Guido Richard: A premiere in Saint Cassien (3)

Quite satisfied with the fishing of the last few days, we treated ourselves to a morning of fishing from the bridge parking lot, took the opportunity to shop and rearrange our chaos a bit. Shortly before midday nothing had changed, it was time to try our luck in the north arm.

The sun was at its highest point as we climbed the north arm to the dam. Our plan was this: we wanted to fish in several places on the shady edges of the lake, hoping to come across fish moving around the edges in search of freshness and calm.

For the first attempt we decided on one of the last positions in front of the dam. Something pretty unthinkable and cool for a large lake like Cassian happened there. When I get back to shore after putting in the second rod, the first rod rolls out and I'm quite surprised that I loaded the line into the electric motor first, but given the fishing angle that's impossible. I hurry to dock the boat, I put the rod down to lay it down, careful not to move the assembly too quickly, and at the same time Laurent reaches for the rod that is being unrolled. Luckily, while we were away, the fish didn't get stuck in one of the many obstacles on the edge, but instead struggled peacefully in the open water under the bright Cassia sun.

Very encouraged by this recording, we replaced the cane and the missing canes. The afternoon will be very calm, but several fish, including a very nice common, will pass under our tips. During the last hour of fishing we saw more jumping carp than we had seen since our arrival a week before. During this time there were no bites, the fish appeared about 50 meters from the bank in places where there was more than 25 meters of water.

These were clearly fish leaving the dam reserve to feed further away. I imagine this reserve as a large building where the fish are stacked in layers in complete silence. In the evening we took the time to generously bait one of the first large points of the North Arm to be moved by the prevailing wind.

The next morning we decide on a position further away from the dam, still on the shady side of the lake and less than 20 meters from the shore. At this distance from the edge there is already more than 10 meters of water depth. In order not to criss-cross the area with too many braids in the water, we fish with two rods at each end of the post, one rod on each side when brittle fishing, that is, the braid runs over the water surface and is directed by a mandrel to the location where the assembly is placed. This way we actually only have two lines in the water on the entire station that could alert the fish to our presence. Apart from a visit from a catfish and a small mirror, the day remains very quiet.

In the evening a very violent storm broke out. Unfortunately, like a few days before in the south arm, the storm will not bring us any more fish. As we go back to sleep we take another little detour to start at this big spot where we plan to fish the next day.

The evening storms have caused the air temperature to drop, thick fog means we can hardly see the opposite bank and the sun is slowly starting to break through. Suddenly I registered a very violent strike with my right rod, which was placed in very little water at the base of a large rock. It's a very nervous little town that's going to end up in the net.

The rest of the day will be very quiet, like the days before. I think that on long linear or rocky areas without peaks or gentle slopes, where you can quickly reach a depth of more than 20 meters just a few meters from the edge, these positions are very good positions to quickly catch a passing fish, but that doesn't allow serial keys. At the end of the afternoon we reach the main peak to start the evening.

This large point allows us to fish at a 180° angle, placing three rods on the slope of the point in different water depths, while the other two are placed at the exit of the two small coves that the point forms. At the start of the evening Laurent caught a bream and then a nice little mirror. Before folding, we sprinkle another 5 kg of marbles and 3 kg of tiger nuts in the hope that the fish that come to eat at night will still be there at dawn.