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. 

First fishing outing of the season

After the cancellation of the fishing outing planned last weekend due to unfavorable weather I finally did take yesterday morning the way to my favorite creek for early in the season without really knowing what to expect because major rivers in the area still have very high and strongly stained water. So I arrived around 10 hours and a half and I was pleased to find that the water level had dropped since the opening of the season and I saw along the path that the stream was about to regain its original color that is really more beautiful than opaque grey.

As always on this stream fishes rarely betray their position, in this shallow and narrow stream  trout are almost impossible to sight so it is to the angler to read the current and potential positions where to cast his kebari. I was fishing with a pattern with which I like to fish, the Zenmai-dou, and I was surprised to see it be taken dry on the first cast. To me pattern categories categories like "wet" or "dry" do not exist anymore as I like fishing with the most versatile ties that can be used at different levels. Trout and salmon parr did show themselves very active until that the kebari drifted straight into their mouth.

After lunch which was a bit more sunny than that of the opening day I decided to go downstream because the sector explored in the morning I had seen a lot of footsteps making me me think that this stretch had been visited very often lately. Fishermen are probably far more numerous than usual on this stream as large rivers still have very high water level and that brings many fishermen back on the small streams they usually shun.

It is in this corner that I started fishing again,  a delicate and accurate cast bringing my kebari in the quiet strip at the foot of rotten trunk made me take my first legal sized trout of the season. In my area the legal size if you want to keep a trout is 24 centimeters. 

After releasing it I decided to ignore a sector that I know well and that somehow I prefer to reserve for myself later I walked upstream again to go to a spot where I have not fished in a long time. Along the way, traces of fishermen passage faded and then disappeared completely which was good to me because unfortunately some fishermen do not leave only footprints behind. I will never understand how some people can consider themselves as fishing enthusiasts and use the streams banks as dumps. 

There are throughout the ten kilometers that measures this stream many construction remains and they often provide excellent trout shelters. My Zenmai-dou had dried along the way and I did cast to the right through the remains of what once was a wall. This trout shelter was so tempting that I could not resist casting my kebari there. It did not drift five centimeters before a trout rose and took it. I was actually really pleased; this trout was beautiful and it is with a smile on my face that I put this amazing fish back to water.

After this moment of satisfaction and joy I did collapse my rod, put my line back on a spool and did take the path back home. It was my first real fishing outing of the year, it went very well and that's the main thing.

Trout season opening 2016

During the weeks preceding the day of the trout season I like doing outings on various streams of my  area to see what winter has made of them. The winter that just ended was soft at temperatures but very wet. It has rained a lot during the last weeks before the awaited date and it was therefore without haste that I did the final preparations for the opening of the trout season.

The last evening before the opening was dedicated to kebari tying and preparation of the backpack; knowing that the water level was very high on any of the many streams of the area still I prepared two rods. Their use for the opening day was undoubtedly going to very little but it can not do them wrong to get in the outdoor! 

I reached the edge of the stream on which I have done the season opening for many years, it was hardly day and I could hear nothing but the raging stream. I approached and realized that its condition was the one I had expected: the water was a uniform and opaque grey. There was not the slightest chance to catch a trout here.

I went upstream reviewing all the spots where I usually take the first trout of the season and it was all the same show everywhere: grey water, high level.  Many spots were inaccessible as the ground is so soaked and soggy  I would be in the mud down to the knee after three steps.

I continued this exploration and arrived about ten o'clock near the place where all the years I settle for the snack. Again everything was wet, the bonfire made more smoke than flames but I would not have exchanged my place for anything!

The fog which was very thick in the morning dissipated and the sun came out, it did not heat the atmosphere but it animated the surrounding woods. Knowing that I was not going fishing I took the time to eat at my favorite strain overlooking the creek and then quietly take the path that would take me back home.

It was long years since I had experienced a trout season opening day with fishing but the trout and fishing passionates  are dependent of weather conditions so rather than rail against bad fortune is better to try to enjoy this symbolic day of season opening from a different perspective. One never loses his time in the woods, along a stream even if you can not fish there, there is always something to observe. In a few days the spring comes, then I have some wonderful opportunities to spend days on the edge of a stream and catch some trout. It's just a matter of time. Patience is a virtue...

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. 

FINAL STRETCH OF THE 2014 SEASON

It is not yet time to print the balance sheet of the 2014 season but the end is near and one must not miss an opportunity to go fishing and that is what I did yesterday.

The summer was rotten, it is a fact that no one can deny but since a few days the nice weather is back, it is even hot! It does not make fishing easier either. Trouts are not very active on food as they have had time enough to binge during the last two months that where, according to weather records, the wettest since 1959. Just that!

I went fishing a small stream which is very unusual for the area as it looks like a mountain stream: strongly cashed banks, little water, many rocks, waterfalls, etc.

The picture on the left depicts what I have seen when I left the town and started getting closer to the stream. I was sure to spend a good moment in this place.

I did not expect the fishing to be easy and it was not. I think that I am realistic about the status of the salmonids in the area, they are only a shadow of what they were. This situation has made me realize that it was more satisfying for me as a Tenkara angler to catch some wild trouts in these overlooked streams than catching bigger stocked specimens in C&R areas. Unlike most fly anglers I do not let the rods on the rack when fishing gets harder.

The morning was good with a few catches on well marked positions but when the trouts are not hungry it is useless to expect a catch behind each rock. Anyway I do not feel the need to highlight the score as if tenkara was a basketball game, it is much more important to me to learn something every time I go fishing.

I will definitely return to this beautiful stream. The surrounding woods are pretty dense and slow progress on the river allows true immersion. 

It is now 2 p.m, the sun is blazing overhead, the temperature is at its maximum and I decide to leave this heavenly place. 

T4: TENKARA TIMES TRY TENKARA

The following video (made this morning) is the second part of the review of the Try Tenkara rod I published on May 25th.

The fishing conditions in the area are still pretty bad; very high and stained water, gusty winds day after day but my pleasure is intact. I have to adapt and have fun.

NORMAN CREEK TENKRA

After several windy days I had an opportunity to go back to the stream where I did the season opening.
A short summary in motion picture...

This outing was very nice, even though I had forgotten my sunglasses, and I think that I made progress since last year on two key points:

-Accuracy: I have been so precise in my casting, even when I was fishing with a western fly rod. Tenkara is, according to me, a fly fishing technique that consists in teasing the trouts where they are and not in waiting for them to betray their presence. If they do, good. Otherwise I take a little bit of time to observe the stream and try my luck.

-Enticing: When I released the first trout in the pool and saw another one rising about 7 feet from me I thought it was a good opportunity to test my discretion and my ability to make my kebari interesting in the eyes of a trout. There is a little more than one year that I fish Tenkara only and I think that my perseverance to fish only in the traditional style is beginning to pay. Fly animation combined with a good drift can really make a difference.

I will go soon fishing tenkara on streams I have never fished yet. That is, I think, the best way to improve my tenkara.