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To each his own!
And yes, closing time is already upon us. Six months have already gone by, and it will soon be time to pack up your trout fishing gear and begin, for some, the long winter wait during which many anglers stop practicing their hobby.
These anglers only fish for trout in the river, and therefore have to abstain for a long period of time. Half the year.
Saying good-bye to first-class rivers is a special moment, and everyone will do it in their own way.
Some will try to catch their last trout and go to a "good spot", others will simply go to their favorite spot to spend that last moment, where they love to go fishing, in that place so special to them. Either way, it's a time to make the most of those last moments when our silk flies over the choppy waters of a beautiful river.
It's far from being a party, unlike the opening, but it's still a moment we enjoy, albeit with a twinge of sadness!
Prolongation for some!
The closure period is long, even very long for the first category. After all, trout fishing only lasts six months!
For some, the closure in their department has been postponed, and these lucky anglers can still enjoy a few days or even weeks.
Others will go abroad, as in Spain, where fishing remains open until October.
In France, the opening is quite early, in my opinion, and so is the closing. I sincerely think it would be possible to shift these two events to suit the fish.
At the start of the season in mid-March, the trout have barely recovered from their spawning and it might be wise to leave them a little longer to recover before opening fishing.
On the other hand, the closing date could be postponed, as throughout September and early October, the trout are feeding again and are in top form with the drop in air and water temperatures. Spawning doesn't take place until mid-to-late November, December and January, depending on geographical location. So why close so early?
Maybe in a few years' time, the fishing authorities will look into the matter and make better decisions. In my opinion, starting later and staggering the closure would be more respectful of the fish cycle. Fishermen could benefit a bit more too!
It's not all about trout fishing!
Of course, trout are not the only fish in the first category!
Grayling fishing allows you to continue a little into the off-season. On some rivers, fishing is still possible until mid-November or even later.
Many trout anglers will therefore go to the Dordogne or the Allier, for example, and extend their season.
But once the salmon rivers (trout and grayling) are closed, many anglers stop fishing. That's a shame, because there are still plenty of options for continuing to enjoy your favorite pastime in our beautiful country.
Trout anglers can go reservoir fishing, as there are reservoirs all over France. Some are truly beautiful wild lakes, others more artificial, but in any case, fishing for these farm-raised fish has many advantages:
- Enjoy fishing and continue to have fun.
- Train during the long break and improve your throwing technique.
- But also learn to fish in lakes, even if these fish are not wild, they quickly become ensauced, and you'll need to know all the techniques to manage to catch them throughout the winter! It's much more interesting fishing than it looks!
It's also possible to fish for freshwater carnivores, notably pike, but also perch with light tackle, as these fish are great fun to catch. Pike-perch is often less easy to catch, but in certain rivers, lakes and ponds, it can be successfully fished.
Asp thrive on many rivers, and this explosive carnivore is really interesting to catch on the fly even in autumn and early winter.
Sea bass fishing is also possible until the end of December, and the end of the year is often favourable for catching very large specimens. Whether in estuaries or on the coast, sea bass take well to the fly throughout autumn and early winter, weather permitting.
Then there are the fishing trips, with exotic sea fishing for bonefish, tarpon, permit and trevally, or beautiful destinations for those who stick to trout, such as Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.
So don't put your rod away just yet. Take advantage of all these options and fly fish as often as you can. Being an eclectic angler allows you to adapt, to analyze environments and fish, and to be a much better angler!
