Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Even so. A 6Kg barbel is way over what I have seen or heard about. I hope that it is true though. Thanks for the info'.
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French barbel fishing
- Thread starter Jamie Warren
- Start date
Even so. A 6Kg barbel is way over what I have seen or heard about. I hope that it is true though. Thanks for the info'.
Jamie Warren
Senior Member
You know when you drive out of the village and go down a hill, before crossing the river, the property I’m buying is just down that hill on the left, moulin de Quéroux, there is a weir there
Graham Elliott
Senior Member & Supporter
What great information you are sharing on the Site Clive.
You deserve to actually catch a 6kg barbel locally
You deserve to actually catch a 6kg barbel locally
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
I pass there twice a month while out at work. It is a lovely quiet spot yet not too far from a couple of small towns.
There are two cul-de-sac tracks leading along the river, one each side, from the bridge at Moulin Berger. I'm not sure but I think that it is classed as a Category 1 water, i.e. trout. That means it can only be fished from the second Saturday in March to the end of September, and maggots cannot be used. I will have a look next Tuesday when I am over there. In any case, you won't find barbel of any size until you get down to Montmorillon. Sorry to be harbinger of bad news, but it is what it is.
Fortunately there are good stretches of the Vienne nearby.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Thanks Graham,
It is not that I don't try. I reckon I have viewed, plumbed or fished every likely spot on the river between Aixe-sur-Vienne and Lussac-les-Chateaux over 100Km downstream, plus a few random parts I dropped on while on my travels. Same on the Charente.
I'm waiting for Alex Dalton to come over and show me how to do it.
Jamie Warren
Senior Member
It’s fine, it runs through my garden, nicer problems to have I guess, got plenty of work to be getting on with when I finally land there. The water level looked quite low when I was there a couple of weeks ago, and a local said that it comes up quite a bit in the winter. He also said there is carp and cats in there, and plenty of troutI pass there twice a month while out at work. It is a lovely quiet spot yet not too far from a couple of small towns.
There are two cul-de-sac tracks leading along the river, one each side, from the bridge at Moulin Berger. I'm not sure but I think that it is classed as a Category 1 water, i.e. trout. That means it can only be fished from the second Saturday in March to the end of September, and maggots cannot be used. I will have a look next Tuesday when I am over there. In any case, you won't find barbel of any size until you get down to Montmorillon. Sorry to be harbinger of bad news, but it is what it is.
Fortunately there are good stretches of the Vienne nearby.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
They stock trout in Category 1 rivers in February and March usually at road bridges for convenience. Regards carp; if you leave a bucket of water out overnight there will be a herd of carp in it by morning. They get everywhere. That is one of the problems; you set up for 6lb barbel and encounter carp treble that size.
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
I have lived in France for nearly three years, my wife and I love our life in the Lot!
Most weeks we will have a couple of long walks exploring the Lot valley. Gives me the opportunity to spot likely swims and the views are wonderful.
When we moved here I was thinking "massive carp"!!!! But the reality is carp require hard work and night sessions. Not that appealing to me now as I like a comfy bed too much!
Fortunately I remembered catching just one barbel in the UK about five decades ago - and they do pull well!
The Lot in my area, east of Cahors, has enough barbel to entertain my angling needs. I now have a decent choice of swims that often hold barbel, sometimes I actually catch a few! Plenty of blanks but I am still learning and still searching for new swims.
The barbel here do seem to top at around 8 lbs. Plenty in the 4-5lb bracket and sometimes big shoals of very small barbel.
Summer can be a struggle due to low flow! Basically you pray for a few thunderstorms upriver and wait for a barrage or hydro-electric generator to let out some water.
At first I found worms or cooked crevettes the most reliable barbel baits. Decathlon boilies were my first experience of these unatural baits and I caught nothing on them! Eventually I had my friend back in Scotland make me up a batch of his Slayer Triple S boilies, and they worked from day one! Though that was with chub to over 5lbs.
Not had many chub in my stretch, but they have been a good size.
Enjoying this thread and appreciating the tips about other rivers, cheers!
Most weeks we will have a couple of long walks exploring the Lot valley. Gives me the opportunity to spot likely swims and the views are wonderful.
When we moved here I was thinking "massive carp"!!!! But the reality is carp require hard work and night sessions. Not that appealing to me now as I like a comfy bed too much!
Fortunately I remembered catching just one barbel in the UK about five decades ago - and they do pull well!
The Lot in my area, east of Cahors, has enough barbel to entertain my angling needs. I now have a decent choice of swims that often hold barbel, sometimes I actually catch a few! Plenty of blanks but I am still learning and still searching for new swims.
The barbel here do seem to top at around 8 lbs. Plenty in the 4-5lb bracket and sometimes big shoals of very small barbel.
Summer can be a struggle due to low flow! Basically you pray for a few thunderstorms upriver and wait for a barrage or hydro-electric generator to let out some water.
