Angling

The Hiatus of February

I HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN; FEBRUARY IS THE WORST MONTH IN MY FISHING CALENDAR

By Clive Kenyon

The predator season closed at the end of January and the trout fishing season does not start until the second Saturday of next month. Given the typical February weather the coarse fish will not be on form for another month or so unless we get lucky with some strong southerly winds. There is no point looking back, not after the last two years anyway. So, let us look forward, like many French pêcheurs, to the trout season. France is blessed with some spectacular trout fishing and whilst some of the more well-known locations are in the east of the country, we also have some fantastic fishing closer to home. A lot of the smaller rivers that we cross in our cars without giving any thought to hold trout. They can be fished for the cost of a carte de pêche and a few worms. A lot of these rivers are too overgrown for fly-fishing, but can still give sport to anglers willing to fish the upstream worm or trotting maggots where allowed. For the purist fly-fishers the best locations closest to us are probably the River Touvre, a tributary of the Charente, the upper River Vienne and its tributaries, and the better-known River Dordogne. Starting with the Touvre; it really is a beautiful if very short river. It rises close to the village of the same name as a fullyfledged trout river. Not just any old river either, but a chalk stream by the fact that the water percolates through limestone deposits. The water rises and erupts in a boiling cauldron before flowing around 11 km into the Charente near to GondPontouvre. The river is as wide at its source as at its mouth. The Touvre is fed by a 500 km2 underground aquifer system called “Karst of Rochefoucauld” that stretches between Angoulême, Mansle, SaintMathieu and Nontron. This deep underground system ensures that the water erupts from the source at a more moderate temperature range than normal rain-fed rivers. The trout fishing of the Touvre is famous throughout France and it is regulated in that barbless hooks and a ‘No Kill’ policy are in force. Initially, in March, wading is prohibited, but later on in the year there is no reason why you cannot don your waders and fish the evening sedge rise. Wading is banned during the early season in many rivers to prevent damage to spawning beds used by fish such as grayling and salmon. The upper reaches of the River Vienne, along with its tributaries the Maulde and Taurion, are also superb fly-fishing waters. At Eymoutiers there is a ‘No Kill’ stretch near to La Pelaude from the outfall of the Bussy dam to the Macaud bridge. You can also fish the area around Saint-

Along the lengths of these Léonard-de-Noblat where specific ‘No Kill’ upland rivers are many small zones are evident and at Bazenant. At and not-so-small dams that Peyrat-le-Château the lesser-known River also hold trout Maulde holds truly wild brown trout and a few wild grayling. Grayling do not come into season until May and so must be returned. The river Taurion is one of the best-kept secrets of the region. Grayling are on the red list of endangered species so it is important not to disturb their spawning grounds in May and quickly return any grayling caught. Along the lengths of these upland rivers are many small and not-so-small dams that also hold trout, so still water fly-fishing is also available. All the Vienne system trout rivers in these high areas are typically shallow, fast flowing rivers over stony beds. The trout