The plateau of Roches-Douvres is located at approximately 15 nautical miles north-northeast of the island of Bréhat. On this rocky plateau made up of many rocks which emerge, stands the French lighthouse the most offshore of the coasts, recognizable from afar by its green dome.
The plateau and its surroundings are home to many species of fish that attract more and more boaters despite the distance to travel to get there. Good fishing is frequent even if the pressure of professional and leisure fishing is inevitably felt over the years.
It is an area that I like to fish for its richness and diversity. The sector is very poorly mapped, a particular vigilance is necessary to navigate there in full safety. This makes it an exceptional playground for the prospecting amateurs like me.
How to get there?
I usually leave from the port of Lézardrieux or Paimpol and go directly to the plateau which is located at about 20 nautical miles from these two ports. Its distance imposes to be very vigilant concerning the weather conditions. Over there, in the open sea, you will have no shelter if the weather deteriorates.
On the road you will cross many sectors like the plateau of Barnouic, in the south of the one of Roches-Douvres which is a very good sector also that I fish.
Area fishing:
The area is huge and the charts give very little information on the nature and the relief of the bottom. A good prospecting is necessary. In a previous article, I explained how I proceeded to prospect a new area .
That said, at the beginning of the season, on the outside of the plateau, in areas of more than 30 meters of depth you will probably find very nice and well located cays on isolated rock heads. The closer you get to the shallow rock heads that are well marked by the current, the more their concentration will increase at the expense of size.
Do not hesitate to use large lures to try to decide the most beautiful specimens.
As soon as spring arrives, you will surely have the chance to see some beautiful gannet hunts, gorging themselves with sand eels which, pushed by the sea bass below, have no other choice than to go to the surface.
Beautiful fishing is possible on these hunts with lures such as the Crazy Sand Eel from Fiiish in sizes 120mm and 180mm or even 220mm on days when they are really greedy.
During the good season, during slack tides or small coefficients, on the plateaus without too much relief, you will find many sparidae such as pikeperch or sea bream. Fishing with natural baits with a Tenya or with the madaï is very effective.
What equipment to bring :
As in almost all my sea trips, the depth varies a lot from 10 m to more than 60 m.
To do this I use three canes that allow me to cover all situations encountered:
- A 2.13 m rod with a power of 7/20 g for light fishing in the veins of current close to the emergent rocks.
- A longer rod of 2,40 m and a power of 15/50 g or 20/60 g for fishing in traction i.e. with shads in the big veins of current.
- A fairly short casting rod of 1.80 m and a power of 15/40 g for all vertical fishing such as sparids or big pollack at the beginning of the season.
Concerning the lures at the beginning of the season when I specifically target the big leaches, I use big shads in 160 or 200 mm like the Black Minnow from Fiiish in khaki or pink color or the DJ Line from Delalande. I also use lures imitating sand eels as soon as they are present in the area. For that the Crazy Sand Eel of Fiiish in 220 mm with a 60 grams lead head is a formidable weapon with an animation in elevator as I do when I fish on wrecks .
As soon as the bass arrive in the area around April or May, I almost exclusively use the Fiiish Crazy Sand Eel in sizes 150 and 180 mm with 20 or 30 gram heads to fish on the fly. As the season progresses, I switch to shads with the arrival of sprats.
For sparids like sea bream and pike, I like the Madai on which I lick a small piece of bait (a slice of cuttlefish most often).
Of course you should not neglect jigs or surface lures especially if you are lucky enough to be in the area at daybreak in the fall. Some nice surprises are waiting for you in the big current veins along the rocks.
The Roches-Douvres plateau attracts many boaters because of its richness in fish and the beauty of the landscape. The fishing is varied and does not require different equipment than the one you use the rest of the year.
