Peter Loef and his fishing trip to Danny's Carplake

From December 15 to 19, 2025, I went fishing at @Danny’s Carplake. The trip was booked with Angling Escapes.

Through Anton Verbeek, a fellow angler from our home water, I was put on the trail of @Danny’s Carplake earlier this year, the water that was known in the past as Inspiration Lake.

After contacting Angling Escapes, where I received pleasant and helpful assistance, the choice was quickly made to give it a try here. Also because of the depth differences on the water. I measured the deepest part at just over 6 meters.

The water is only 1.5 ha in size and has a stock of truly beautiful fish, old and new. Egbert, owner of Danny’s Carplake, and Randy van Bergen, co-manager, indicated to me that it certainly had not been easy lately and almost nothing had been caught. They brought a video from Baitsolutions to my attention.

The men from @Baitsolutions had made underwater recordings and fished there shortly before. Beautiful and also impressive fish appeared in front of the camera, but they also did not allow themselves to be caught that week.

It was clear to see that the fish showed some interest as soon as the bait was dropped, even very quickly after it was thrown into the water, but then did not show any feeding behavior, quickly left and did not return. This, however strange it may sound, was good news for me, a challenge and every fish a victory. I would have to pull out all the stops, great!

I had booked for a midweek from Monday to Friday morning. Due to work, I could only start on Monday evening. Not an ideal start on a new water to arrive in the dark.

I explored the water and chose a spot that seemed obvious to me. A spot with overhanging trees and branches opposite me on the other side, where the carp would be staying in large numbers according to the film by Baitsolutions. The others on spots recommended by co-manager @Randy. I decided that as soon as it got light, I would check how I could best go fishing. First just set everything up in the dark and settle in a bit.

Monday night was quiet, as I had expected. Although you always hope that a fish will ‘accidentally’ come along, of course. A factor of possible influence that I could not foresee was that two boys had fished the week before me and I did not know how much they would have fed. Especially in these kinds of periods, a lot of feed is certainly not always beneficial. Randy said that two sturgeons had been released to clean up leftover food.

On Tuesday morning, I used my Deeper Quest to map the bottom, both for hardness and depth. Water maps are known, so a lot was already there, but for me it was also about finding bottom structures, possible gullies, slopes and other possible obstacles or landmarks. But I was also looking for fish that would possibly become visible on the camera so that I knew where they were staying. I didn’t see any fish. I found that striking. That could mean that they had been chased away by my boat or that they were deep under the branches or a combination of both.

I made the choice to place one rod on the left opposite me in a kind of bowl, about 4 meters from the bushes, another at 1.5 meters shallow on the other side and one on the far right to the other side at the beginning of an offshoot where a deeper gully cut into the bowl. The water was 50 cm lower than normal. On the spot of 1.5 depth I did see dirt lying and who knows, maybe the fish would come out of the depths in search of some natural food on the sides that lay between the roots of the tree. I had walked around and saw that the tree was almost in the water and the roots underneath offered space for fish to swim between them. I had thrown in a small handful of particles and some other natural bait. I didn’t want to use boilies at all this week, only crushed.

At 10:05 PM that Tuesday evening, the right rod suddenly goes off carefully and I quickly stand next to the rod pod to pick up the rod. I felt little resistance but some weight. It turned out to be a small stock fish that had grown from 1.5 kilos to 4.4 kilos in a year. A beautiful high mirror carp. A fish with a lot of potential for the future. What struck me was the round belly. Clearly enough food given and also enough food available. So they do eat, despite not being caught. Randy also indicated that he saw that the young fish very quickly picked up the behavior of the older fish.

That was a nice start, fish on the first full day of the stay! A first fish on a new water is always a nice feeling. The ice is broken and it wasn’t for nothing. Certainly nice in this time and after the reports about seemingly uncatchable fish.

I’m always busy for a while before everything is organized again, but after 45 minutes everything was back in its place. I was just ready in time, it turned out, because at 10:55 PM my middle rod went off, which was 1.5 meters tight against the other side. On a water with 6 meters depth with a cold wind on it, this is not a logical place, but I had seen the potential of the spot because of the roots where there are always creatures and whatever to be found. I had also only dropped my hook bait and loose particles on the spot. This fish felt better than the first. A fight of about 10 minutes followed in which the fish mainly tried to get towards the bush on the other side. At a distance through the silt, it had to be something, I thought. Fortunately, the fish came to my side fairly easily when I had it away from there. Under my own side I have another obstacle, namely a slope from 1 meter to a straight wall to 4 meters. The fish made use of that and really started to ‘hang’ behind it. From experience I know that it is important to keep the line tight and give line if it starts to swim. Usually it then swims back to the middle and you can keep the rod completely flat, causing the fish to come up. And so I did and it worked. A beautiful long massive flank mirror of 14.3 kilos with a very recognizable dorsal fin appeared on the surface. What a development, in the second night already 3 fish, 2 of which are of the carp that are currently declared almost uncatchable.

At 1:00 AM the right rod went off again. A short, skittish bite and nothing else, still pick it up. Some resistance and then nothing more. I could reel the fish in like that. And yes, one of the two sturgeons swimming on the water.

