I'm taking advantage of a stay in the South of France to visit a friend I haven't seen for a few years. He knows all the nooks and crannies of his department, and in particular the various lakes for black bass, which I only sought out once in 2003 during my training as a fishing instructor-guide. I join him for a quick but effective evening catch of a magnificent specimen, and a topwater one at that!
Resuming contact
After an hour's drive, I arrive at Michael's home at 5:30 pm. We chat a bit about our guiding activities and finalize the evening's program.
He kindly offered to take me to a lake with some nice black bass that he fishes with lures and flies.
Mika is a very good fisherman and above all very eclectic. He knows how to do everything and catch everything, whether in freshwater or in the sea! He's always very friendly and interesting to talk to. It's been a pleasure to see him again.
Surface fishing or nothing!
We don't dawdle too much, as the window is short. Yes, I'm on vacation with my family, but I'd decided to escape twice during my stay. And now it's just a quick evening stroll.
Michaël takes me to my first spot on this beautiful reservoir.
The water is high for the season, with typical black-bass waters. It's been extremely hot these days (over 35°C) and the water temperature should be over 25°C. The fish are likely to be less active and certainly deeper.
I set up my 9-foot Redington Crux rod with a 6 floating line mounted on a SAGE Spectrum reel with a good drag. Mika tells me that the blacks might be active on the surface, as they should be coming up to hunt fry and bleak in the evening when the sun goes behind the hill. So we arrive at the perfect time, but so far no activity.
Unforgettable action
We move from station to station. They're all magnificent, and I'm delighted to be out there looking for this aggressive, combative fish, which I'm not lucky enough to have on my rods in Brittany.
We talk about our shared passion, which is also both our jobs. Of course, fishing experiences and anecdotes abound. Mika is also a fly fisherman, although he uses a very wide range of techniques. We met on the Durance river for shad, and I took him fishing for grayling on the Sorgue a few years ago.
He advises me to use one of the surface flies he's already used to catch black bass in this area. A deer hair Popper, i.e. a fly made of deer hair that will push out of the water and make a little noise on the surface to imitate wounded prey (frog or fish). It's the best way to catch this mythical fish! It suits me just fine! Frankly, I'm really excited to be out there looking for this exceptional predator.
With every cast, I wait for a suction or a big explosion on my fly. Mika has been selling me a dream since the start of the fishing trip, telling me I should make one! I'm on my toes and focused, as we only have a little over two hours of fishing.
Corner after corner, but still nothing. Then we come to a submerged tree that my evening guide knows well. First, he tells me to cast short. Immediately a black bass comes up and sticks to my fly. Then it follows it with each animation, but without taking. My pulse races as Michaël describes every movement of the fish, which I can't see as I'm below. In the end, he doesn't catch.
On the next cast, another huge black bass followed my fly, but still without conviction. This one I could see 50 cm below the surface and under my fly. How beautiful! It's massive and dark. A very pretty fish. But they don't seem to be very active!
Maybe the black bass of my fly-fishing life?
Then we head for a point that Mika thinks is an interesting spot. I fan out to cover the whole area, but nothing there either.
I change position and angle a little and cast offshore instead. Four dry pulls on my line to make the fly popper, followed by a pause and then a huge suction.
I hook quickly and amply to sting the fish. He rises to the surface and comes out of the water completely twice. How beautiful! And it's huge too! I'm in a trance, but stay focused so as not to make a mistake. I lower my rod to fight him so that he doesn't jump too much and I do the same when he jumps so that he doesn't unhook. This is common with this fish, which has a habit of violently shaking its mouth in the air.
After a few minutes of fighting and several acrobatics, I finally steer this splendid black bass towards my guide's landing net for the evening. It suddenly seems much smaller, because this fish is really wide, high and in great shape. There it is! I explode with joy! Sure enough, it's a trophy fish on the fly, and even more so on the surface. I can't believe the beauty of this fish. Mika was right, his lake is just incredible for finding big black bass on the fly and we succeeded in our mission, catching a big fish on the surface in two hours with the evening strike.
What an evening! A great time shared between friends, nature and fishing enthusiasts. What a pleasure!
