Our long term plan at St Brice is to develop a medium stocking density of Carp from a variaty of strains with good growth potential. St Brice is not a deep cold lake, the depths are 2-8 feet, with an average of 4.5 feet. We are also located in an area of Brittany that benefits from a warmer micro climate most of the year, for this reason the lake warms up quickly & remains warmer for longer, which makes the Autumn & Winter fishing very good.
This creates a perfect environment for the fish to thrive in. The ratio of Commons to Mirrors is about 1-3. The first test batch of carp after the works were stocked in late Jan 2019 & some of these fish have put on over 5lbs in their first year. Subsequent stocking was carried out from Nov 2019 through to late Jan 2020, with a good number of very heavily plated mirrors & a handfull of Fully Scaled Mirrors, together with a number of very deep bodied Commons. The minimum size stocked were the Fully Scaled Mirrors at about 17lbs, with most of the fish being over 20lbs & a maximum of 40lbs.
We consider that by spring 2025 the lake will have a good head of 30lbs+ fish, along with a number of 40lbs+ with fantastic potential for the future, with fish that have grown from C3/C4 size in the lake & been hand chosen rather than just stocking very large French fish that are 8 years plus, which are widely available here from many fish farmers
St Brice with a medium stocking density is not a French Runs Water, with Bays, Gullies & Large Granite Boulders in the lake bed, its more of a thinking anglers lake.
There are 6 swims in total, of which 3 are very large doubles, all designed to take large euro style double bivvies. Water levels can possibly be lower during very dry or drought conditions rendering some swims out of use in shallow areas.