Shortly after this sturgeon, the second sturgeon that swims on this water on the same rod. This could be something, once the sturgeon is loose you can certainly expect the same fish a second time.

When it got light on Wednesday morning, it went quiet. After a nice breakfast and coffee, I went looking again with the boat. What struck me is that there is a deeper gully in the bottom in the shape of a triangle. That is between 6 and 4.5 meters with an obstacle here and there. That gully runs up to 10 meters under my own side with a wall to my right. I also saw fish in that spot just below my own side on the screen. I decided to put a rod at 10 meters under my own side in the gully where I found an unevenness in the bottom and had seen fish. Also there only my bait with a little bit of feed around it. In deeper water and a bit of current, hook and feed do not lie together but more spread out, so no pile that would be recognizable to a shy fish. I did the same with the middle rod. I put it at 10 meters on the other side also in the same gully. It could well be that the fish are swimming their rounds in that triangle (can that, swimming a round in a triangle, yes certainly).

At 2:45 PM I saw from my tent that my right rod was slowly bending to the right and the RX+ was slowly starting to beep faster and faster like a big fish bite. An ideal bite and one you dream of, couldn’t be better. I rushed to the rod and felt it immediately, heavy and head-shaking the fish swam into the distance ‘yessss’ I thought, this is a better one. There are a few very good 20 kilo fish and 2 fish that have not been caught for a while and could well be in the 30 kilo range. The fish remained heavy, especially in front of the slope under my own side. And what I saw then I had not expected, what a great heavily built fat scale carp. Because the water was at least 50 cm lower, I had trouble lifting the fish, doing it with the net and all in the sling and then lifting it, fortunately it worked. The fish weighed 22.9 kilos, beautiful!! I was really shaking, although I have caught quite a few bigger fish, also 30 kilo fish, this was just a colossus. Impressive. I was shaking. My session really couldn’t be ruined now.

That was going well. But what struck me was that the corner on the other side where the fish would be staying under the bushes had not yet yielded any fish. Maybe it was just a winter holding where they felt safe and were not lying to feed. I pulled my rod back even further and dropped it about 30 meters away from the bush. On a nice deep spot where I had also seen a fish foraging on the depth meter. At 4:15 AM in the night that left rod went off. A beautiful mirror carp of 14.1 kilos.

After this fish it went quiet. I decided not to replace my bait and leave everything as it was. If the fish are so shy, I also try to keep as much peace as possible. Also at night I try to let as little light from my lamps shine on the water as possible. This also applies to when I use my bait boat, I sail as much as possible on GPS without lighting and as much as possible in stealth mode.

Thursday afternoon at 12:10 PM my middle rod went off which was in the gully on the other side. What was on there was an incredibly beautiful old scale carp!! Really, you don’t see them much anymore. The fish was old, you could see that from the scales that were almost on it and a visibly old head. Like all fish a very clean mouth! The weight didn’t matter, but for the connoisseur: 16.15 kilos. One of the many pearls of this water. I could take a beautiful photo in the sun. Unbelievable what a fish and what a stock.

What I had forgotten to tell is that I had in the meantime explained my left rod to the left. Here the water runs from deep to shallow away in a kind of bay. I had placed the rod with a group of carp that I had seen lying on my screen at the bottom of the slope at 5 meters. At 3:15 PM this rod went off. Always everything with a natural bait and a little bit of particles. A beautiful scale carp of 12.45 kilos.

That was going well in the meantime by the way. I already had 6 carp and 2 sturgeons. Who knows what else would come out.

Thursday evening 5:30 PM I received a visit from a ‘marketplace contact’, Dave Peels. He called that he was coming. I had permission from Egbert that he could come on the property for a while. Just when Dave arrived, the middle rod went off. A scale carp of 12.5 kilos. And just after we had put this fish back, the right rod goes off again at 6:00 PM. A scale carp of 15.9 kilos. A fish that can almost be the brother or sister of the previous fish. Two pearls of scale carps, perfect both in terms of scale pattern and their mouth. That strikes me, the fish are really clean and not damaged. That is quite different on paylakes.

What a session, unexpected but enjoyable!! It seems like I had found the key. At 9:36 PM the right rod goes off and yields the 3rd 30 pound fish, 16.7 kilos.

It started to rain which probably locked the door again. No more fish came and at 10:00 AM I informed Albert that I had cleaned up my mess and closed the gate behind me.

All in all a particularly successful session on a wonderfully challenging water!! Managed to catch 9 carp and 2 sturgeons.

Thanks to Angling Escapes (Egbert and to Randy for the reception and advice, although I stubbornly went my own way a bit!

Success with this water and a recommendation for the interested carp angler, ‘I’ll be back’!

Peter Loef

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I am proud of myself, but especially of the people around me. And of my loyal regular customers! Because I could never have reached where I am now on my own. And even after so many years, I still do my work with pleasure! I wish everyone the trip of a lifetime! And above all, to enjoy being by the water!

Peter Loef and his fishing trip to Danny’s Carplake

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