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Closing with friends!
I've barely been here 15 minutes when my friend Lionel calls me up and says: "We had the same idea! I'm parked behind you!
What a coincidence, since I haven't been on this course once this year, and here we are, just like last year, at the same place at the same time, trying to get the beautiful trout out of this pretty stretch of a river in the Sud-Finistère region.
I had just enough time to attack a pretty nymph trout on sight, as a small ray of sunshine and low water allowed me to spot the fish. After a few wind-disturbed casts, I managed to make a nice drift, animated my little size 18 ORL (hare's ear) nymph and saw the trout chattering its teeth as it took off like fury! I strike at the same time, and it's the end of the line in 10°! I'm a bit disappointed, because it was a beautiful trout of nearly 35 cm, and to attack them on sight in Brittany is unusual!
So we meet up with Lionel for our first (and last) fishing trip of the year together. We head down to the course, where the deep holes are home to some very fine trout, and where it's a little more wooded, so the trout feel protected. My friend caught a 43 cm fish here last year, but there are also fish up to 50 cm in length haunting these waters...
I was broken twice in 15° on this course this time last year, with an imitation grasshopper. I've got a revenge to take!
Complicated end-of-season conditions
The water is ultra-low, which is why I haven't fished for trout for a long time, to leave the trout alone. But now I had to finish the season and take my leave before the first category closes this Sunday.
The conditions aren't easy at all, but you never know.
Lionel uses light nymphs and a tiny indicator (made of Loon paste) to try and flush out a pretty trout. A technique that has worked well for him this season. He's caught some nice brown trout and a few sea trout this way.
For my part, I'm putting together a nice grasshopper imitation, or should I say cricket, in an attempt, as I did last year, to entice some nice trout to the surface. The Holy Grail!
We alternate fishing, one after the other. Sometimes Lionel on nymphs, and me on dries.
I miss my first trout on an edge and under the foliage. But I'd hooked it just in time! She may have refused or flicked her tail at the last moment, I think to myself.
I change grasshoppers and put on the one I like best, made of deer hair. My own Dave's Hopper. I quickly catch a small, rather voracious trout given the size of my hook!
Then, on another edge, in a deep spot, along fallen branches, a big eddy forms on my fly and it disappears. The hooking is perfect and the trout immediately contorts. It's a beautiful fish, but it's suffering from the pressure I'm putting on it with my Sage R8 Classic. It doesn't take long for her to come into the landing net and Lionel and I discover this superb Breton specimen, which measures 40 cm in the round! My best Breton trout of the season!
Superb grasshopper catches!
I'm ecstatic and I'm getting a bit of revenge for last season, when these beautiful fish gave me the cold shoulder! I'm delighted. I couldn't have asked for more! It's with a light heart that I continue fishing, leaving Lionel to attack the majority of the following positions.
As for the nymph, still nothing. The trout are bunched together and with little water, it's a real stampede! It's difficult to attack the stations in these conditions, even if we try to lengthen our casts as much as possible. But the course is technical, as it's narrow and poorly maintained. You have to thread your way through the vegetation.
Lionel goes dry with the carrot, a local fly that works all year round and imitates a beetle. But still nothing.
I try another shot, and once again the trout are going in all directions. I try to cast further out to be more discreet, but I don't have much faith in it when suddenly a slight eddy forms under the fly then disappears and it's on a furious gobble that this third trout comes to take my fly!
Another fine trout, over 30 cm long and making several candles. It's damaged and seems to have been attacked by a heron, given the mark on its back. The low water is ideal for predation by fish-eating birds, of which there are plenty here. Herons, kingfishers, egrets and cormorants must be having a field day with the levels we've had all summer. Fortunately, the waters have remained cool, and on this day are very pleasant for the fish. But we still need some water to clean up the clogging bottom and make all the fish in our Breton rivers more comfortable.
We won't dawdle, as we've got other things to do. A great session with friends, but Lionel will want revenge next time, as this time he was shunned by the trout! As for me, I'm delighted with this little fishing trip to finish the season with these beautiful fish!
