• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Photos of river scenes

No doubt I have mentioned how many of my favourite river Lot swims were affected by last winters floods. Here is some video I found which demonstrates the power of this river, at this time of year these river cruisers would have been berthed in a very secure part of the river.....


Hope video OK on this thread.
 
Steve Arnold said:
No doubt I have mentioned how many of my favourite river Lot swims were affected by last winters floods. Here is some video I found which demonstrates the power of this river, at this time of year these river cruisers would have been berthed in a very secure part of the river.....


Hope video OK on this thread.
Click to expand...
They've taken the pontoon they were moored to with them! Good job you weren't doing a bit of floodwater fishing that day Steve.
 
On my way back from an outpatients appointment in Cahors hospital this morning. Passing Arcambal i needed my daily fix of the river - despite the hissing rain.

Not fished here yet, still on my "to do" list. The river narrows here and it looks promising....

Arcambal swim.jpg


Arcambal pontoon.jpg


A nice easy access part of the river, several swims, a boat pontoon and a slipway.

Can you spot which fish is missing from this info board?

Arcambal info.jpg


All the Lot info boards are the same. Makes me happy that my favourite fish is barely recognised by the locals!
 
Yesterday I took my wife to visit friends near the River Dordogne, about an hours drive from our home. I had to take a look, of course!

Running high but clear, I chucked a bait in for 10 minutes - just to say I had fished it. No bites, no surprise!

Domme Dordogne.jpg


Today I fished nearer home. The river Lot was quite low, clear but with a terrific flow. Caught one small roach downstream from here...

Montbrun view.jpg


Wonderful to sit with the sun on my back in December. River probably too cold for the barbel to bite!
 
The Dordogne is an under rated river. Too far from me to warrant a day trip, but we holiday on the banks two or three times a year. The upper reaches have some of the best fly-fishing in Europe and a large grant has just been awarded to improve the trout and salmon stocks and generally improve the river. In the middle reaches barbel fishing is as good as anywhere in the west of France. Sarlat la Caneda is a good base for anyone wanting to fish the Dordogne.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
The Dordogne is an under rated river. Too far from me to warrant a day trip, but we holiday on the banks two or three times a year. The upper reaches have some of the best fly-fishing in Europe and a large grant has just been awarded to improve the trout and salmon stocks and generally improve the river. In the middle reaches barbel fishing is as good as anywhere in the west of France. Sarlat la Caneda is a good base for anyone wanting to fish the Dordogne.
Click to expand...
I quite agree from what I have seen and read. Problem is that through the summer months it is very popular for canoeing! Take a look at Google Earth where I took that photo (Cénac et Saint Julien) if you zoom in and follow the river it is solid for mile-after-mile with canoes. My local stretch of the Lot gets some canoes, but nothing like the Dordogne!

Fortunately the holiday season is very much July/August. These months are often too hot for good barbel fishing anyway, I might give the Dordogne a try next Autumn. That's if I can tear myself away from the Lot!
 
Steve Arnold said:
I quite agree from what I have seen and read. Problem is that through the summer months it is very popular for canoeing! Take a look at Google Earth where I took that photo (Cénac et Saint Julien) if you zoom in and follow the river it is solid for mile-after-mile with canoes. My local stretch of the Lot gets some canoes, but nothing like the Dordogne!

Fortunately the holiday season is very much July/August. These months are often too hot for good barbel fishing anyway, I might give the Dordogne a try next Autumn. That's if I can tear myself away from the Lot!
Click to expand...
I know about the canoes. We hire them when we go down there. :p

They rarely cause me problems on the Dordogne or Vienne. In most cases if they see anglers they steer well away. To be honest there is a different culture out here. The canoeists are so much more considerate. And, they don't seem to bother the fish. I have had bites while they were passing nearby. Same for the motor cruisers on the Charente. They normally slow down and pass by the other side.
 
This thread is making me realise just how much the Lot figures in my new life. This last four years my life is very much a case of " A River runs through it" - anyone remember the film, it has a brilliant fly fishing moment!

Anyway, today Sally and I went to the nearby town of Cajarc. Just 15 minutes drive from our home and the nearby barrage and power station makes a handy "lake" that can fish well for almost any species at times.

We had been told of a viewpoint, but had not previously driven up there. Such a lovely afternoon we took the opportunity on our drive home. Well worth it, the light was right for this panorama photo, hope it loads properly on this thread.......

Heights panorama Cajarc.jpg


Cajarc to the left of the river, barrage to the right. The inlet to the hydro-electric station is to the right of the islands, that is the entrance to a tunnel through the mountain which joins the river again around the next loop of the river. Fantastic how man has shaped and used this river!
 
