Geographic location
The Sablonnière reservoir, created in 2005, is located in the commune of Bonnemain, north of Rennes in the department of Ile et Vilaine (35).
It is a very beautiful lake of a little more than 4 hectares of oval shape with different fishing areas, including one authorized in wadding.
The banks are well maintained and it is possible to fish all around the water.
It is open for fly fishing 8 months of the year from the beginning of October to the end of May. It is necessary to take a day permit (14euros) as on all private reservoirs.
Search for good fishing areas
I went there with two friends. Jean-Marc from Grâce near Guingamp (22) who knows the reservoir well for having fished there several times these last years, and Kevin, a finisterian like me. We did not know the lake and it is Jean-Marc who will give us some indications on the places and the trout's behaviour.
Arrival on the spot just at daybreak after a departure from Guingamp.
Jean-Marc loves wadding, and that's where we will start the day. The trout are active and biting from the first casts. It's a pleasure to touch fish quickly and to feel confident.
We will start with a floating line and a long leader on which two flies are mounted. Then I will add an intermediate polyleader to go faster between two waters.
We all have our own preferences in terms of flies. We all used different colored streamers. Jean-Marc starts with a white and a black, two sure values, and me with a white and a pink. Then I decided to change and test new flies, like wormapps and inventions between streamers and worms.
We stay on the area for a while as the catches are coming in, but after some time, I decide to go up on the bank to fish different spots. The fish are less numerous, but it is interesting to change and to go around the reservoir to discover it. And I also admit, to get out of the very cold water and a little bit stung following the recent rainfall.
I come back to the area next to Jean-Marc and test with diving lines with boobies since the hits seem to decrease. The fish have moved back and I have to cast a little further, where they move on the surface from time to time.
My boobies are quickly intercepted by the trout. Jean-Marc continues to work like the fine fisherman he is. Kevin takes his marks.
Active trout throughout the day
During the morning, some fishermen join us. The regulars of the corner. They have their posts and will remain there a moment. The atmosphere is good and not too many people.
After a very fishy morning, we take a break to eat. We don't waste time, but we exchange on our strategies and techniques. And of course some jokes between buddies who are a little bit "stuffed"!
In the early afternoon, we make the second beach that is possible to fish also in wadding.
We continue to change flies and animation depending on the results. Sometimes we will have to fish very slowly close to the bottom and other times we will have to do big accelerations. The trout seem to be present on these two zones and the catches continue.
Then I decide to go around the lake to the other side and head to what they call the dike. A nice weeping willow on the edge of the reservoir offers a nice spot and a nice setting. The trout seem to be less numerous, but very present in this deeper area that I will fish with a diving line. With Kevin, we will make some catches before he returns with Jean-Marc on the first zones for the evening's fishing.
On my side, my waders have some small leaks and I had a little cold this morning. So I prefer to stay on the bank and try different spots. Some trouts here and there, but I also decide to go back to the second beach, because Kevin and Jean-Marc are catching trouts on the morning spot.
Some new trout will come to join the net.
A very nice sunny but cold day on this beautiful reservoir which offered us good moments of fishing with friends. We caught more than 60 trout with 3 people alternating techniques, flies, and animations.
It was necessary to constantly try new things to continue to catch trout, very combative and sometimes of beautiful sizes.
An interesting reservoir for Breton fly fishers. I will return there with pleasure.
