Lake Breeches
For this session, I chose a lake I've never been to before. It's Lake Breeches, located in the heart of a nature reserve, where only boats with motors of up to 9.9 hp are allowed. As a result, it's not too crowded and is perfect for float-tube or kayak fishing, even if it is a little too big for the latter.
The only information I have is that the species present in this lake are smallmouth bass and lake trout. It's not surprising to find smallmouth bass in a trout lake, as they like fresh, oxygenated water.
Lake trout
Getting back to the lake trout, it's actually the same species as the cristivomer in France. The species originates from North America, and was introduced to France in the late 60s. It is a lake trout, found mainly in deep waters, unlike other trouts, such as the fario or rainbow, which generally prefer to live in rivers.
My session
For this session, I focused on the search for lake trout and completely abandoned the search for smallmouth bass. As trout live at depth, I gave priority to pits and depths of 20 to 30 meters, which are generally comfort zones for this species.
To fish at these depths, using a lead head with a soft lure is the most effective way to get down so deep. You need to use heavy lead heads, between 20 and 40 grams, to be able to quickly bring your lure down to the height of the fish.
To facilitate manoeuvring, a reel with a high ratio is also preferable. Just because you're fishing in 30 meters, for example, doesn't mean the fish will be on the bottom. They can be at the bottom, just as at 20 or 15 meters, and you need to be able to position yourself quickly at their height.
What's more, at such depths, the echo sounder's detection cone is very wide and the fish may in fact be far from the lure, so it's best to maximize your chances of success and bring the lure down on it quickly.
Without an echo sounder, it seems impossible to fish this species, especially as even with one, detections are few and far between and you need to remain attentive and patient.
The lake trout season is fairly short, opening at the end of April and ending at the beginning of September, but one thing is certain: I'm going to continue discovering this species next season.
