David Morel:
Jean-Pierre d’Aigrefeuille d’Aunis caught a lot of black bass this summer with surface lures, very often frog imitations. For a few days now he has had no hits with this technique. How to explain it and should he use another mode of fishing.
Bruno Garcia (Fish guard at the federation 17):
If you have observed and listened to the environment in which you practice Jean-Pierre, you must have noticed that the frogs, the real ones, not the imitations this time, have disappeared from the banks. The drop in temperatures, the wind, the scarcity of insects that are the basis of their diet, have resulted in sheltering them. It may not be a definitive hibernation but at least momentary, a little time of fasting, just the time to find a little ray of sunshine. The Black-bass have therefore changed the menu, nothing more logical. Like most fish they adapt to the opportunity of the moment.
It is true that for a few days the temperatures have dropped!
The temperatures have dropped, we are on 10, 12 degrees in the morning whereas a month ago we were more on 20 degrees and then the light, the sun are much less generous than at the beginning of September. What effect does this have on the water slide? The surface layer has cooled while at depth we have a few additional degrees. Attention in 50 centimeters of water this difference is barely perceptible but in 2 meters you can have up to 2 to 3 degrees of difference.
We understand that the fish rather look for the warmest, least cool zone.
And yes for different reasons, already because in temperate conditions they always have a good appetite but also because digestion is faster. And that is necessarily positive for the fisherman.
So for now goodbye frog imitations but what’s plan B?
Plan B is fishing closer to the bottom. I would even say to scrape the bottom with a crayfish for example. Attention an artificial crayfish not a real crayfish it is an undesirable, harmful species and its use at the end of your line is prohibited. If the frogs are no longer there, the crayfish are still very active. It is therefore the lure that should be favored knowing that the Black-bass is fond of it. For lack of crayfish you can resort to the earthworm but currently to find it you would need a backhoe. I advise you to go and buy them at your fishing tackle merchant. But very sincerely the earthworm would be for me the plan C. The Black-bass is much more receptive to it in times of flood when the grounds are washed out by the overflows, the worms carried by the current and that the fish is accustomed to it.
We are still far from the flood, it will have to rain and abundantly to find a normal level?
Yes, we are looking forward to this rain so that our rivers find a balance. Now I have already said it, we can see the glass half empty or half full. As far as I’m concerned, I try to maintain an optimistic outlook. Our small canals and rivers have suffered but despite these extreme temperature conditions which have dragged on, our large waterways Boutonne downstream, Charente, Sèvre Niortaise, Dronne, most bodies of water, etc., still allow us normal fishing conditions. I tell myself that years like this where the drinking water reserves are at their lowest, where we have hundreds of km of dried up rivers will allow a questioning and better management of water for years to come and in particular more reasonable agricultural consumption.