/ 
Sablonnière reservoir
It's in the company of friends, very good fishermen, that I find myself this Saturday on the banks of the Bonnemain reservoir, known as de la Sablonnière, south of Saint-Malo, after a meal and a convivial evening with these same people the day before and a night in Guingamp at my friend Jean-Marc's house to bring me closer together.
Both salmon and trout anglers, Pascal and Jean-Marc have been regulars on the Breton reservoirs for many years and know this fishery well. Every year, we go out together several times to different stretches of water.
La Sablonnière is a reservoir of just over 4 hectares that offers the advantage of wadding on two beaches, and bank fishing on the rest of the lake. Fishing is diversified and all reservoir fishing techniques can be used.
Pascal off to a flying start
We arrive just after daybreak to make the most of the day. No one has arrived yet, so we can start fishing amongst ourselves.
Accompanied by Jean-Marc's son Mathis, we set up on the first beach, and Pascal decides to stay on board.
The water is very clear and cold, in spite of the water hammering. A few trout are moving on the surface, but not much activity for early morning.
Jean-Marc quickly caught his first trout with a white streamer with an orange helmet, a classic, and then it was my turn to hook his first fish, which quickly came off the hook. Another hit comes when I change flies for a tippet streamer instead of my blob, and a cormorant in the jib. Once again unhooked! In this case, it's impossible to know which fly has interested the trout. This is always interesting information at the start of a fishing trip to find out what the fish like. Jean-Marc also landed a fish, then Mathis took a touch. Then, on my third strike, I correctly hook the trout that has taken my cormorant.
Pascal, who is the only one out of the water, also catches his first trout, and then begins to "string" them together on an edge where the fish seem to be showing up very close to the edge.
He will catch several in this way with his fly mounted on a jig hook.
What do the trout take?
Jean-Marc and Mathis move to the other side of the beach to try their luck. I stay in the same spot and change flies several times. I land another fish. I still don't know which fly was taken. They take really badly. Maybe it's just aggressiveness, and mainly on fast animations.
I try a plunge line with two boobies but after several casts there's still no bite. Jean-Marc returns to the beach where I'm standing and hits a trout with a chiro. Pascal caught a few more fish on his side and the same edge.
It's my turn to change spots and head for the beach opposite. As for Mathis, he's off to work the edges, as there's no streamer for him either. The sun comes out a little and so do the first chiros.
I set up a chiro train consisting of a small black chiro nymph with a red cheek, a cormorant as an intermediate and a shipman buzzer (emerging chiro) as a jumper.
The trout are starting to get a bit active on the surface, with a few chironomids popping up here and there.
Great chiro fishing!
I quickly hook my first trout, which comes off the hook again. Then I catch a fish on the shipman.
The trout are close to the edge and Mathis, who has returned next to me, takes a few touches and pulls out his first trout of the day on a pink streamer.
On my side, the trout are getting a bit active and I catch several trout on the chiro, close to me. It's very pleasant fishing, as the trout often take violent action and stretch the line in one go! With 6-gauge line, I'm having a lot of fun and the reel sings!
They will all take the little nymph on the point with long, slow pulls followed by a pause. The bite always comes on the pause. These are beautiful trout with perfect fins. Perhaps they've been in the lake for some time and are feeding.
Then the guys decide to go for lunch. It's barely noon. But now is not the time, as the trout are active on the surface. Mathis takes more bites and another trout.
We have to stop for lunch with Pascal and Jean-Marc. I wolf down my sandwich quickly so as not to miss this peak of activity on the surface. It really is my favorite reservoir fishing.
Arriving back on the spot, I set up an emergent chiro and then put the shipman in between to make a change and try to get some on the surface. Unfortunately, the trout that had been gobbling frantically during the lunch break hardly showed up once back on the spot!
I insist a little, but to no avail. I reel in the winning late-morning fly train, but it's no use. No more gobbles and the weather turns gray.
In the afternoon, the trout are more sulky
I switch to a pink streamer that was mounted on my other rod and catch a trout on the first cast, then nothing. I made another change and put on a red worm app, and again caught a fish on fast animations and then nothing either! These fish are behaving very strangely today. We have the impression that we have to keep changing flies. Maybe activity is on the ups and downs, or maybe they're wary, having been introduced several weeks ago.
Bites are scarce for everyone. Two other anglers pass by and don't stay long. Hard fishing, I guess. Probably season ticket holders who often fish on the lake and can come and go.
Pascal, for his part, sight-fished nymphs on his bank in the early afternoon and found active fish which he caught with small nymphs and chiros imitations.
I'll take one of my own this way, but the wind picks up, the sun disappears and I can hardly see the fish.
I try again with a streamer on the beach between the inlet and outlet, but the trout are sulky. Not much more activity on the surface.
I set up two small black flies to give it a go and try to be finer and more discreet. After a few casts, a trout grabs my fly less than 3 meters from me and on the hooking, the thread gives way and the trout takes off with my tip fly! I reel one in and then nothing more!
Trout on sight at the edges
Jean-Marc, like me and Mathis, doesn't get many hits, but he does get a fish out every now and then, thanks to a change of spot and flies. But nothing stands out!
I join Pascal, who looks like he's having fun on sight, moving along the edge. As I arrive, I notice that many trout are wandering very close to the edge and are marauding. The light is already well down and I'm having trouble seeing how the trout are behaving. I miss one on sight with a streamer, then two more with a small chiro nymph. The hooking isn't timed right, as I can see the white of the mouth opening but not my nymph, and then it becomes very difficult to see the fish. I decide to leave it at that.
Pascal folded up his rod, satisfied with his day's work and with some 15 trout.
At the end of the day, Mathis caught numerous trout on the evening pre-shot on the first beach, then, and until nightfall, on the other beach. His fishing was very good, and he stayed motivated and concentrated. He will have landed a dozen fish.
It was still a good day, but we had to keep challenging ourselves and changing flies and spots. Pascal had found a small, well-stocked spot, and by adapting and changing flies and techniques, managed to catch as many trout as possible. Interesting fishing, as always in the reservoir, because it's this search and adaptation that we like. It also allows you to fish out of season when the rivers are closed.
We'll be coming back to this Ile et Vilaine reservoir to spend some quality time with friends at the water's edge, outwitting these fish, which may have been introduced but are well worth the effort!
