You aren’t wrong. We have got France early October but the place has winter form so we shall look for revenge.

Cheers dude

Hi Alan, I think like any venue there is a variety of swims and some you need to go further than others. Bait boats were deployed but the distances were castable. When we went the fish had pushed out into the middle as they were getting ready to spawn but I don’t believe that’s the situation the whole year. Lake 2 has a large volume of fish so it’s not hard but like all Fishing you never know what you are up Against with weather etc. bait and wait works well, but equally small parcels do well as well. There a lively Facebook group with plenty of info. Hope this helps?

@@fordgoesfishing cheers mate

I think it depends on entirely on whether you want to use your phone as the screen. The rt7 is the more established and likely better boat, although to have the tablet costs an extra £300 which is a cost I didn’t realise needed factoring in. For me the deeper is a compelling option, but I’ve heard there are supply issues with most of the stock going to angling direct or total fishing tackle, which raises some ethical questions around supply to local tackle shops. I know this probably isn’t as definitive an answer as you are looking for but when making an investment like this, it is best to do plenty of research and reach your own decision. I think ultimately either boat will be an unbelievable tool.

Tight lines for the upcoming trip mate! Hope you enjoy!

Thanks Chris, much appreciated!

Definitely worth a look Rob if you are in the market for a lightweight summer jacket. Think it'll do winter too with the right layers underneath given its windproof characteristics

Thanks mate appreciated

Hi Jason, think you commented on the wrong vid mate, but I echo your sentiment, Darrell has achieved something truly remarkable.

Hi Ford Thanks for the reply mate.sorry I got the wrong video.ill watch this one this evening

Glad you enjoyed it. Not the easiest of lakes for sure

Amazing video I fished the same swim 20 years ago never managed to book another trip as had to cancel the following year how did you manage to get booked. Tight lines

Thanks Ray. I’ll be honest I was invited by Toby who was lucky to be offered a slot having fished it the previous year but we are waiting to see if we can get back on in the future. All adds to the exclusivity of the place

Really appreciate the feedback though, I poured a lot of love sweat blood and tears into this one. It’s a tough cookie to crack but the rewards are there.

@@GoneFishingVlog thanks yes it's tough pascal was a personal friend of the angler I went with but the lake took off and never managed to make contact again crazy I paid 90 euros for 10 days and pascal always had a cold beer ready for your arrival amazing lake right lines and good luck

Why not? Nearly all venues have them and a lot of the French venues have better amenities, friendlier owners, less rules and is these days is as cost effective if you live in the south east as a week in the U.K.? There are also plenty of 30’s , 40’s and the possibility of 50’s and in lake 1 fish to mid 60’s.

It’s in very good order. Swims are well kept, the toilets are decent enough and lake fed and at decent intervals around the lake. The lake is very much drive and survive though and the amenities are bare bones. It is clean though.

I will caveat that though by saying it was 2022 I visited and it’s had a change of bailiff since then although I believe the standard is still good.

Thanks bud much love

You will have a great time. We are going back in october

Hope you are well mate

Having just reviewed the specs, there is basic echo sounding and mapping yes, it is the premium features which improve on that with the depth map. It is worth noting that the premium package would be required for the advanced mapping, but it is close. I don't think you would be disappointed by the basic, put it that way.

I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Catch X until you mentioned it, but now I'm intrigued. If they wanted to send me one i'd happily review it ;-)

To be honest @MrFelipefelop, I have to disagree with you there. I was well prepared, and had the equipment, but I definitely made mistakes compared to my other French trips. I think the occasion and where it was affected my decision making, but I won't make that mistake again. At the end of the day, the content I put out is warts and all, real, and I don't edit out my failures.

@@fordgoesfishing you have answered yourself then,atb on your next trip fella

Thanks for your reply Steven. I have had many rods in the past and I honestly believe there is a difference in quality with various blanks. However I would say there is an upper limit where the increasing cost does not necessarily correlate to an increase in Rod quality. There are definitely diminishing returns, for example I have seen and felt kaizen rods and I don’t think me, an average caster could get the benefit out of a Rod double the cost of these. I will always advocate, getting the best equipment that you can afford. It’s not about having the best gear, it’s about having a setup that you are not afraid to use. Ultimately being able to go fishing is the most important thing.

Great question, nuanced answer sadly would have made the review too long. You can easily get a week in France in summer out of it assuming all your devices are fully charged before leaving. For reference we are basing that off the following items being charged during the session: Phone, Vape, Mozzi-Zapper, Trakker Fan, boatman actor plus boat battery, ridgemonkey head torch and bivvy light. It was also used on a weeks trip in France during Feb and got by and it wasn’t fully charged, albeit we were at Gigantica so no bait boat or fan. Finally, there is of course a companion solar panel which will keep it topped up, so for someone like myself who has power anxiety when the needle drops below 65% midweek, it is handy as a backup to top up. In a good sunny day, you can add 30-40% charge in 6 hours if angled correctly.

Thanks Phil. Been a while. Hope you are well dude!

Someone asked me, money no object what rod I would buy, and I have to say I think I would say these. I absolutely love them.

Thanks for getting in touch Charlotte. I think it helps to show the real side of fishing. The birthday trip was much more successful, video out (finally) this Saturday!!

Hope your son enjoys the week exclusive!

Ah but that was two peoples gear...

So sorry to hear about your gear getting stolen. I lost mine in 2019 including some sentimental pieces. CTX are great value and as they say, look great!

Played everything from 6lbs to 50lbs and think they are fine to be honest...

I’ll be honest I’ve not tried the tx5’s. I can say I used to have tribals which I think became tx1’s and they were a decent rod for the money. Tx2’s also come highly recommended so I think tx5’s would see you right

To be honest the remote in general is the weakest point on the boat. I had to replace mine due to water ingress, also have to be careful on the voltage as i've heard you can knacker the battery.

Thanks Chris, was awesome, the photo really didn’t do it justice. One for the future…

Thanks John, glad you enjoyed!

It really is mate. It really is

Not long at all based on this performance

Thanks Jake!

That sounds more like a Dan Ford thing to do!

She certainly could. Probably outcast me

Such a good event Ben. Well done.

Go join the fun Pete!

Almost certainly!

Hi Mike, no experience with these in 13ft, I have cast standard 3.5lbs (not SU) and to be honest I struggled with them, but it was in the crosswind. I can only imagine though that they are excellent.

Excellent Stuart, thanks for the tip and stopping by my little corner of the internet.

Its all good, even bad comments help the channel, so I only see it as a positive.

Tx7’s are a quality rod too. Yeah you can really get some compression into these rods. One day I will try tapered mainline and see just how far I can go. Fox Exocet line is wonderful to cast though to be honest

Witch one is better tx7 or free spirit ctx?

Thought I needed to put some "Premium content" out Matt. I keep the aforementioned in their respective rod sleeves, so they are ready to deploy at a moments notice.