Trout fishing season is closed.

After not going fishing for two months because of the drought that hit the rivers hard I decided to go to the stream for the season closing Sunday, September 16th. I arrived very early to hit the river at the right time and it was probably not going to last very long because of the very low water level for almost two months. The first half of August had been stormy, as is often the case in the area, but these storms were too dry and did not bring the necessary water to the rivers.

I quietly prepared my rod in the soft light of the morning. I knew I did not have a lot of time until the temperature went up and the fishing became even more difficult than it was going to be already with such low water level.

I was using exactly the equipment with which I had fished with for the last time this year, during the discovery of the Ubaye in June: Zerosum Oni Honryu 395 rod, 号 2.5 level line, 号 0.6 fluorocarbon leader and a copy of my faithful Yamato kebari.

I waded upstream targeting only the most "deep" places, even though it is a little bit strange to call "deep" spots in a river where there is only 8 or 9 inches of water, but it did not pay. So I came out of the water not to be spotted because the vibrations of my footsteps and then returned to the water to fish downstream a position that I know well where I often took trout housed under a trunk parallel to the edge. It was the right choice and I did take a very beautiful trout that I will barely get out of the water to not expose it to the hot air.

The heat raised very quickly and I went up the river without fishing for nearly a mile to find a shady and cool spot for a last snack, the last I will do this year with a fishing license in my pocket.

This break did me the greatest good and was an opportunity to observe a trout that I might not have seen if I had fished.

After this trout had gone back to a place where I could not see it anymore, I put my kitchen kit in my pack and went up the river for about 1.5 miles to go to the exact place where I had taken my last trout of the previous season. I caught a trout in exactly the same spot but it was not the same fish, it was smaller than the one I released last year.

One more trout season has closed but the good thing is that another trout season will start soon. 

Tenkara Fest 2018, part 2

After a good night of sleep we went to the Lauzannier valley which is located in the Mercantour park.

As announced by the weather the sky was overcast and the temperature was really low but this cloudy veil takes nothing away from the beauty of the place. This fishing area benefiting from a patrimonial management there is only wild brown trout here and "catch and release" is the rule.

We realised a few minutes after our arrival that we were preceded by a couple of fishermen and unfortunately for us one who practiced the most untimely wading by which he put all the trout on alert. It was Guilhem and Jérôme who had the best success in this area; for my part I did miss two trout because of not fast enough hook settings and each time the same sanction: my tippet ended stuck under a rock. 

It was a little after noon when the storm strarted and we decided to go back down to the valley where we were going to be able to have lunch protected from the rain and then fish again.

The fishing on this part of the Ubayette was very different from the fact that the river is bordered on both banks by masses of fairly dense trees; we had to be more accurate in our casts.

Guilhem fished dry a little bit ahead of me, with his famous "Guilhem sedge", a fly very simple and very beautiful but especially very effective if it is used by an angler who knows how to use a  tenkara rod. For my part I was fishing posts that Guilhem had not tried with my faithful Zenmai-Dou and I also took trout. Moreover, on this section of the river we will all be successful.

We had a couple hours of intensely successful fishing on the Ubayette but the storm eventually descended from the mountain into the valley and we had to stop fishing and could not go further in the discovery of the Ubayette. The hour had arrived for us to say goodbye to each other and drive back home.

Once again we had a great weekend dedicated to tenkara and the discovery of beautiful rivers.

May tenkara

The month of May having been a long litany of thunderstorms and rain I did not fish much, I actually spent much more time browsing the banks of streams and rivers in search of fishing areas than actually practicing tenkara fishing. In fact the month of May that just finished could have been a month of February; we did not do what we like.

The advantage, if I had to find one in this experience of a rotten spring, is that the fact of visiting the rivers makes it possible to realize the evolution of their state.

One Sunday morning on the banks of one of my favorite streams I met this baby jay and I was intrigued not to see him fleeing all wings out at my approach. When it decided to take flight it found itself at the first flapping of wings suspended under the branch on which it was sitting. I took off my jacket and used it as a net to catch the bird in a harmless way, and I was not even surprised to see that its legs were tangled with fishing lines and a bunch of shots. If the jay is usually a pretty vindictive bird this one seemed to have understood that I did not want to hurt him and let me cut the fishing line that condemned him to certain death. Released, he landed a few yards from me and I turned my back immediately.

I finally found fishing areas near the sources of many streams in the area; the condition of the water being less affected by heavy daily rains made fishing possible. I had to cast short and precise and that is why I did use the Nissin Pocket Mini in 270 which is a rod of choice for fishing small streams.

Since a few days the storms and rain have stopped is then it remains only to wait until the rivers find their summer finery back and return to visit them.

