with the intention of it being a stock lake to supply the main lake with a steady flow of top-quality new recruits as and when they were needed. Luke saw the potential in having this as an option for the less experienced anglers to cut their teeth before attempting to tackle the main lake.
So, in 2004 it was opened and made available for bookings. The lake its self is approximately 5 acres in size with about 500 fish ranging from 15lbs right up to 50lbs and from its inception the fish seem to respond well to anglers’ bait. It offers amazing sport for anglers looking to bank numbers of fish which can be caught using standard bottom presentations but the surface fishing here really comes into its own. It’s the perfect place to get a good insight into what to expect from the main lake.
Where does DT fit in to this?
DT have a long-established working relationship with Luke Moffatt and his lakes.
As previously mentioned, fish welfare and the gold standard of fishery management are both top of Luke’s priorities.
At DT our priority is producing the highest quality baits which not only benefit the angler but also the fish and their environment.
Luke recognised our bait as a standout from the others available on the market so back in 2015 he approached us and requested we supply him with one of our baits to use as a supplimentary feed.
He settled on the awesome Cold Water Green Beast which is predominantly our winter bait. In our opinion that makes perfect sense because Luke can carry on feeding the carp long into the winter months with no digestive issues due to its very effect water solubility.
The same love and attention go into all our baits ensuring they are of the highest nutritional value so regardless that it’s designed for the colder months you’ve only got to look at our catch reports to see it’s a phenomenal bait any time of the year packed full of the finest ingredients. If you’re planning a trip the Graviers and you’re in a quandary as to what bait to take look no further.
If you are interested in any more information on The Graviers or you would like check availability or book a trip then head to www.lukemoffatt.com