About Us

Who are we?

“Les 8 etangs” is privately owned by Jean-Noel Retailleau and Mark Beldom. Jean-Noel is a highly respected fish farmer in the Haut Vienne region of central France where his fish farm is based. He empties many lakes and sells around 80-100 tons of fish each winter. He has the advantage over most people of seeing lakes and properties that most of us could only dream of finding, this is how he discovered “Les 8 etangs”. Mark is a qualified fisheries manager and experienced landscape gardener aswell as being a life long carp angler, his experience and professional approach is clear to all that visit.

Together they form a perfect blend of knowledge and experience and under their guidance, anglers can be sure that the quality of the carp fishing will remain at exceptional levels for many years to come.

The name Freedom lakes was born out of a vision Mark retained for several years whilst trying to find a suitable project to create the ultimate carp fishing escape. When he and Jean noel started working together that time had arrived. The idea of Freedom offers us all hope and sits perfectly with the real essence of carp fishing. Freedom lakes has become an established name around Europe and will continue to be developed as a name that people can trust in…never give up on your dreams! 

The story so far…

The 1st two seasons have been a great challenge, the level of investment has been extremely high and we’ve had to cope with a world wide recession causing a lot of stress and worry but the exceptional quality of the carp and the carp fishing gave carp anglers a reason to keep coming, particularly from France, Holland and the UK. Thanks to these anglers believing in our carp fishery, we have survived the hardest parts and will now continue to grow into a fishery offering top class facilities to compliment the top quality fishing. 

Already for 2010 we have carp anglers coming to us from Italy,Germany,Belgium,Denmark,France,Holland,England,Wales,Ireland and Mars…ok i made the last one up!

 Facilities
A fantastic new clubhouse will be fully open in 2010.  It is situated in the centre of the complex under the canopy of ancient oaks and giant beech trees where you can relax and soak up the forest’s enchanting atmosphere whilst sipping on a cold beer (if you can tear yourself away from the water’s edge, of course!). There are also 2 shower blocks (male and female), charging points, power sockets, fridges and freezers.

The Future
The future is looking very bright with more big fish arriving this winter.

2009 has seen the opening of our 29acre lake.  This lake is the biggest on the complex and offers a challenge for the genuine big carp hunters of Europe, with a stock of around 250 big carp with an average of 35lb+ (October ‘09). As always with a lake like this, year one is difficult as the fish need time to settle down properly and although it showed glimpses of the incredible carp fishing on offer, 2010 will show the carp world that a new gem is well and truly establishing itself.

The 19 acre lake has been sensational in 2009 and towards the end of the season we were seeing unbelievable growth rates. The number of stunning carp above 30lb in this lake is staggering and anyone looking for a carp fishing holiday in France in 2010 would be mad not to seriously consider booking this one. Mark is always saying to anyone that will listen that after fishing many other  English owned carp fisheries as well as many of the big public lakes in France, this lake is one of the very best already and by the time the Brits realise it, it will be too late and booked solid….GET ON IT!

For prices, see our ‘Bookings’ section.

Location
Freedom Lakes (Les 8 Etangs) is just outside the pretty French village of Usson, 30 minutes south-east of Poitiers airport or 6 hours from Calais. All amenties including supermarkets,banks,chemists,bars and restuarants are within a 10 minute drive from the lakes.