Bredouille Robert's definition: "To be, to return, to come back empty-handed, without having taken, obtained or found anything".
Today, however, the word "bredouille" doesn't really have the same definition. The practice of no-kill fishing, which has continued to spread throughout the passionate fishing community, calls into question the notion of taking nothing home to eat. By "empty-handed", we now mean failing to hook a fish during an outing, whether freshwater or sea fishing...
Is it normal to come home empty-handed?
It's not abnormal to go several times a year without catching a fish. Whatever your level of fishing, you can't always master all the different elements likely to catch fish. Even with the help of new technologies, being unsuccessful is part of fishing - and fortunately so!
How do you avoid going home empty-handed?
To increase your chances of capture, several points can be improved:
- Prepare your fishing trip in advance, taking the conditions into account
- Target more common, even smaller species
- Multiply the number of outings
- Fishing in smaller environments
- Change fishing spots or locations more often
- Adapting your equipment to the type of fishing you want to do
- Go fishing with others to diversify the types of lure or bait used
- Don't try to beat your record every time or look for trophy fish
- Hire a fishing guide
- Challenging yourself
The list of areas for improvement is far from exhaustive, and each angler can of course have his or her own opinion and experience.
Is failure a necessity for improvement?
Although many anglers find it hard to get over fishing trips where they come up empty-handed, it can be a good way to improve. So, if you're repeatedly coming up empty, you've got a problem. To remedy this, you need to step out of your comfort zone and question yourself. Of course, you can't blame everything on the moon, the fish or the equipment. The worst thing you could do would be to have complete confidence in your fishing technique and in your ability as a good angler.
The most regular anglers are those who know how to modify certain points and adapt to ever-changing conditions. As with any practice or technique, whatever the field, you must always strive to improve and be willing to learn and understand. Fishing is no exception. And there's always a way of returning from a fishing trip without fish with other satisfactions...
