On the water every day, a constant watch
After preparing my project for 3 years, this year I'm at the heart of the activity. I've been out on the water on a regular basis, particularly in the open ocean, and I've been able to benefit from the fruits of my many scouts, but I've also observed new elements. Although I have a good knowledge of my area, I don't think we'll ever have covered all the secrets of fishing.
If you want to adapt and progress, you have to be able to question yourself every time you fish. Understanding our environment is essential if we are to evolve and adapt to make tomorrow's fisheries more successful. That's why I'm out in the field, and in addition I talk to fishermen and anglers on foot, and on a daily basis I gather a lot of information that helps me to test new techniques, new baits and new spots.
Emissoles and gilthead bream in Dieppe
For example, I've been to England several times to learn from our British neighbors about fishing for emissoles and hâ sharks. I also went to Brest to learn from a specialist in these small sharks. There are interesting lessons to be learned everywhere, which can be adapted to our area, modified or even improved. That's how I've added the smooth shark, the spotted shark (the most common) and the shark hâ to my herd of around twenty species at Dieppe.
Powerful fights with fish averaging 90 cm to 1.10 m that are particularly fun to fish on fine tackle. They don't bite on just any bait, so I'm still fine-tuning this fishery, especially the braids I use, which have to be right-sized. Indeed, on my last try, I caught 8 fish in 2 hours and broke 3 big specimens on a new spot! I'll be adding this amazing fishing to the 2025 program. During this session on another spot, I hit a gilthead bream. It's new to Dieppe, and a good omen for the future.
I've been looking for this species for a while. The slight warming of the water must be influencing the arrival of these new species, of which bluefin tuna is one.
Bluefin tuna off Dieppe
Although bluefin tuna are not on my agenda at the moment, I do have the equipment to track them in case I have a good encounter. 2 years ago, I thought I saw some. Last year, I saw an 80 kg specimen jumping after a mackerel in front of my eyes, in October. By the way, the local trawlers had caught a few specimens, including 3 bluefin tuna weighing 200 kg in Dunkirk!
This year, 2024, I've already seen several isolated tuna in August, including a 100 kg specimen that passed under the boat. Friends in Cherbourg are seeing the populations of the East Cotentin tilt gently northwards. A trawler caught a 45 kg specimen in August at Dieppe. In short, the most powerful fish in our waters, which used to follow the Gulf Stream without entering the Strait of Pas-de-Calais, is at last clearly entering our waters to hunt sardines and mackerel. As for me, I've got my permits, my ring and I've got my eye riveted on the horizon when I'm guiding offshore!