Spring tenkara

Since the opening of the trout season last month the weather has been so bad that I have not been able to go fishing once; most streams having seen their waters become strongly tainted. However, I have seen many fishermen strive on several streams throughout the month, surely those people who want to "profitable" their fishing licence by filling their freezer of these famous "farm" trout. Fortunately last week we finally saw spring conditions settle.

Finally blue in the sky and white, pink, yellow, purple on the banks! And the madness of the flying fauna of the undergrowth. Spring has finally begun!

I started fishing a little upstream from where I stopped at the opening. An interesting place, narrow and crowded where the discretion and the casting precision are imperative for the angler who does not want to spend his time to unhook his kebari from branches and brambles and who wants to make visit his tamo to a trout.

The casting accuracy is, any serious trout anglers knows this, one of the most important factors in the success of trout fishing. I take very few kebari with me and if I lose them in the trees or brambles I just have to turn around and go back home. My friend Adam Trahan has written an excellent article on the topic and let us not forget that our kebari will be seen in movement by animals which surely do not have the same view as human beings.

I fished with the same gear at the opening, ie a Nissin Kawashi 320 rod and a Oni-ryu 号2.5 level line. The conditions being ideal during the two mornings of this weekend the trout responded favorably to my requests.

I did take full advantage of it and I was always completely absorbed in my fishing and during these two mornings I made the same mistake and every morning around 10:30 I left this narrow and shadowed area to reach a place where the stream widens and it was the end of my fishing trip.

I took one last trout under the drooping branches of a boxwood, which formed a shelter against the bank, once this trout had returned to its element, I did collapse my rod and left. The temperature had risen and the trout were no longer as cooperative as those in the shaded areas.

But I did not regret leaving because I had spent two very beautiful spring mornings.

2018 Trout season opening

Like every year I did not miss the ritual of the trout season opening although this year I thought that for once I was going to miss it because the winter was particularly rainy and some days before the fateful date the state of many of the creeks in the area was really bad, all had high water level and a pretty disgusting dark stain. Fortunately we were like all the France affected by the cold wave which caused the stop of the rain and consequently a rather fast decrease of the level of the water as I noticed it a few days before the opening on the occasion of a walk on the banks of the stream on which I open the trout season every year.

I devoted a single evening to prepare the season opening because I had actually prepared everything several months ago ; it was more a kind of detailed review of my equipment. Knowing that I would fish only drowned in this period of opening I packed my box only a few kebari for this purpose.

The smallest is none other than a refined version of my faithful Yamato kebari that has been following me everywhere since my trip to Japan and I do not regret it, on the contrary because it made me catch trout everywhere. From Itoshiro to Vercors through Ardèche and Normandy. True to the job! The largest, only a little larger, is made of zenmai and a hen chicken feather.

I decided to skip the first mile of the stream to get close to the place where every year I have lunch on the season opening day, the area where the creek runs in the narrowest part of its valley where I hoped to be somewhat sheltered from the icy wind that had swept the region for several days.

As last year the fishing was not easy, I tried all the spots where I have already taken trout in the past without achieving the desired result and it is finally in a corner where I have never seen or caught a trout that I finally had success. 

This trout gone back in its element I did put my line back on a card and collapsed the rod, it was already noon, the hour of the traditional season opening lunch. The wind was still very present but the sky was clear, it was the good moment to enjoy some ramen and a tasty beer!

I went back down the stream without seeing anyone, or even hearing anything but the sound of the wind. Since this opening morning the weather has been constantly bad, the streams have returned to winter conditions and I did not go fishing.

A tenkara season ends

Since my return from Isère we have entered the summer and it has quickly taken on canicular paces, to the point that given the very rapid rise of the temperature of the water of the rivers (up to 26 ° on some) the fishing authorities have decided to close the trout fishing in all streams whose width is less than two meters.

For myself in the last three months I went fishing only for very short sessions, one hour maximum, and always very early in the morning, the only time of the day when the trout show a little bit of activity.

I left at home the 13 feet rods and more to use only the 360 Nissin Royal Stage offered to me by Fuji sensei during our meeting and also one of his furled fluorocarbon lines.

I have fished the whole summer with a single kebari which is nothing but a "reduced size" version of my Yamato Kebari. The grizzly cock feather has been replaced by hen pheasant and the head has changed from rusty brown to fluo orange.

The month of July was excellent, the temperatures were high but the stable weather allowed me to go fishing every morning knowing beforehand the state of the river; it was very different in August during which the storms were numerous. The month of September began in the rain and storms and fortunately for the trout the level of the rivers began to rise. 

Because of these heavy rains the end of the trout season for me was about two weeks before the official closure but I had no regrets to have since I had fished a lot during the previous months.

The hot summer and the rainy beginning of autumn  have at least a positive aspect: a very good vintage for mushrooms!