Had three days on the beautiful River Lot and met up with our BFW River Lot correspondant Steve Arnold who is fortunate to live between two of our favourite holiday destinations and just a short drive from the river. Sadly the dry spring meant lower than desirable flows and my first session resulted in only catching bream and then only after dark.
The camp site is delightful with a long river frontage, and not too expensive at €12 per couple in a caravan, tent or motorhome.
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The next day Steve kindly collected me and chauffeured me to one of his favourite swims and then promptly demonstrated his own bream catching prowess. I ventured into Cajarc that evening for a beer and pizza. For a town you can walk around in less than 10 minutes it packs a great deal of vibrancy and ambience.
The following day I drove to a nearby river that I discovered about 8 years ago and haven't fished. It is much smaller and more intimate than the Lot. Sadly there was nowhere with the flow, depth and access required because of the water shortage. A few kms down the valley the Cele meets the Lot and below that is a small place called Bouzies that ws walk to from the camp site at St Cirq Lalopie which is the best place in France IMO.
Parking was €6 for 24 hours and once the fee was paid I had a look around.
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Spot the missing species. About 80 metres upstream of a bizarre platform built for disabled anglers that is at least 10 foot above the water line I found a decent place to fish.
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With a couple of hours I had two barbel. The biggest shrunk from just over 8lb to just under 7lb overnight. It was only when I got home I realised that I had used a lot heavier sling to weigh it and needed to deduct more weight from the scale reading.
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I had taken my carp net and retaining sack / sling rather than the lighter stuff I use back home where accidental carp don't go to 40lb+
So, a big thank you to Steve for driving me around, showing some good swims and explaining how the hydro water releases affect the fishing. Hope to do it again soon.