You live in a lovely place Steve. We go there for our holidays :)

Have you been to that chateau up the hill on the other bank to Cajarc? It is weird. Part church, part castle and part chateau. The lock nearest to it is worth exploring as there is a powerful chute that looks very barbelly. You'll need to be able to do some rock hopping though.
 
Clive Kenyon said:
You live in a lovely place Steve. We go there for our holidays :)

Have you been to that chateau up the hill on the other bank to Cajarc? It is weird. Part church, part castle and part chateau. The lock nearest to it is worth exploring as there is a powerful chute that looks very barbelly. You'll need to be able to do some rock hopping though.
Click to expand...
I have not visited that building, but it is intriguing!

The "chute" you mention must be the relief channel at the side of the barrage. I have been there a couple of times but not fished it yet, looks like a tackle graveyard!

So many places I have found and yet to fish! Every week I discover new swims, I really do not know where I will cast a line next!

My Google Earth project is so full now........thanks for clues you have put up for your rivers, I may look further afield one day.....

Lot project Dec 21.png


No chance of my getting bored fishing in France!
 
Clive Kenyon said:
You live in a lovely place Steve. We go there for our holidays :)

Have you been to that chateau up the hill on the other bank to Cajarc? It is weird. Part church, part castle and part chateau. The lock nearest to it is worth exploring as there is a powerful chute that looks very barbelly. You'll need to be able to do some rock hopping though.
Click to expand...
Zoomed in on the detailed photo of the barrage, the chute you talk of can just be made out to the left of the main structure.....

Cajarc barrage Dec 21.png


and another barrage view from the hydro plant inlet......

Cajarc barrage from PS inlet.jpg


Question......is it possible to spend too much time by a river?
 
I have the advantage that my work takes me to many places I would not have found otherwise. I cover around 3,000 km2. Also, it gives me time to reccy areas whilst out on jobs. That saves me a lot of free time. I keep a notebook in my car and jot down locations and access points, depths, features, etc. Mostly I look for stretches of river with deeper water near to the bank I intend to fish. Outside of bends, where islands squeeze the flow, gravel bars, etc. I don't like fishing more than 20 metres out if I can help it. Closer the better. If you scroll back the time the images were taken you can sometimes see the river in different states and seasons. That can indicate weed beds gravel bars and shallow areas or deep channels not visible on the current map. If you note the height above sea level indicator as you move the cursor that gives you an idea of the slope of the bordering land. Gently sloping equals shallower water than where the bank is steep. That is more useful on lakes, but can help on rivers too. Then you just have to hope and pray that you can actually cast in when you get there. 😂
 
Mike Thompson said:
Mouth watering pictures Steve. It's been wet, dull and misty here for the last week, with temps no higher than 5c !
Please keep the pictures coming Steve and Clive, they brighten up my morning.
Thanks Mike.
Click to expand...
Here in the Lot we have had plenty of grey skies and some snow, but generally very little wind. Recently the skies have cleared and temperatures drop to around minus 5c at night. By lunchtime the clear skies allow the sun to do its job and the temperature is very comfortable. After living in Scotland for thirty years, putting up with a low winter sun which would not melt the frost through the day, we now find ourselves overdressed when we go for an afternoon walk in 15c winter temperatures!

If I am fishing on a winters afternoon there are times I actually put sun lotion on my face!

We now live almost a 1000 miles south of our old home. The sun reminds us frequently!
 
Mike Thompson said:
Mouth watering pictures Steve. It's been wet, dull and misty here for the last week, with temps no higher than 5c !
Please keep the pictures coming Steve and Clive, they brighten up my morning.
Thanks Mike.
Click to expand...
It was -5C when I got to my first job this morning and didn't get above zero until after lunch time despite the bright sunshine and blue sky. I couldn't get my probe in the ground let alone a trowel. Mind you, in Feb 2012 it didn't get above -8C for a fortnight. It was -25C at night and there were ice floes floating down the Vienne.

This is the first 'proper' winter for about 6 years. The recent ones have been grey and wet for months on end.
 
Following on from the comments Clive made, I decided that the fish came a poor 2nd to sitting in the sun this afternoon.

There is a landing stage that faces the sun all day, even on the shortest day (today!) it would clear the hill opposite until after 4pm.

Not the best photograph, taken into the sun, but I sat there for three hours "sunbathing" - not really fishing! I was warm, though there was still frost in the shade!

Cregols, low winter sun.jpg


You really do not have to ask what I caught!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top