At first I found worms or cooked crevettes the most reliable barbel baits. Decathlon boilies were my first experience of these unatural baits and I caught nothing on them! Eventually I had my friend back in Scotland make me up a batch of his Slayer Triple S boilies, and they worked from day one! Though that was with chub to over 5lbs.
Not had many chub in my stretch, but they have been a good size.
Enjoying this thread and appreciating the tips about other rivers, cheers!
Jon Kennard
Senior Member
What a great thread this has become and read. Not that ive got a chance at all of fishing over there. Can't even fish here! However nice the thought of it. I follow french fishing? A guy called Thomas got loads of you tube videos but he's in the north I believe. However the rivers definitely have some issues there to its not all roses
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Steve, lovely area of country you live in.
We go down to St. Cirq Lapopie and Cajarc most years and sometimes Capdennac too. I agree with you about the carp fishing. It is not for me either, but have you read Keith Townley's reports of French fishing? He seems to have the nack of finding lumps during the daylight hours. and away from the 24/7 brigades.
For me, I search out the deeper channels with flow over a hard bottom. Not always easy as the rivers tend to have a lot of dams that then lead to fast shallow water and by the time the depth is ideal the flow isn't. So it is down to locating choke points where the flow is confined by a narrowing of the river. At least on the Lot you will have the opportunity to fish into the dark, something denied us on other rivers.
We go down to St. Cirq Lapopie and Cajarc most years and sometimes Capdennac too. I agree with you about the carp fishing. It is not for me either, but have you read Keith Townley's reports of French fishing? He seems to have the nack of finding lumps during the daylight hours. and away from the 24/7 brigades.
For me, I search out the deeper channels with flow over a hard bottom. Not always easy as the rivers tend to have a lot of dams that then lead to fast shallow water and by the time the depth is ideal the flow isn't. So it is down to locating choke points where the flow is confined by a narrowing of the river. At least on the Lot you will have the opportunity to fish into the dark, something denied us on other rivers.
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
Steve, lovely area of country you live in.
We go down to St. Cirq Lapopie and Cajarc most years and sometimes Capdennac too. I agree with you about the carp fishing. It is not for me either, but have you read Keith Townley's reports of French fishing? He seems to have the nack of finding lumps during the daylight hours. and away from the 24/7 brigades.
For me, I search out the deeper channels with flow over a hard bottom. Not always easy as the rivers tend to have a lot of dams that then lead to fast shallow water and by the time the depth is ideal the flow isn't. So it is down to locating choke points where the flow is confined by a narrowing of the river. At least on the Lot you will have the opportunity to fish into the dark, something denied us on other rivers.
Hi Clive, your last paragraph rings true for me. I have lost two very big fish on barbel tackle (10lb hooklength) in the last twelve months! Different parts of the river but both have a little extra depth (2-3 metres), both swims had flow. The biggest fish (by sheer power) motored from the boat channel through many metres of a massive weedbed. When the weight of weed was sufficient the trace parted, nothing I could do to stop it!
I have just rebuilt a 12' 2.5 tc Sportex Morrian carp rod. Now it has a Fuji Concept guide arrangement (I hated the heavy carp style guides!) and a shorter reach to the reel. The idea is to make it my floodwater and snag barbel rod - it may get used other times in swims likely to hold carp. As I frequently use 25mm boilies (even double!) to discourage small barbel I may get the bonus of a carp eventually. Hate the overkill on barbel, but there are bigger barbel and the carp grow massive!
The Slayer baits Triple S boilies I usually use are krill and green lipped mussel flavour. That combination works well for almost anything here!
How insightful, thank you.Bonjour tous le monde.
I have lived in France for the last 8 years or so and am acquainted with the area Jamie is moving to as part of the River Gartempe valley falls within my working area and we have visited the other parts. Dependent on which part of the Gartempe you intend to fish you will catch barbel, especially from the Montmorillon through St. Savin and beyond. Size wise, you'll probably find plenty of 3lb fish with the odd 4lb and topping out around 5lb. This is the same for many rivers in this region in my experience. The post from Lee Williams is interesting as I fish the Vienne regularly and have never seen or heard of anyone catching barbel over 5kg. I hope that it is true, but if the figures had been quoted in lbs and not Kgs I would have agreed whole heartedly.
The Gartempe is I believe a tributary of the Creuse which is not a noted large barbel river. Salmon are being re-introduced and I have seen parr in the Gartemp near to St Ouen sur Gartempe.
The River Vienne isn't too far away and there are places you can expect to catch barbel above the usual 3lb stamp. The Vienne in places has carp to mid-forties, but the barbel in my experience top out just over 9lb. In France a 4Kg or roughly 9lb, barbel is regarded as a true specimen and not many anglers have seen fish over 6lb. I saw a newspaper article of someone catching a 3,7Kg fish from a Vienne tributary so rare are these captures.
