Patrick Ceccheto is one of the last professional fishermen in the Dordogne. In its nets, tench, carp, catfish, pike. They are rare but Patrick, who also works as a farmer, is a real enthusiast. During the season, he sets his nets twice a week in the evening to pick them up the next morning. It uses two gear techniques:
tram : Net wetted vertically, composed of three sheets, two large-mesh outer ones and one much smaller-mesh inner one, which constitute a trap in which the fish remains prisoner/
The line with sufficiently large meshes to mainly catch adult fish and especially catfish.
– Low Holten
In this Dordogne river, we have a newcomer, the catfish, it is special. It is very difficult to catch and to catch them I use this line. A float is weighted with a large, very sturdy line at the end and of course a large hook and bait
The Dordogne River, a world above and under water
According to Patrick Ceccheto, the Dordogne river lives up to its name: the Espérance river. He leases part of the river to the State for about twenty kilometers from Limeuil to Lalinde. It is therefore a stretch of the river that he knows well. He feels responsible for his balance and watches it with a wise look. He likes to say he’s a watchman of the river.
“We also know what is happening below, we often see trees that are in the water, trees that serve as breeding grounds for perches in the spring, which also serve as a roach bench that protects itself from a possible cormorant.
Once the nets are raised, Patrick Ceccheto scales, guts and lifts the nets to take his catch of the day to the very prestigious restaurant. the old Logis at the house of Chef Vincent Arnould who promotes this fish from the Dordogne river with passion and talent.
