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Brittany has the longest coastline in France, as well as numerous islands. As a result, it offers an excellent fishing ground for sea bass, whether in the open sea or in estuaries.
Whether from the shore or by boat, there are many fishing spots to choose from depending on the season and conditions for fly-fishing for sea bass. It?s an unconventional and exciting technique for this marine predator, which is abundant along our coasts.
Extensive fishing areas
In the three westernmost departments of Brittany (29, 22, and 56), there are no restrictions on fishing areas when it comes to catching the sea bass, that top marine predator, or dicentrarcus labrax .
The coast, the islands, and the estuaries are all teeming with wild sea bass of all sizes, which can be caught in various ways.
Personally, I fish for them from the shore and by boat at sea using streamers and surface flies. But I also fish for them on sight in estuaries using crab and shrimp imitations.
Catching these fish with fly fishing gear offers an even greater thrill and presents fly fishermen with a new challenge.
Streamers for Sea Bass
Whether you?re fishing from the shore or by boat, sea bass often come to feed in shallow water?that is, in depths of less than 5 meters. This allows us to target them with fly fishing using streamers that mimic various prey favored by sea bass, including sand eels, sprats, mullet, sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel, as well as shrimp and squid.
Depending on the fishing spots, we?ll need to check the tide schedules and tidal coefficients, as well as the available prey, to adapt our choices. The same applies to the line density (floating, intermediate, or sinking), which should be selected based on the type of spot, depth, current speed, and fish activity.
Just like with lures, you can fish for them with surface flies, which entice them to rise to the surface and trigger visual strikes. A real treat for anglers!
Visible-Target Sea Bass Fishing in an Estuary
Brittany is home to a multitude of estuaries of all sizes, each with its own unique characteristics and attractions.
In this environment, large sea bass feed primarily on blue crabs, and sometimes also on shrimp, gobies, and other small fish.
It is therefore possible to look for them specifically by walking along the edges and various spots where they are known to pass through to collect this ?easy? prey.
This technique requires many hours of fishing to understand their preferred spots, their behavior when encountering prey, and the tide schedules based on tidal coefficients and the types of fishing spots.
Then you?ll need to work on your presentation, which must be flawless to ?lure? these fish?often weighing between 2 and 5 kg?which are very wary and well-adapted to their environment.
Large fish are rare, but they do exist. Getting them to take your fly in less than a meter of water is the ultimate challenge for the saltwater fly fisherman.
