Change options and target pike
When trout fishing doesn't bring me as much joy as it should, I change options. My choice then takes me to other places and other techniques. In particular, I take great pleasure in fishing for carnivores with dead fish. I prefer two destinations: the Lavalette dam on the Lignon and the Bas-en-Basset ponds on the Loire.
I had a special year. I can't remember which, I think it was in the eighties. For a few months, I experienced an extremely good period for pike fishing. That year, on my first fishing trip to the Lavalette dam, I caught four fish and, in addition, had a large number of bites and unhooks. The following week, I decided to go pike fishing again, but with a different destination: the Bas-en-Basset ponds. Bis repetita! For the second time, the same thing happened. The catch was even better than the previous Thursday. i'm really lucky," I thought, "unless I've become an excellent fisherman?
Pike fishing with dead fish
I'd perfected a highly original dead fish rig: the equipment was virtually invisible. After a few outings, always as productive as ever, I asked my friend Georges to accompany me, without revealing my famous rig. He was new to this type of fishing and I wanted to share these magical moments with him. Of course, but more insidiously, I wanted to know if I was the best and if my process could revolutionize pike fishing. Maybe I'd invented a foolproof trick!
The fishing trip didn't turn out as I'd expected. But it was just as exciting. Up at the crack of dawn, guzzling coffee, firmly hooded, we fished in ways quite different from each other. We both caught a lot of fish. As a result, we returned together many times over the following months, alternating between the two sites. We had some great times fishing. Then, the bites became rarer and, little by little, we inaugurated our first flops.
When I look back on those heady days today, curled up in my armchair in the evening, turning over the logs in the fireplace, I think how close I came to being the greatest pike fisherman of my generation.
Yes, I admit it, I believed him? What a shame!
