Vantastic Lukas: A good start

Sim card from the machine

After I said goodbye to my friend Starki and my food supplies were replenished with Sebastien, there was still one question to be answered: How and where do I buy a French SIM card to top up my data volume again.

I knew which card I needed after some research on the internet. The offer you get here is incredible and does not compare to German tariffs. 100GB of data for €20 per month. I still wanted to have a few details clarified, and Sebastien was able to help me with this and translated the exact contractual details for me.

So when the questions were clarified, I went to the nearest “Free Mobile” machine where I could buy a French SIM card (yes, you can easily do that at a machine here). The process is really simple and after about five minutes I had my SIM card and I could surf and navigate again.

Barbecue by the lake

Since at that time I was in contact with the two boys Michael and Vitaly, with whom I had already spent a night fishing on the lake where I was about. After meeting Alex for 2 weeks, I spontaneously decided to pay a short visit. They were about an hour away from me and we were planning a cozy barbecue evening. It was supposed to be the last evening for Vitaly, who had to fly home from Toulouse the next day. Michael had just under 3 months left and used his study break for an extended fishing trip in the south.

So I did the shopping for the evening and arrived at the couple's house around 5 p.m. They had a lot of action on the new lake and after a short time they were able to catch another semi-strong mirror fish. Unfortunately, the sizes of the fish were rather undersized, but the two of them didn't get bored.

Despite the rain that started again in the evening, we had a convivial evening under our umbrellas, including a small mirror for Vitaly. We planned to leave early the next day to take Vitaly to the airport. Michael and I wanted to do a little fishing together over the next few days. On a body of water where (hopefully) there wasn't as much crowds over the Easter period as the somewhat better-known lakes in the surrounding area suggested.

Search for water

After we dropped Vitaly off at the airport, Michael and I stocked up on food to be prepared for the coming days. We didn't have an exact plan of where we wanted to go yet, but I still had a few nearby bodies of water on my "list" that we wanted to check out.

We ultimately decided on the most complex route and wanted to fish in a body of water that was still unknown to me and where we had to cross several kilometers by boat. I wanted to fish here once on my tour last year, but I decided not to fish due to unsuitable conditions.

When we spent half the afternoon trying to get our tackle madness under control (which in this case was more difficult for Michael than for me, as he still had all of his buddy's tackle in the car), we were able to do so after a lot of "loading chaos". – plunge into the lake about two hours later.

It is always a challenge to switch from “vanlife mode” to “outdoor mode”. I usually pack my car so that I can easily live in it without having to move a lot of fishing gear out of the way in order to have some space in the interior. For this reason, the things are so stowed away that I only have to turn all my equipment upside down again when I go fishing for several days without having the car nearby.

The translator"

With a floating “tackle mountain” in tow, we headed towards our favorite spot. After an extensive ferry trip, we were able to see 3 carp as we approached our intended spot, calmly warming themselves in the sun and not allowing themselves to be disturbed much. There is no better proof of being right and we were confident for the coming days. In front of us was a large area of ​​shallow water where the water was two degrees warmer than at our starting point.

After briefly agreeing on how we would distribute the rods, I went straight to laying them out and looked for a wide variety of spots. Since we already knew that the fish were in our area, we just had to find out where they were feeding...

After laying out the rods, we settled down in the evening with a glass of wine and cooked dinner together and then hit the loungers after midnight.

Luckily no catfish

My alarm the next morning - there is no better one - was the constant sound of one of my rods that I had placed in front of a large field of herbs. I got straight into the boat and headed towards the fish. Thanks to my beloved stone assembly, the fish was already on the surface instead of in the weeds. Even from a distance I could tell that it was a carp and not a catfish, which should probably be present in large numbers here. The fish offered almost no resistance and I was a bit surprised because I could see straight away that I had hooked a better one. So I drove towards the fish, netted it and drove back to the bank with the colossus in tow. Michael didn't notice much of what was happening and was still sleeping peacefully. I prepared my photography equipment to quickly photograph the fish. Since I am already experienced in solo photography, I usually prefer taking photos with an “intervalometer” and tripod because I can take photos and adjust the camera exactly according to my needs. If something goes wrong or doesn't look good, all I can do is complain about myself.

Even though I don't weigh that many fish anymore, I couldn't give in to my ego in this case and had to see an exact number. Since Michael and I joked that evening that I could wake him up when he weighed 25kg, I woke him up with this saying. Meanwhile, he didn't really know how to interpret it and crawled tiredly from his lounger. He was even more surprised when he looked into the mat and saw that it wasn't a joke.

Shortly afterwards I had confirmation that I had caught a new PB - a 25kg+ fish on the first morning in a body of water that was completely unknown to me, it could have started worse.

When the fish found its way back into the water we both had to let what had happened sink in with a coffee “Michaels style”.

Stormy days

After the outstanding action in the morning, we were confident for the next few days and started to set up a common feeding area that we didn't want to fish for the time being. The reason for this was the wind that had picked up, which made fishing at distances of more than 200 meters almost impossible, as the weeds spread over our lines and at some point created such pressure over the entire length that our rods were bent to hell, and the line was very slowly took off the roll and we had a permanent beep concert. My rock rig gradually moved it into the weed fields, Michael was still somewhat successful in keeping the baits in place with sinkers in the 300 gram class.

Therefore, I decided to distribute all the rods near the bank because I could fish a little more effectively here and, if necessary, could fight the fish from the bank. In two days the wind should die down and we could start fishing at the feeding area.

Unfortunately, as has often been the case recently, the weather forecast let us down and the wind was rather stronger. In return, catches didn't really increase. Michael was able to catch a catfish and a nice mirror fish in the wind. A miracle for me, because at that time I thought the montages were somewhere completely offset.

The water temperature has been steadily decreasing since we arrived due to the cold wind and settled at around 12 degrees. Such temperatures in mid-April in the south of France. I imagined spring here to be a little different and I wished for some sunshine more and more often.

The wind did not decrease over the next few days and the forecast pushed the possibility of it subsiding more and more into the distance. Only in the evening hours was there a short “rod laying out window” in which we had the opportunity to lay out the rigs properly.

Escape from the weather

After six nights with no sign of better weather, we retreated. The constantly falling water temperature, the persistent wind and of course the lack of fish action were all reasons to change something.

We had imagined the session to be a little different. If the weather had remained as nice as it was when we arrived, the water temperature would have constantly risen and things would probably have taken a completely different turn here.

Since we as anglers are at the mercy of the weather conditions, the only option we have is to adapt the fishing to the prevailing conditions... as was the case in this case. We didn't know what would happen next for us, but one thing was certain: we were fed up with the wind and wanted to go our separate ways again for the time being.

A point that has become more and more important to me in the past is to have a good time together but not to hold on to these moments - not to depend on each other, just like not to depend on anyone else for happiness. Going your own way is probably better in all areas of life and leads to fewer conflicts in the long run. Even if it is often the more difficult path, as being alone is an absolute horror idea for many people and in today's world people are only too happy to avoid any distractions. Dealing with the self is not always a pleasant aspect... However, for me it is the only way to really come to terms with yourself and your reality.

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Best regards,
Daniel & Alex