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. 

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.

CLOSING OF THE 2014 TROUT SEASON

The fateful date of the trout season closure in the first category streams has come so I had to take advantage of a rare thinning to enjoy a little of this part of the river.

In the french fishing regulations streams are divided in two categories:
-The first category includes streams where fishes are at least 90% salmonids.
-The second category are streams with a maximum of 60% salmonids.

I did not expect easy fishing, fall is already here; rainy and windy as always in Normandy. The water level has been abnormally high throughout the season but recent storms have contributed again more to stain the water. So this  last outing on the Sienne stream was quite short.

I am not frustrated that the season closing has already come because I think that despite the incredibly bad conditions we had this year I have lived my tenkara experience to the fullest. 

I will write again about this difficult trout season that has taught me a lot. In the meantime I offer you a video of this last trout season day. 

BACK TO BERENCE CREEK

After several days without fishing I have been back this morning on a local stream: the Bérence creek.
I did the season opening there and I was sure to be the only angler there; I am not going to the Sienne stream yet because it is full of anglers who only want to catch all the trouts stocked there before the new season.

Despite a shiny sun and a clear sky temperature is still low in this early spring but  my motivation is unspoiled, I am not going to take back a reeled rod at the first difficulties! Fishing small streams or creeks is challenging, each trout has to be deserved and errors are immediately sanctioned.

It was pretty hard this morning and it ended as I had foreseen: under the rain. While the weather was still not too bad it was good...