From the very beginning of the episode, Stéphane confirms that he is an excellent fisherman from the shore, as you said recently. What do you think are his qualities?
Tony: He has a very good analysis and a good reading of the bottom and he knows perfectly how to adapt his fishing to the configuration of the spots. We can see on the pictures that we are advanced on ridges and as I had explained, there is a drop off. We can see that he fishes perfectly this drop-off with a weight and an adapted lure. It embodies the famous phrase "as light as possible and as heavy as necessary!
An excellent fisherman, a quality rod, a good lure and we bring in fish! Fishing is simple! (laughs)
Small and big fish in 2 casts! Aren't they usually arranged by size on this lake?
Tony: and well no! So you can't see it on the picture, but in fact I made a lot of fish on this day from the shore, but they are all too small. They are calibrated between 40 and 44 cm. However, I am on BM 140 and 160, but it is always too small, until this last fish. This shows that even after 10 hours of fishing, you should never give up and give up!
Ãeuros a moment, you thank Pedro and Stéphane. Can you tell us a little more about it?
Tony: these are the connections we have in Spain. So it's Stéphane from Extramadura Pro Fishing. A great guy and a great guide. He is a passionate of fishing who has really a huge experience.
And Pedro is the native of Alcantara who has an extraordinary knowledge of the lake. He is also a very nice guy with a heart on his sleeve.
They helped us a lot and guided us and it is thanks to them that we are here and that we manage to make fish. It's really a team effort. We are not just two, we are several to work to try to make results. Once again a big thank you to them!
Fishing is really difficult. Have you tried a drop shot with the Mud Digger for example to present a lure for a long time on the spot and hope to make inactive pike-perch crack?
Tony: then no! We did not choose this option, because since the beginning they were rather reactive on rather large lures and clearly the BM 140 and the 160 stood out. They did not move for nothing, and so we stayed on this format of lures.
Obviously, we tested the Mud Digger and it remains an excellent lure and super effective, but there, they needed a big bite.
The beginning of the night is difficult in Holland. According to Freddy Harbort, but also according to the Nays team, the fog is to blame. What's your opinion on the matter?
Tony: my opinion is simple, I drink the words of Freddy Harbort! You really have to listen to what he says. His analyses are always very logical and of an obvious simplicity. For him, the fog modifies the luminosity and limits the sight of the fish which explains the difficulty of fishing.
I may be wrong, but in my opinion, you can see on the pictures that Nays has more fog than the Abu Garcia team and they take lessâeuros¦ This may be a first explanation!
Quantum talks about migrations of pikeperch populations during the winter. If it is obvious that holding areas change, have you seen significant movements on the order of 10-15 km announced?
Tony: we know that the fish move around a lot and so do the pike perch. We can see that the spots are not consistent throughout the season, and even from season to season, but it's hard to tell.
We can see that Nays, on the same spot as the previous year, does not have the same result at all.
Quantum, Westin and BKK are hooded, and even at night for the former. This is completely crazy and also very reassuring for the common pike angler!
Tony: yes, this is clearly the life of a pikeperch fisherman and it's reassuring to see that even the best ones are making hoods.
It is a fishing which requires a lot of control and technique, it is really complex the pike-perch, it is worked and it requires a lot of analysis. We can see that BKK is in Spain and we can see that it is not a fish farm, that you have to know the environment and know how to adapt to catch them.
Apart from Abu Garcia, we see that fishing is really difficult for everyone. We all know that there are local trends, but in a space as big as Europe, what do you think?
Tony: in fact, we all suffered in Europe from the depression that passed a few days before. There is fog, so there is no wind, but a few days before it was not the case. Clearly, these weather conditions spread over the whole of Europe have the same influence. Even over such a large area.
Can't wait to see you next week for vertical fishing! We're keeping our fingers crossed for you and hope you unlock the meter!
Tony: yes we wish it too! In any case, even if we don't have any points for the moment and it seems that this year it's not our year, we remain in the teams that do the job and that are present. We try to tickle them!
Again, hats off to Abu Garcia for their space fishing. They adapt to the conditions and show that they are specialists and fine fishermen. They have an excellent strategy and an obvious preparation.
We can see that they have worked their spots, know them very well and know how to exploit them. Especially when Freddy explains that they have 2 rods at all times, one in 5g to catch the fish that hunt in the water column and a heavier one to go get them at the bottom. Congratulations to them again!
