Guido Richard: A premiere in Saint Cassien (1)

At dawn on the third day, only a few rays of sunlight manage to break through the fog and reveal the structure of the famous green bridge. We navigate carefully on our small inflatable boats, scanning the water hoping to see a small sign indicating the presence of fish to select a location for the day. About a quarter of an hour later, when the sun has completely penetrated the fog, the water is smooth and Laurent sees the first fish appearing in the distance.

I scan the surface of the lake, looking for the halo formed by the jumping fish, when a second fish appears. These are the first carp we have seen since we arrived.

It's a very good feeling that comes over us after fishing for two and a half days in the South Arm in two different locations without observing or recording any activity other than visiting a glacier. Since our arrival, however, the weather seemed quite favorable: the sky was overcast and the air had cooled after the big storms when we arrived. We searched the water for a few more moments without seeing anything else before we felt a great desire to try our luck in the area. It is hopeful that we will quickly and discreetly deposit our rigs at different depths.

Everything seems suitable to trigger a bite, but nothing happens and doubts arise in the late afternoon... We then decide to plan for the next day, as the wind forecast for the night and the coming day is likely to stir up the waters of a gentle sloping sandy edge not far from our current post. I quickly go there in the boat to pre-bait, I record the fishing spots in the GPS of the depth sounder so that I can go fishing quickly and discreetly the next day.

Back at the post, after we had eaten well, the wind died down, the trees reflected in the water with the last rays of the sun. The sun disappears behind the mountain and our hopes of a bite become less and less, but the sound of a bite detector suddenly shatters our doubts. The fish offers no resistance and rises to the surface in front of me, only to land in the landing net a few seconds later: a beautiful two-colored fish, certainly not far from twenty kilos in weight and, above all, my first Saint-Cassin carp. We are happy and quickly take a photo of the fish in the last light of day.

The next day we decided to fish out the same post as the day before, as the capture of the community encouraged us to persevere a bit before joining the post we had pre-started the day before. During the night the wind increased as expected, the water lost its blue reflections and gave way to the dark and threatening reflections of the black clouds above our heads. Apart from a few brave rowers, the lake appears deserted, with no tourists or carp anglers in sight. It's a bit like we're alone in the world in the middle of a big unknown lake and that amuses us a lot.

All the requirements seem to be met to trigger a touch, our impressions are quickly confirmed when a violent touch makes us jump levels. It's the same rod as the day before, this time the fish goes right along the edge: it's Laurent's turn to make contact. We go to the fight by boat, the fish is powerful and puts up a fight worthy of the reputation of the lake's carp. We really admire the orange colors of the city that we just put in the net.

For a long time we preferred fishing as a team. We place our three, four or even up to eight bars together if the position allows. This allows us to make the most of the position without causing inconvenience to the fish and causing competition between fishermen. This approach has already paid off several times, especially in small pressure stations in gravel pits, where two fishing rods per fisherman would be too many. This means we take turns and the fish we catch, regardless of whether one fights or the other, is the result of teamwork.

The rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon pass without any further activity, then we decide to pack up and join the post that has already begun.

From the boats we can already see the sand-colored water at the edge, churned by the wind. The rods are quickly placed at the GPS points marked during pre-priming. Very quickly we registered several bites in the first meter of water that was churned up by the wind.

As soon as night falls, we prepare the mail again for the next day and confidently return to the car to spend the night.

To be continued soon in the second of three parts...