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There's a simple reason why pike fishing is closed from the last Sunday in January to the last Saturday in April: the king of our rivers is in full reproduction and therefore supposedly more vulnerable. This isn't necessarily true, as pike won't attack our lures while they're spawning, although disturbing them on their breeding grounds is bound to cause additional stress. But that's not the point today. Provided you release all fish, pike first, during their respective closed seasons, here are a few fallback solutions for carnivore fishing aficionados!
In Aveyron and Tarn-et-Garonne, it's easy!
To date, two départements have opted not to "close" fishing but to set up reserve zones on spawning grounds, while stepping up controls: Aveyron since 2021 and Tarn-et-Garonne since 2026. In these two neighbouring departments, fishing with lures, dead fish or live fish remains authorized all year round, provided that pike are not targeted and are released in the event of accidental capture. In Aveyron, which now has a few years' experience, the results are very positive!
Rhône and large lakes: beautiful playgrounds
In the Vaucluse region, all techniques are authorized on what is known as the Rhône vif, i.e. the Rhône river excluding counter-channels, lônes and the Donzère-Mondragon canal, but also excluding fishing reserves. These provisions apply between KP (kilometre points) 208 and 248, respecting the closures for pike and zander species.
In the Lot-et-Garonne region, lure fishing is permitted in the Canal Latéral à la Garonne on an experimental basis from 2026. Fish must be released during their respective closed seasons, and barbless hooks are mandatory during the pike closure.
Other playgrounds: large lakes. In Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, for example, all techniques are authorized on Serre-Ponçon (2800 ha), Sainte-Croix (2200 ha), Quinson (191 ha), Castillon (500 ha) and Chaudanne (70 ha). In Haute-Vienne, my 2nd category dam lakes are also authorized for lures, livebait and dead fish: Saint-Pardoux, Vassivières, Chauvan, Saint-Marc... An exception is the Videix lake, open until March 13.
In Indre, you can fish for pike-perch and black-bass (no-kill for the latter) on Eguzon, la Roche-aux-Moines and la Roche-Bat-l'Aigue until March 15. The same deadline applies to the Loire's two major inland lakes, Grangent and Villerest. Or for all the 2nd category lakes in the Creuse département. Corrèze, Puy-de-Dôme, Gironde, Dordogne, Aude - each département has a small shooting window, and it would take too long to list them all.
New this year, the Charente-Maritime fishing federation has authorized the use of the Tanta soft lure from Fish Up, distributed by Way Of Fishing. This larva imitation is very effective on perch and chub, for example. Please note that only sizes 3.8 and 5 cm can be used as drop shots, on a single lead head (no rubber jig) or with a Carolina rig. We hope that each federation won't make a case-by-case decision for this or that lure...
Other relaxations exist, for catfish for example. Still in Charente-Maritime, fishing with an octopus-type rig is authorized if it measures more than 15 cm, weighs more than 80 g, is worm-fed and vertically animated. Morbihan is less fussy, stating simply: "teaser with livebait package authorized". Once again, it's important to scrutinize the regulations... because some federations also choose to close down pike-perch or even perch fishing by prefectoral decree, so as not to be bothered.
Private or foreign!
While the public domain is full of all kinds of traps with prohibitions and authorizations, private centers are more permissive. Some managers take advantage of this period to take a break in their activity, but many remain open. And then there's the temptation to go abroad. The winter period is often a good time to leave for milder latitudes such as Spain or Portugal. Once again, this is subject to compliance with the law.
