Catfish Record Broken at Etang de Azat-Chatenet

Catfish Record broken at Etang de Azat-Chatenet

Two anglers from Bedfordshire, Barry Sherrington, head bailiff on Rackly Hills and Kevin Scrivener, who bailiffs Tiddenfoot Pit and Claydon Lakes, both from Leighton Buzzard Angling, arrived specifically at Etang de Azat-Châtenet, the fishing venue located in the Limousin area of France, to fish for the catfish.

They arrived late afternoon on Saturday so decided to fish for carp the first night. After three hours fishing Kevin had beaten two Personal Bests (PB), with a 17lb and a 19lb Sturgeon. This was followed up with two mirror carp, one at 22lb and the other at 23.5lb, caught on a scopex squid liver boilie, mixed with pellets and maize. During the night Barry had a PB grass carp of 18lb.

Sunday afternoon Barry and Kevin fished for livebait, catching roach and rudd, ready for their evening catfish session. After putting their baits in position they sat back relaxing and listened to the catfish taking rudd and frogs from the surface of the water.

11 o'clock rolled on and by this time Barry had landed his first catfish at 21lb. Not a bad first cat although it was his third run, having had a hook pull after a short fight and also missing a strike. Within an hour of repositioning his livebait Barry had landed another catfish, this one pulling the scales to 23 lb. Happy with their efforts so far both Barry and Kevin retired to the bivvies to get some much-needed sleep in preparation for the days ahead.

In the early hours of the morning Barry's bite alarm sounded yet again, this time, after a very hard and long fight, he landed a 66 lb catfish.

Monday came and Kevin had another go for the carp and this time managed two more PB's which were both grass carp, the first went 26lb and the second went 28lb. Both fish came from the same spot he had been feeding previously.

Catfishing again that evening with livebait, Barry had two more missed runs then connected with another good fish. After another strong fight he landed his forth catfish, this one weighed in at 47 lb.

Barry and Kevin with their record catfish

In the early hours Barry had another run. He struck into something that felt a lot heavier than the others. Although all the other fish (even the low twenties) put up a very good fight he said that this one felt a bit special, taking longer runs than the others and staying deeper for longer periods. The fish battled hard for well over half an hour and an exhausted Barry was relieved once the catfish had been netted by Kevin.

The fish settled the scales at 82 lb. This was the new lake record, but most importantly was Barry's new personal best, after fishing for catfish for about 10 years!

Despite it raining on and off they stuck it out and managed 29 fish between them, both having good mirror and grass carp, catfish and sturgeon with plenty of personal best fish. They have already booked to return next year!

The tranquil fishing venue Etang de Azat-Chatenet is situated in the Limousin area of France. Set in its own secluded 12-acre parkland, the 4.5 acre spring fed lake is surrounded by beautiful countryside and forests. With opportunities to fish for a variety of species, this lake has a big head of different size fish so there will be plenty of action for all types of anglers. Wildlife is abundant here with deer and many types of birds. It is very common to see large birds of prey.

If you are looking for peaceful unspoilt countryside, with breathtaking views this is a great venue.

There is a self-contained cottage on site that has recently been renovated. It has two bedrooms, a kitchen/diner with a sofa that can adapt to a double bed, shower room and separate toilet with sink. It can be booked for mixed groups, or as an exclusive venue booking with the lake for your group only.