But it's still November, so I needed the right weather. At the moment, conditions are calm at the tip of Brittany, so the kayak is back on the water.
Squid fishing
On Monday, it'll be at the foot of the house, in what I call the garden. I took the Alboran FX3, a steppe-powered kayak. The spot where I'm going to fish is subject to the tidal current, which was ebbing that morning with a coefficient of 70. The target: squid. They're very present in Brest harbor at the moment, not to say they're everywhere. The rig used was the usual Tataki rig with a leaded jig at the bottom, a pink EBI Q (YoZuri) and, above it, an orange floating calmero (YoZuri). Fishing takes place in 15 to 20 metres of water, on the banks of the navigation channel.
As soon as I started drifting, they were there, so I doubled up several times. After 1h30, my basket is done, I've kept a good dozen squid and put as many back in the water, enough for a snack. So I decided to see what was still in the water. I get out the swimming fish and rake the edges of the parks in 2 to 4 m of water. Whereas the rest of the year, I've hardly seen the tail of a gurnard, I'll make a good dozen on a bib sardine-colored swimming fish, these I systematically release, too pretty a fish. To complete the picture, I'll also hook 4 sea bass, 3 of them meshed, around 50 cm. And one of the prettiest, unhooked under the kayak when I put it in the net, 1 fish will be taken, the others will go back to their winter jobs, if they manage to escape the nets. The water temperature is still relatively high and the fish are very active before winter, so it's time to take advantage.
2 regulatory locations
On Wednesday, I change kayaks. I take my supernova, a kayak made for the open sea. Today, the weather's fine and I'd like to do my 2 regulatory leagues before we're banned from harvesting this species. The word on the street is that the restrictions imposed this year have not been enough to preserve the species, and as usual, yachting will have to pay the price. We'll know more when the fisheries negotiations take place in mid-December.
Nevertheless, at the end of the year, it's still possible to catch 2 fish for consumption. So we headed for the north coast, for a little offshore fishing. Fishing with soft lures, I took my Astushad and Talashad (Astufish) mounted on 20 to 30 gram heads, there was no wind and the tidal coefficient wasn't too high.
I start with small lees, released immediately. Then some pretty old ones, all different colors. The pretty lees still aren't there. The propeller pedals allow me to cover large areas without tiring. So I prospect, using the Garmin screen to work out each detection. I finally find some decent fish, which are hooked on pink Astushad, my favorite color for winter, but it's early days yet. I keep 2 fish for consumption and decide to return. I've still got a little time to spare before heading home, so I decide to take a look around the parks. A swimming fish on the troll to decide on a possible sea bass. In fact, it's a nice squid that completes the picture, so I go for it too.
As usual, the session ends with a snack on the launch beach. This mild weather still makes for great outings, but you'll just have to adapt your outfits to the weather conditions. The last high tides of the year arrive in a few days' time, so there's still plenty of fun to be had on the water...
