Fishing in the Canicules

IS EXTREMELY HOT WEATHER TO BE THE NEW-NORMAL, AND IF SO, HOW DO WE ADAPT?

Iwrote about fishing in the hot weather a couple of years ago. Last year was extremely hot for a long period and this year is shaping up to be the same. It might be that this becomes the new normal so let us look again at how the extreme heat can affect our sport.

In mid-summer water temperatures are at their highest and that can affect the behaviour and welfare of fish. As the water temperature rises the amount of dissolved oxygen that the water can absorb is reduced. Whilst fish can get by with a fraction of the oxygen that is contained in air, their requirement for oxygen rises along with their metabolism in higher temperatures. Oxygen deprivation causes high levels of stress in some species and some weak or old fish succumb as a result of a long lasting heat wave.

Oxygen is absorbed by water in several ways including the effects of weeds, waterfalls, wind, and rain. Weeds create oxygen in daylight and can provide a welcome oasis for any fish that inhabit the weed bed or are downstream of it. Waterfalls, wind, and rain break the surface tension allowing oxygen to be more easily absorbed, and wind can also affect where the oxygen is concentrated. A moderate to strong wind will push oxygenated water downwind where, on reaching the lee shore, it will create an area where the dissolved oxygen is higher than on the opposite bank. If the wind is blowing towards shallow water in a bay then that whole area could be full of feeding fish. Similarly, just downstream of weirs and weed beds can be productive in high summer.

Obviously we should not be targeting fish that are distressed by oxygen starvation and the signs of that can often be seen when carp, bream, and chub lurk just below the surface with their mouths gaping open. A few years ago I was scanning the water surface of Lac de Lavaud where the road crosses the lake near to the Soleil Couchant bar. My binoculars picked up a strange sight. There were hundreds of carp just under the surface, all with their coral-coloured lips wide open. The fish were maximising the extra oxygen contained in the surface layer.

Of course it would have been foolish to try and catch these carp for a variety of reasons. They need to be left alone to cope as best they can. In less hostile conditions it is still wise to consider that stress should be minimised and extra care should be taken when unhooking and returning any fish caught in hot temperatures. You often see carp anglers with suspended cradles containing a small amount of water that are used to unhook fish instead of an unhooking mat. I have come across these where the water has been left in the cradle so long that it is over 30ºC, much too warm for the welfare of the fish. For me, the best way to unhook a fish is whilst it is on the landing net and still in the water. If an unhooking mat or cradle needs to be used then it should first be wetted and cooled using water from the lake or river. It is always better to return fish as soon as possible and even more so at this time of year - sometimes they might need a little support in the landing net before being allowed to swim away.

Some species are less tolerant of the heat and lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. Trout, barbel, and pike are particularly prone to these conditions. Carassin, the chubby cousin of the crucian and black bass, are far more tolerant of warm water temperatures. Fishing surface lures around weed beds or other features is a good way of catching the latter.

It is possible sometimes to find locations where the water temperature is lower than other places and the dissolved oxygen higher. Last year I confined my summer barbel hunts to the Charente where underground aquifers and depth keep the water temperature lower than on the Vienne. Weirs have the effect of adding to the oxygen content of the water and they are often the best places to fish. There are areas of lakes where cooler, fresher water enters and that is where the fish are likely to be. You would only know about those areas if you had done your homework in the depths of winter when the same spring water would prevent ice from forming in those parts of the lake where the springs enter.

The Department of Fisheries for your area will be monitoring the situation and it will pay to check their website regularly in case they have closed waters to fishing.

Inland Mullet

Regular readers might recall that mullet are one of my favourite species and if I had to choose just one species to fish for until eternity, mullet would be the one. Despite never living less than two hours from the

By Clive Kenyon

coast, the ‘European Bonefish’ has fascinated me for decades.

Mullet can be found a couple of hundred kilometres up the Loire, but they normally do not venture far from the brackish water of estuaries. Just to the west of our region are the marshes of the Marais Poitevin that, like the English Fens and Broads, were drained in the Middle Ages to leave low lying land criss-crossed by drains and canals. The main water course is the Sèvre Niortaise and that is linked to canals large and small that in turn are fed by small drains bordering the vast fields of the region. Mullet can be found in many of those drains and canals in the summer months. They are tolerant of high water temperatures and not too fussy about lower oxygen levels. They are, however, the most frustratingly contrary species of fish known to man. One day they will swim past you with total disdain, ignoring everything that you put in front of them. On other days, far fewer it must be said, they can be almost suicidal.

I find the best way to target mullet is to find a location where they are comfortably browsing. I have not had much success in faster flowing water even though the fish are clearly visible. Give me a weed raft, overhanging branches, or wooden lock gates and I am a happy man. Often they can be lured by the use of soaked white bread, but other times bread spooks them. On these occasions I revert to the small grey shrimps that can be bought in supermarkets. Sometimes maggots and small worms will get a bite. In Spain earlier this year I could not get any mullet to take anything I offered. I had resorted to harvesting small snails found hibernating on vegetation, but the contrary mullet declined my offerings. They really are frustrating at times. If you do manage to elicit a bite though you will soon forget about the failures. Nothing this side of the Caribbean pulls like a mullet. The nearest thing that you will find in France that fights pound for pound as good as a mullet is the black bass. But even then I would rather have a mullet on the other end of my line.

If you are out in the Marais Poitevin around Marennes or Marans this summer and fancy a challenge, the grey ghosts will be waiting for you.

Private pens, each with inside and outside space. Peaceful garden setting. Open 7 days a week. Viewings welcome by appointment. Recommendations available. Situated in Montemboeuf (16)

Lime Tree Kennels

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