4 seasons in one day
Safety on the water must always come first. I realized this during my last session on a Sunday morning at the end of June. The weather forecast predicted grey skies at daybreak, with no precipitation. However, during my morning on the water, I had, as we often say in Brittany, all 4 seasons in the same day.
The sky was quite grey when we launched, but the absence of wind means I can look forward to a nice outing in the open sea. The tide is due to change around 07:30. This gives me plenty of time to get to my spots before the tide starts to rise at 60°. An hour later, I'm in action. Right from the first lure animation, a Talashad mounted on a 30-gram head, the first big cartridge. A big old lady grabbed the lure and ran off to her den. After a while, I managed to get her out of her hole and it was indeed a superb old lady with beautiful colors who climbed aboard. For the record, I forgot my landing net at home and will have to catch all my fish by hand this morning. After the photo session, the fish heads back to the seabed.
I check my leader, it's OK, a little advice in passing, check your fluorocarbon after each catch by passing it between your fingers, at the slightest doubt, shorten it by a few centimeters to find an intact fluorocarbon. That's why I like to use fairly long leaders, so I can cut off a piece if I need to. It's too bad to break on a nice fish because you haven't checked the condition of your fluorocarbon between catches.
A few minutes later, another cartridge with a big start, no doubt about it, it's a nice spot as you can see in the video at the end of this article. As usual, with these pretty fish, I get several free starts, but the drag is well adjusted and I get it on board after a few minutes. You have to keep a firm hand when you take them out of the water without a landing net, you can't go wrong...
Don't put yourself at risk for a few extra fish
By the time I've taken the right photos, the sky has taken on a wispy hue, and with the tide turning, the thick fog accompanies the movement. There's no question about it, the fish are there, and although my depth sounder is equipped with a plotter and I also have an app on my phone, I don't stay on the water in foggy weather - it's too dangerous. Turning around in my stride, I head back into the aber, to the parks, to play with the sea bass. With the fog comes drizzle and drizzle. There's no difference between the two, and you come out just as soaked... After 50 minutes of sailing, I'm in the parks, playing with the sea bass for 1/4 hour, then the sky breaks again and in a few minutes, it's summer again.
Turn back and head for the open sea again. The lees have passed and I'll be able to catch a few old ladies and mackerel... It's almost noon and I decide to head back for a snack. Once again, the sky seems to be overcast. I'll have time to get home and put the gear away before the rain comes. Game over. Fifteen minutes later, it's sunny again. I still managed to get 4 species of fish out of the water, adapting to the conditions and, above all, putting safety first. That's the most important thing: don't put yourself in danger for the sake of a few fish.
