Every Sunday, Bruno Garcia from the Charente-Maritime Fishing Federation answers questions from France Bleu la Rochelle listeners.
How to fish for carp the right way
Maxime asks us if despite a regulation size imposed for carp, he can use “carpillons” as live?
Bruno Garcia : It is a bit out of the ordinary, this regulation size imposed for carp. And yes, we do not reason in relation to the usual criteria where the mesh, as it is called, is defined in relation to the age of a first reproduction. In summary a fish that has reproduced at least once.
What is this regulation size?
It is 60 cm but you will see that under certain conditions you can keep it. It is the transport in the living state which is prohibited beyond 60 centimeters.
So what is the basis?
Large carp specimens are in high demand. We understand it! Already because fighting a carp of 10, 20 or 25 kg is something sensational. And, taking a picture, which will make your friends salivate, with a fish of this size is a certain pride for the fisherman.
So exceptional fish that do not run the streets if I may say so.
There you go and you understand that for a body of water owner who rents the site by the day or by the week, displaying the presence of trophy fish like these is a guaranteed commercial value, a significant attraction.
I understand that commercial value is synonymous with market value.
Know that a carp of 15 or 20 kg can be negotiated at several thousand euros. Easy to understand that at this price the big fish are easily extracted from the rivers to be transferred to the bodies of water where, moreover, we are in the presence of a closed environment where the carp will not be able to escape.
In any case the sale of fish by a recreational fisherman is not authorized?
The sale of fish is reserved for professional fishermen and, indeed, amateur fishermen are not authorized to sell the product of their catch. Articles L 436 – 14, 15 and 16 of the Environmental Code with financial penalties that can go up to 3750 euros when it comes to species such as pike, pike-perch, trout, carp, etc. . but 6 months imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 euros for sturgeon, eel and salmon.
It’s a bit of a deterrent!
It should be! So to answer Maxime, yes you can use “carpillons” to fish live and why not transport a carp of 60 cm and more provided that it is not alive. And for the same reasons you can’t keep carp alive overnight. They must be released as soon as possible.
Anyway the majority of fish are released today?
Yes, because fishing is less and less a nourishing activity, but also thanks to the possibility of taking photos with a mobile phone. A few decades ago the only way to prove a good catch was to bring the fish home. Today a little click and that’s it the trophy is immortalized.
A notice to users
Yes on the Charente river, a signaling and beaconing plan is programmed. It will begin on May 30 and end on June 20. Navigation and fishing with caution near construction machinery.