The Charente is another of my local rivers. Both the Charente and Vienne are roughly the same length of the Severn albeit with larger catchment areas. Whereas the Vienne is a freestone, rocky river akin to the Wye, the Charente is for much of its length a chalk stream. From Angouleme downstream it is navigable and so has locks and weirs plus lots of riverside access via the 'Chemin Halage' or towpath.
I have had scraper 9lb barbel from both rivers fishing deeper channels with particle baits. French rarely fish for barbel so mostly the fish outside the 'carpe de nuit' areas haven't seen baits. Donkey chokers and the latest flavoured boilies are wasted on them. Better with boiled whole maize grains or small 6mm or so pellets. I do better with squid & krill than halibut. Luncheon meat and home made pork meat balls are readily taken by carp, chub and smaller barbel, but all the heaviest fish I have caught have been on maize or 6mm SK30 pellets. The heavier you feed the more bream you will catch on the Charente. Not so applicable on the Vienne as bream are less common. If you fish luncheon meat or large meat baits in September through to November you are asking for trouble. The large catfish are most active in the period and will trash your barbel gear.
If you are looking for large barbel then the rivers north of the Loire catchment system and in the east of the country will give you the best chance of avoiding the hoards of 3lb shoal fish. The Seine system, the Aine and Oise and the Rhone system are probably the best bets. I have heard of monster barbel being seen in the rivers of the south-west; Lot, Dordogne, Tarn for example, but despite a lot of research and many questions to fellow French barbel addicts I have not seen the proof or photos or catch reports to substantiate the rumours.
Anyone coming to France and intending to fish away from the 'Parcourse de Peche' zones I would advise bringing a latex landing net and long handle to give you a fighting chance in areas where the banks are high and overgrown.
Hope that helps.
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
Sometime this year my wife and I will have a little tour of the Tarn, probably after the main holiday season. I have already done the Google Earth thing and searched for video on YouTube.
Telescopic rods in the boot, a few swims planned out to get started. Cannot waste time when with my wife, she enjoys a bit of fishing but will quickly lose interest if a fish does not hang itself!
Once I get a feel for the Tarn I will have a dedicated fishing safari!
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Bill Walford
Senior Member & Supporter
That was great...enjoyed that but not being a French speaker wasn't sure if the young 'un was being coached or getting a bollocking
Bill Walford
Senior Member & Supporter
Got to agree with Jon Kennard, this is a great thread and full of very helpful info, thanks lads. My interest is that my Pal has a house in Champigny sur Veude near Chinon and the Vienne is not too far away. We've fished it, I've gone fish spotting, but alas yet to find any Barbel but a lovely place to be though.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
From what local anglers tell me the closer to the Loire you get the more chance of catching the run of the mill 3lb fish. The Loire system does not seem to produce large barbel. We stayed in Candes-Saint-Martin at the confluence of the Vienne and Loire last year and I saw quite a lot of barbel in the shallow stretches, but none of any size. For me, once you get much past Lussac-les-Chateaux the Vienne loses its appeal for barbel and bream and carp take over. Even well before that; from the barrages at L'Isle-Jourdain, the river is better known for large carp than its barbel, the latter being confined to a few faster flowing stretches. When we moved here I read an article in an ex-pat magazine that said barbel to 10Kg could be found in one of my local stretches. After two years of trying every likely swim in the area with just over 7lb being my best I wrote to him and asked the source of his information. I didn't want to know the locations, just the provenance. He never replied and now he has passed away so I'll never know if it was true or not. I have read the same stories about other rivers; 12Kg in the Charente, 20lb in the Lot, none of which have any proof that I have been able to find.
Because the Loire isn't regulated by weirs for huge stretches it is a flood river. In summer you need a couple of donkeys or a camel to carry your gear from the flood banks across the sand to the water and then when you get there you find it shallow and crystal clear. Local anglers reckon the barbel population is receding as is the average size. I know of one old guy who has fished it for over 50 years and never had a 2Kg barbeau. Now he's lucky to get one at 1,5Kg.
If you are coming here on holiday and you want to catch barbel larger than 6lb then I would suggest the rivers of the north and north-east are your best bets. Anywhere on the Seine system will be a better bet than from the Loire system south. It is a bit sobering that the River Dearne, barely 30 miles long, has produced larger barbel than in the whole of France.
Bill Walford
Senior Member & Supporter
Thank you Clive great info
Matthew Burke
Senior Member
Managed 14 barbel in a 4 hour session on a section of The River Meuse this week.
Europe is the place lads, and Ade Kiddell is the best angler I’ve ever fished with by a country mile.
Europe is the place lads, and Ade Kiddell is the best angler I’ve ever fished with by a country mile.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Traditionally this is the best time to fish for French barbel. We've had a few days of rain including localised monsoons to redress the long dry summer period. The water levels are back up to normal and the surface temperature is around 16C where I fish.