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Early spring in southern France - Theis Kragh In early spring a carp fisher's appetite for fishing usually by far exceeds that of the Carp. Some choose to venture out in the cold, and I respect that. Personally, however, I much prefer to travel to more southern parts. The fishing in southern France is usually good as early as the beginning of March, but if you want to be on the safe side you should wait until April. The weather is very variable at this time of year, one day can be sunny - with temperatures rising to 25 degrees (like today) - the next can be quite cold with pouring rain... Due to the ever changing weather conditions the fishing can, of course, be unpredictable as well. The fish are rarely in a feeding mood after a few cold windy days of rain, cold, and strong winds. But if the sun shines they can get into a feeding frenzy!
On arriving I learned that there had been a snow-storm about a week ago. The weather had improved dramatically since, but it was till a bit windy. Based on this information I decided to fish a complex of shallow lakes. The theory behind my choice was that a shallow lake (<2½m) gets warmed by the sun fairly rapidly - this abrupt increase in water temperature usually has a very positive effect on fishing. The deeper lakes, such as Lac de Saint Cassien, have shallows too, where the water temperature rises quickly. The major difference is that the slightest wind can push the warm water out of the shallow bays. If, in contrast, there is a prolonged period of calm weather you can find a large number of Carp in a very restricted area indeed. When I begin by fishing in early spring I am very careful not to over feed. As a rule I try to maximize attraction, but put in as few food items as I can get away with. Ground bait designed for bream and roach are perfect for this. In order to make the mix hold together I add a binder, e.g. cookie meal and copra molasses. Usually hemp (sprouted) and chicken feed, which is a good alternative to pellets, is added to keep the Carp in the swim - on the lookout for a bit of food. A good trick to make the balls of ground bait stiff enough to allow throwing them 40-60 meters (depending on how good your bowling arm is) is to make them just after mixing the bread crumbs with water and then leave them for 10-15 minutes. Make sure you wet the balls (of ground bait, of course!) before throwing them, or they may break in mid-air. The baited spot is topped with a sprinkling of boilies. I have really good experiences with baiting tight spots in early spring. Using a marker float makes baiting with precision and subsequent placing of the rig, much easier. I have tried loads of different marker floats, but was satisfied with none. Most of them were either too fragile or did not cast very well. Recently I found a marker float from E.S.P. that fulfilled my needs - at least after modifying it slightly by removing the flights that are supposed to stabilize the float when casting. In order to make sure that I cast the same distance every time I tie a stop knot to my line using a cotton string. Combined with casting towards the marker float, or a far bank marker, you can - with a bit of practise - put your bait within a 1½ metre radius at distances up to 70 metres. I use the stop-knot method when fishing at longer distances or out in open water as well, as it enables me to cast to the same distance every time - even at night. The stop-knot should be placed a few metres short of the distance you intend to fish - giving you time to feather the cast once you hear the knot rattling through the rod rings. When fishing to the far margins, or to snags, it pays off to do a few practice casts during the day. Training ensures that you time the feathering of the cast so that the bait drops in the right position, without tangling in the process..
Most shallow lakes in France are heavily weeded. The Carp feed very close to the abundant reed-beds. As it is not very safe to put the tackle into the middle of the reeds my fishing is carried out tight to the edge of the reed belts. On numerous occasions I have noticed that rigs put very close to the edge produce runs, while bait placed a few meters off is ignored. The best place to put the bait is usually just outside the thick reed belts. There is, usually, a zone where there are scattered weeds - but not enough to cover the bottom. A couple of explanations to why this area is so productive are that the plants change the morphology and physical attributes of the lake bed - changes that offer ideal conditions to a lot of small insects and other animals that live on the bottom of lakes. Conditions are also good for filter-feeders, such as mussels, in this area. Presentation is a big problem when fishing in weed - one way of avoiding the problem is to lower the bait into position from a boat. Then you can be certain that the end tackle is in the right place - just where the weed thins out - and not tangled. The use of boats is banned on many lakes, so you do not always have that option. An alternative to using a boat is to swim; however, it does take a certain amount of enthusiasm to take a swim in early spring! If you choose (or is forced) to cast your rigs out you have a few different options. One very effective option, especially on short and medium distances, is to place your end tackle, together with some bait, in a PVA-bag. Covering the hook with a nugget of PVA-foam is a better option at long distances - as these do not reduce casting distance. The cheapest option is a balanced snowman rig (bottom bait and a popup on the hair). The bait will sink slowly and rest on top of the bottom or weed. In order for it to work as intended the trace must be comparatively long. In common for these three methods is that you have to have faith in that the bait landed good enough. If you move the lead after casting it is likely that the hook catches weed - rendering the rig pointless (as it were).
Early in the season it is common that the best hours of fishing is shifted from the hours of darkness to a few hours after sunrise. That is a fairly typical phenomenon in cold water. Another prime time is ½ - 1 hour before sunset. An added bonus of Carp activity in the hours of light is that you can often find the places they forage in - even though the signs rarely are as obvious as in the summer. A tiny part of a fin breaking the surface could be the only sign you get. In clear water it is not uncommon to see fish sunbathing in the margins. These fish are often impossible to tempt with bottom baits. Several times I have seen fish not 20 cm from a bait - seemingly oblivious of its presence. Quite a lot of these apparently uncatchable fish can actually be caught on slowly sinking crust, if it is presented close enough to their noses - without arousing their suspicion of course.
The trip itself was not much to write about - the fishing was not all that good. In truth, it was painfully obvious that the fish had really lost their appetite due to the recent violent snowing. I caught merely one good fish - which took my bait on a sandy patch in 40-50 cm of water. The bait was placed between two reed belts and I was confident that any passing fish would pick up my boilie. The memorable thing about this fish was that I could follow its movements for half an hour as it broke the surface now and then. When it's path led it past my baited spot it suddenly stopped and in less than a minute a spectacular bow-wave formed on the surface and line started streaming off my reel. Some ten minutes later I could admire a stunning common carp, secure in the folds of my net. The first 10+ kg Carp of the season was a fact, and the trip had paid off. /Theis
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