Buying a Carp Fishing Lake... part 5

Buying a Carp Fishing Lake... part 5

Bait, Bookings, Swims and more Carp stocked...

With the lacolivia.co.uk website pretty much completed, it was time to start thinking about both a bait and travel partner. Already Wayne at www.exclusivecarpvenues.com was doing my bookings and we had pushed back ‘officially’ opening the lake to any customers until 8th August 2026, to allow for all the work to be properly finished, things drying out and be in full bloom.

BAIT

I’d been sponsored by Nash Bait for many years back in the day, but with their demise at the end of December 2025, it was time to look further afield. I’d also had some level of sponsorship with DT Baits many many years back, their epic Juicy Plum flavour had nailed many a decent fish for me. Glenn, the new owner of DT Baits had contacted me once he’d seen I’d ventured into the French Carp Scene again and I knew the DT Baits factory was close to my base in Essex. They arranged some samples for me and I met up with one of their team Lloyd at the Brands Hatch  Carp Show on 8th February 2026 to review them with my lake manager & some fishing buddies.

 We went to the bait factory soon after and decisions made, although there is no objection tyo any guest using their preferred quality bait, we made the decision to partner with DT Baits for the Lac Olivia Fishery and agreed on a special discount structure specifically for our guests.

The DT team knocked up some special mixes for us, which were spot on, and we decided to have two baits Olivia X and Olivia Elite Boilies, both ay a sensible 8 quid a kilo for our guests, based on a minimum 10kg order. There are discounts too on all the periphery liquids, pop ups, stick mixes, hardened hook baits etc, with boilies available in various sizes from 12 – 22mm.

TRAVEL PARTNER

I’d heard that AP Crossings were doing some good deals on ferry & train bookings to Calais, and wanted to make sure that we could offer the best deals for our customers. I met Wendy Phelps of AP Crossings and we struck up a deal, so our customers can go direct and get discounts + flexible crossings. We added a ‘Travel’ section to the lacovia.co.uk website, so that was that sorted too!

THE LAKES

So, the work had been moving steadily....

I didn’t really do any work if I’m honest, but the opportunity for a ‘manly’ pose as a lumberjack was too good an opportunity to miss. Big thanks to Sami, Josh & Carl & all the other guys who really did the hard graft!

Where the excavators, tractors, trucks etc had been all over, the mud was insane and you had to close your eyes to imagine how things would look in a few months once everything dried out and all the landscaping completed. There were still a few branches and trees in the lake, so Josh & Carl were booked to come back 19th February to clear the last of those from both lakes, still a big job requiring winches and a lot of physical work.

The swims were well underway and starting to really look good, more through luck than judgement, they turned out to be much higher at the back & sides than we’d realised, creating a really secluded and wind shelter, far better than being bivvied up on a higher bank with steps to the rods.

The single swims are big, the central ‘double’ swims are massive, as you can see from the pictures of them under construction below. Comfort for our guests and easy access to the water are of paramount importance, not just for comfort but for the safety of the fish too. Plus we had to consider that the water levels do fluctuate during the course of the year, so needed wide steps to facilitate that.

Single Swim

Double Swim

Sami and his team were planning to have all the swims finished by mid March and then work on the base for the lodge and install the facilities. I’d ordered a lodge and pub style benches, which were due to be delivered by the end of March 2026, just in time for the first work parties with friends starting 4th April 2026 for 3 weeks, where we would erect the lodge and get any other outstanding work sorted.

MORE CARP...

So, I get a call from my fish farmer that he has 45 carp available and would I like them, errrr....yes please, especially when I saw some of the amazing specially bred scaley mirrors. It was pure coincidence that I was at the lake, so he rearranged things and delivered the new stock while I was there. There are some absolute stunners that we would grow on, imagine these scaley mirrors in their thirties!!

I also stocked another half a dozen big commons from 30lbs to 47lbs, to join their friends already stocked into the lakes back at the end of December 2025.

See you in Part 6....with hopefully some swims finished & a lodge built!