The bay of La Baule Pornichet and all the coastline that runs to the mouth of St Nazaire. A pretty stretch of coast where sea bass are abundant, but hard to find at times. Last year, I did an article on the Guérande Islands, a pretty spot which includes various islets such as Pierre Percée, Bagueneau and Evens. This year, I came back for a week's vacation at my son's place, and of course I took my kayak with me.
A tricky launch
The launch was a bit complicated. It's a beach start and the beach is often subject to waves, so you have to count, find the period of calm and get into the water, quickly, to get away from the waves that break on the shore. Between two sets of waves, there's always a moment of calm, and it's this that you need to exploit. What's more, it adds a little spice to the outing. Preferably, stow everything inside the kayak and take it out again once you're on the other side of the choppy water.
For this outing, I decided above all to work on the moment of the tipping, 2 hours before and 1 hour after. In the meantime, I took the opportunity to go for a nice walk and have an early snack on Les Evens, before the start of hostilities. Les Evens beach, with no one on it (see video at end of article), is just sublime, a little "alone in the world" as in the film. Once I've had my snack, I retrace my steps. That is, leaving Les Evens, passing through Bagueneau then Pierre Percée and returning along the 300-metre strip from Sainte Marguerite beach.
The right lure for combative bass
This will be a good option, as right from the start of navigation, the bass follow one another. There's between 4 and 8 meters of water depending on the spot, so only swimming fish will come out on top, while the next day it'll be the other way round, and on the same spots. The main thing is to find the right lure. On this session, it was the Yo Zuri Deep Diver, one of the top lures in my box. This time it was the 90 mm version in mackerel color that made the difference. The bass will follow one another over the two hours it will take me to complete my course. Fish between 40 and 55 cm, plump and combative.
The Wildcat, the ideal kayak
For this session, I took one of my new kayaks, the Wildcat a steppe kayak, ideal for this type of session. At the end of the tide, you'll sail along the bathing strip marked by large yellow buoys, the famous 300-metre strip. Please note that it is forbidden to fish inside this popular bathing zone. The beach is supervised... To enter and leave this zone, there are access channels, also marked by yellow buoys. Please respect these markings, as there was a serious accident earlier this month.
This session will have been in line with the initial plan, so make the most of this moment of changeover, as it's often the moment you don't want to miss. I like it when an outing goes according to plan.
