This beginning of March marks the imminent arrival of spring. Even if we are still exposed to a few morning frosts, the days are getting longer and the fishermen are in the starting blocks a week before the opening of the trout. A great moment in the season for Bruno Garcia from the Charente-Maritime fishing federation on France Bleu la Rochelle:
Bruno Garcia:
It’s the first great time of the year, when most of our fishermen are reconciled with the edge of the water. Spoiled fishermen with once again a few tons of trout released throughout the department.
These trout releases remain something essential for the fisherman?
These spills do not collect the support of everyone. What must be remembered is quite simply that there is a strong demand from fishermen and that must not be overlooked. This is a normal return to members who want these releases. From the moment you pay a membership fee, you have legitimacy to be heard.
Maybe there are other solutions?
Unfortunately no ! If natural, wild trout was present a few decades ago in Charente-Maritime, this is no longer the case today. So I’m not saying that these releases are the solution to introduce our beginners to trout fishing, but it is enough to see the success, the frequentation on the bodies of water where these releases take place to understand that they are essential today.
Some time ago you told us about the opening before the opening. A practice which consists of opening trout fishing before the general opening on March 12th.
Yes, only on a few bodies of water in the department. A derogation exists in Charente-Maritime and rainbow trout can be fished there all year round. Some associations start these spills before the hour. Today, for example, 50 kg were dropped on the Heurtebize lake in Jonzac, 100 kg on the Rosière lake in Chatelaillon and tomorrow 30 kg on the lakes of La Grève on the Cute.
You tell us 15 tonnes of trout throughout the department, how many fish does that represent in total?
On average, we can think about 4 trout per kg. You multiply 15,000 kg by 4 and you will get the number of fish. We must be at 60,000 trout. We have 20,000 members in Charente-Maritime, you can see that there is something for everyone. All the more, and I wanted to add it, that there is a perfect geographical distribution of these spills which should make it possible to respond to both southerners and northerners as well as to fishermen in the center of the west and east. of the department.
Any information before leaving?
Renovation work on the Carillon bridge. Are you going to tell me where it’s Carillon? It is on the Boutonne it is the last straight line of this river before it flows into the Charente river in the town of Cabariot. It is moreover at this precise place that the boundary between the river domain and the maritime domain is made. This work will begin on March 21 and end on July 15.