It’s surprising how many foreign lotteries we have won, or so the countless emails tell us. The advice given to recipients of such emails is not to open them but to delete them immediately. So, when we received an email telling us that we had won a competition, we were just about to hit the delete key when we noticed the two words “Nash Resorts” and thought the email worthy of further investigation. It appeared that our entry to a sunrise competition, which we took in May this year, had won a prize for one to Lac Chateau, Cavagnac, South-West France.

Within just over a week, we’d confirmed the email, booked the prize winner and a non-fishing person at the Resort, paid for a ferry crossing and retrieved the sleeping bags from the loft. We decided to make the journey by car rather than flying so that we could add a few days either side of the week making it a longer holiday.

On 18 September, we arrived early at Lac Chateau and received a very friendly welcome from the Resort staff. We were invited to look around the lake and make ourselves at home even though the anglers from the previous week were still packing away and “our” group were not arriving until late afternoon. We asked the Resort staff for directions to somewhere picturesque to have our lunch and were directed to Belcastel, a beautiful village about 15 minutes away and well worth a visit.

When we returned, our group had just arrived. One of the initial worries we had, was being rowing-boat owners for a week but these fears were immediately overcome when we were issued with life jackets and given comprehensive instructions on how to wear them and to stay safe. After a guided tour of the lake and a substantial meal, lots were drawn and swims allocated.

The thunder storm started immediately before we were taken to our swim and it stopped only long enough for the rain to half fill our newly-acquired rowing boat. However, the bivvy was certainly dry and welcoming in the “Chateau” swim that we had selected. The lines were cast, the torches found and thoughts of a full English breakfast delivered to our swim the following morning soothed us to sleep while the torrents raged outside.

A low 20lb common found its way to our Mach 1 boilie during the second night but as there wasn’t a sign of any fish the day after, we thought that moving swims would be a good idea. There were a few swims unoccupied that looked promising and the Resort staff assured us that moving wouldn’t be a problem. By this time, the weather had improved considerably and we moved into the “Trees” swim.

Most of the lake could be seen from this swim and (yet again!) other unoccupied swims started to look even more inviting. Again it wasn’t a problem when we changed swims the day after to “Sanctuary”, which is where a 38lb mirror was caught.

At 2am, this experience is a complete fiasco! The well-meaning efforts of one person placing a head torch over the other’s eyes, rather than his forehead, isn’t really helpful at all. It’s also strange how the mist decided to fall when line needed to be rowed out after successfully landing the fish. We learned a lot about the dark and disorientation when, the next morning, we realised that by mistake, our line had been neatly placed in the middle of someone else’s swim. Our profuse apologies at breakfast were graciously accepted!

If we were asked to highlight one aspect that made the week so memorable, would it be the innumerable stars at night in the clear sky; the way the trees reflect on the lake in the daytime and the moon at night;

the boating experience (new to us!); the fun trying to find equipment at 2am; the mechanics of the rope raft;

the company of other anglers; Mark’s fabulous meals; hot showers; or the fishing? All we can say is Lac Chateau, Cavagnac – what an adventure!