River & Lake Fishing in the Creuse, Limousin
An Anglers personal experience.
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Catch of the Day
| It is always interesting to read peoples opinions on fishing in the Limousin. It is always good to get another perspective and information on different waters. Many say that there are so many un-fished waters in the region. So much so, that it would be possible to fish a different one every day of the year without necessarily seeing another angler. Sometimes, though, that can be a problem in itself in terms of gaining local knowledge about where and how to fish.
I would like to add my own experiences, which I hope will help and encourage others, particularly in my own area of northern Creuse. We bought a house for restoration here three years ago and by happy coincidence, I was able to take early retirement at about the same time. We decided to sell up in England about 18 months ago, and this has been our permanent home ever since.
I have been a lifelong angler and my wife is a very able but “fair weather” fisherperson, so it was always our intention to live in an area with plenty of potential for fishing, which is one reason we decided on the Creuse.
During the restoration period, we managed to fit a bit of fishing in here and there. The main problem initially was knowing where to fish and what permits were required. This area is absolutely full of lakes and ponds, but most of them seemed to be in private hands and out of bounds. On the other hand there are plenty of “municipal” waters, which can be fished on day ticket, and most of these are generally very good and rarely fished. Another problem, however, is that these communal waters generally have a short season, usually not opening for fishing until May or June, and closing at the end of September. So, outside of the summer season, unless you have access to a private lake, you need to head for the rivers and lake systems within the River Creuse. You must make sure that you have the appropriate licence, which can be found in a variety of outlets including local shops and mairies. The cost is roughly similar to the annual UK rod licence, and as in the UK, the penalties are severe if you are caught without one. The main difference is that in France, the permit carries a passport style photograph of the holder.
The Creuse system has everything you could wish for in terms of river and lake fishing, particularly in the area known as the Pays de Trois Lacs, which are damned stretches of the river. The lakes offer a variety of coarse and game fishing, and in between, there are fast stretches of river with a great variety of fish. If I fished another lifetime, I doubt I could really tap the full potential. I wouldn’t say it is easy fishing by any means and I would really appreciate anyone with some experience giving me a few tips. My favourite in the area is the Barrage d’Age, which is close to the village of Le Bourg d’Hem, below the Gorge d’Anzeme. I have tried a variety of methods here and been rewarded with some nice catches of roach and the odd zander, So far, my attempts to locate the shoals of tench, bream and carp, that the locals tell me about, have alluded me, but I will keep trying.
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Jouillat Plage, Pays des Trois Lacs
| And so on to the main point of my ramblings. About a year ago, I enquired from one of the neighbouring farmers about the chances of fishing my nearest private water. I was given what is colloquially know as the “bums rush” and thought no more about it, but a few weeks later he stopped me to say that the proprietor had another lake for sale not far away. I arranged to meet him and have a look. The upshot was that by last Christmas I had a nice present in my stocking. Two small, well appointed, fully stocked lakes on two acres of terrain, two miles from home; for about the cost of a second hand family saloon. Back in the UK, owning my own waters just wouldn’t have been an option to consider. For one thing, I wouldn’t have found anything for sale, and secondly I could not have afforded it. Here, it is an option and worth considering. Even without the joy of owning ones own water, as far as I am concerned, it is better than money in the bank as an investment. From the outset, we decided that we didn’t have the inclination to get involved with any sort of commercial enterprise and agreed that it would be for use by ourselves and friends and family.
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Les Etangs de Villebanois
| As everything was frozen solid at the time of completion, I had to wait until the middle of January to wet a line. The day in question was wet and windy but the temperature was reasonable. I fished the top lake with a pole at about 9 metres and would happily of settled for a few bites. As it happened, I had one of the best days fishing for many years. Not only quantity of fish, but variety and quality too, with carp from a few ounces to about 8 pounds, tench, roach gudgeon and some beautiful goldfish. Since then, we have fished there from time to time, though not exclusively as I do like to have some variety, Whenever we have visitors from the UK staying, which is often during the summer, they usually want to have a go at fishing, even if they haven’t done so before. Hence, I tend to spend more time tackling up and baiting up for others rather than fishing myself, but this is all part of the fun. Even the most inexperienced anglers have had a good time and caught plenty of fish and I think that some of the youngsters have been hooked for life. We don’t have a lot of rules, but I like to make sure that everyone shows due respect in terms of handling fish, and uses the appropriate tackle. For one thing, barb-less hooks are a must.
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Family outing at Villebanois
| When I bought the lakes, the previous owner offered to help me and show me the ropes in the first winter, in terms of “le vidange”, that is to say, emptying the lakes. This is a point of controversy amongst British anglers, as it is not something that generally happens with British lakes. In France it is common practice, as you will have noticed all round the Limousin during the early winter. Whilst not being really sure why we were doing it, I thought it would be good practice to be shown what to do, so we arranged to commence in early November, with some help from my friend and neighbour, Keith, and Alain, the previous owner.
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Keith with a nice carp from the top lake
| As with everything in France, there are lots of rules and regulations governing what you can and cannot do with respect to fisheries, so we had to play it strictly by the book. For instance, you have to ensure that the rate of out-flow is not excessive, in order not to disrupt the well being of the surrounding aquatic life, or to flood the land. We, therefore, had to maintain a vigil for about three days for each lake, to ensure an even flow and make sure that the grill covering the outfall did not clog up with silt.
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Maintaining the flow, bottom sluice
| Then came the job of flushing all of the fish through the sluice into the holding tank where they were netted out and graded into large bins. We decided in advance to out-sort most of the very small carp, to be given to other friends who had waters requiring stock. The good fish were returned to their respective lakes, and the small “silver” fish were transferred to the bottom lake, to provide fodder for the trout, which we intend to introduce this winter. In addition to this stock management, we were also able to flush out a lot of silt, to help maintain the depth of the waters. One of the big surprises of the operation was the number of crayfish in both lakes. When we were down to the bottom silt, it looked liked a primeval mass of goo, populated by the offspring of the creatures from the black lagoon. Some of the crays that were flushed into the holding tank were of respectable size and will in future provide some gourmet nosh. Apart from some trout to go in the bottom lake, we don’t intend to add any other fish at this time, as we have all the stock we want, and with the removal of the small carp, they should grow on into bigger specimens. Because our lakes are in a premier category catchment area, we are not allowed to stock with incompatible species, anyway. That is to say, it would be against the law to stock bream, perch, pike, zander and catfish, to name a few. The final job was to lime the banks to improve the water quality, and then to let the lakes fill naturally. As they are spring-fed, it only took a few days for them to fill up again.
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Bottom lake during emptying
| So, having completed my first vidange, I think I now understand why it is common practice and, hence, why the fishing is so good in France. That is:
· Reduction of silting and removal of debris.
· Maintenance of stock levels by removal of surplus fish to reduce stunting and to ensure balance of species.
· Addition of new stock, which is said to maintain a healthy blood line and reduce disease.
· Water quality management, e.g. liming and planting of aquatics.
In addition, I am told that there is a legal requirement to empty every few years so that the appropriate authorities can inspect the waters. Needless to say, we didn’t find any dead bodies this time. I don’t think that we will be doing all this every winter, but I am more than happy to know that when I do need to do it again, I know what to do and when to do it. All that remains for the time being is bank-side maintenance and maybe a little bit of planting to help nature along. But that can wait for spring. In the meantime I will be trying to locate the pike and zander in the three lakes and looking forward to the opening of the trout season. Any tips anyone?
Tight lines for 2005,
Mike Cain
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