A late fall week at Carpvalley

Between autumn and spring

On a sad winter day in 2019, we were already longing to go fishing for a long session in the Netherlands or abroad. Our fishing calendar for the longer fishing trips generally stops with us in October and then starts again about the middle of April. This also depends on the weather and temperature in spring. Then a break of 5 months is quite long. Because our leave days don’t grow to the sky either, a trip abroad is often not interesting, at least for us. After all, we have already traveled abroad several times and for a few days when the days are so short we (usually) fit that. But what then?

Carpvalley

After gathering some information here and there and finding extensive information on Angling Escapes, the name Carpvalley suddenly came up. After finding out that you don’t have to book a whole week here in late fall we decided to investigate further. Since there were four of us going, two of whom had to go home early due to work, this seemed like a good idea. After we figured out what the file was and what kind of facilities Carpvalley offers we were hooked.

the house equipped with all comforts

Trip to Eibergen

Oct. 31 was the day of departure for our fishing trip. We had agreed to meet with owner Ad Brak at Carpvalley at noon. From Brabant it would take us about 2 hours, so we decided to leave at 9:45 to the Achterhoek. Just before 12 we reach the exit Eibergen:
Good to know is that at the traffic circle you immediately take the first exit.
Then keep left and after about 350 meters you are at the gate of Carpvalley.

Ad welcomes us very hospitably talks proudly about his “paradise” and rightly so! After we have had a tour from Ad including information about holdings, feeding strategies, depths and the facilities we say goodbye to Ad. It is now up to us! We choose not to fish from the house. This is because we think it has been fished from the house all year. After all, it is a super cool spot with all the comforts you could wish for. Here are some of them: Shower, toilet, bedroom with bed, sofa bed (inside and outside), full kitchen, television with Netflix, a lovely terrace and a dartboard for extra relaxation.

Stitch selection

So for this reason we choose swim 2, the forest swim and swim 3 the swim with log cabin. From these swims, most of it can be fished. The islands, holes and shallower areas are now accessible. We also choose not to take a boat out on the water. Again with the thought of breaking dressage. The tents are fine to set up on the swims. On the swims is a fine gravel layer. In wet weather you prevent it from becoming a mudpool and your pegs are always perfectly in the ground. Because we also want to socialize, we set up a gazebo at the top of the forest. This makes for more peace and quiet on the water. Pitch 3 has a log cabin, which is very practical. Refrigerator, freezer, stove and electricity is of course super handy. Especially in the colder months. There were also some fire pits in the woods, which made it even more fun for us. After all, we like to sit outside by a fire and fish.

Pot-bellied stove: chilling out on a cold November afternoon

Bait and rig selection

We choose 2 flavors of boilies and mix them together. It is the Instant Project and the Oriental Krill from Holland Baits that we use. We fish with a standard rig, chod rig, snowman rig and hinged stiff rig. We try to fish as diverse as possible to increase our chances. Per rod we feed about 150 grams, it is already late autumn and we can always feed more. We feed with (crushed) boilies, pellets and hemp buckwheat. The spots that Ad marked as holdings quickly yielded some bait bubbles.

Spot 3 with log cabin

Let the games begin!

By evening, which falls early in November, the rigs are all in place. We do not use cooking facilities in the house. From home we have brought the BBQ. The briqets go on it and the meat will taste delicious that evening. After we have a beer with each other we go to our bivy’s. We expect something of this night, as the temperature will not drop below 18 degrees…. and that in November.

The crook’s rod

The next morning all had a squeaky clean night. We did hear a lot of fish jumping. This offers no security but is good for our confidence. Because we can’t reach some spots from our swim, we rig up 2 rods. By this we mean rods with which we fish hard-to-reach spots, often between bushes, reeds or bushes. These spots are often left alone and have yielded many fish in the past. We never fish tight against obstacles with these rods, as we often have to make a dash for the rods. We want to prevent the fish from hanging or vas swimming into an obstacle. Everyone must take responsibility for this.

The Crooks’ Rod

Magnificent nature

Ad had explained that during the day the bites were a bit more frequent in the fall. No problem, it was nice and sunny and staying at a fantastic property. Therefore, we made time to explore the area, the accommodation and the grounds. In the area there are several beautiful natural areas on the border with Germany, to highlight one I will call the Flamingo Route. Here you will encounter the northernmost flamingo colony in Europe. Unique and super cool only 10 minutes away!

The bivvystek at Carpvalley in Eibergen

The accommodation at Carpvalley is really fat excellent! As already described, everything has been thought of. Even if you would go to Carpvalley with a non-fishing partner or children.
On the site you feel one with nature. And there is plenty of it. The golden autumn colors that appeared through the sun accentuated this even more. You can also walk everywhere to feed or spot carp. If you want to do this on the side of the bike path you have to get off the property and you can walk the bike path.

New outfits

As Ad actually predicted, it remained quiet during the day. No take and sporadic jumping fish. That evening we went to bed a little earlier than usual, you quickly mistake the time because it is dark so early. In any case, should a fish show up, we are ready. Before my eyes close I hear a fat lady splash in sector 3. I keep my fingers crossed for my mates, may they catch her. Around 2 o’clock I woke up from a screaming bite. Not at our rods but at Niels. I walk over there because I am curious about the catch. The drill is spicy, the daiwa mill is put to the test several times. But after about 12 minutes a beautiful mirror is in the mat. A beautiful outlet mirror that has already gained a few pounds, 14.2 kg.

Niels Spangers

This would be our only catch. We did get 2 more sturgeon on our rods. However, just as often we lost the fight to this prehistoric powerhouse. A pity of course, especially when you know that they weigh well over 20 kg. We fished a lot of spots this week, tried plenty of techniques and baits. Sometimes the catches are simply disappointing. Was it the air pressure, the high temperature or the excessive rainfall of the previous days? Who knows may say. Nevertheless, we had a great fishing session.

If you want some luxury fishing in the Netherlands with good chances of getting some nice heavy fish then definitely visit Carpvalley.

Ps The dart tournament was won by me though ?

Greetings Tino van Spaandonk
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Reclin de Gries

Trots ben ik op mezelf maar met name op de mensen om mij heen. En trouwe vaste klanten! Want alleen was het nooit mogelijk geweest om te komen waar ik nu ben. En nog zoveel jaar later, doe ik nog steeds mijn werk met plezier! Ik wens iedereen de trip van zijn leven! En vooral ook te genieten aan de waterkant!