• Becoming a member is completely free!

    • Join the community and start contributing to a large source of sea angling information.
    • Members who are regular contributors and have posted more than 25 times, have the option to turn off adverts.
    • Become an active member and you can enter member exclusive competitions.

    REGISTER FOR FREE HERE

Search results

  1. Steve Arnold

    Show us yer pike

    A couple from the Lake of Menteith, Scotland. it must be over a decade (or two!) since I fished there. First is 18 lb taken on a diving plug (winter time!), second is 27 lb taken on a large launce deadbait.
  2. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Through the summer months and into Autumn you will see people fishing from kayaks, paddle boards and belly-boats. The water is starting to cool now (mid-October) but getting wet from late March through to late October is no big deal. I have found myself chest deep following a carp around sunken...
  3. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Between my health problems and Covid lock-downs my inflatable canoe has not seen the river for two years. But yesterdays forecast was for a fine afternoon so fishing buddy Alistair and myself decided to make the effort. The plan was to find some new swims for bank fishing and use the fishfinder...
  4. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    It's difficult to take a bad photo along this valley! All these photos taken on my phone camera, all I have to do is frame and click! The first time we drove along the valley from Cahors to Cajarc, passing Bouzies and Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, we were astounded by the beauty of this river and...
  5. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    That was my feeling until, by something of a fluke chance, I found myself living near this wonderful stretch of the river Lot. Apart from a few years freshwater fishing in my youth, and some pike fishing in Scotland it has been sea fishing for me! Still miss my sea fishing, but this is not a...
  6. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Time for an update. It has been a poor summer for fishing the Lot, the weather has been very variable and we have seen more tourists along the river than in previous years. The French are normally "Staycationers" as they have a large and wonderful country that they belong to, but this year more...
  7. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Lovely barbel there! Normally I will fish a flooded river - but this was the top end of a barraged section where the day before there had been running water. After the overnight deluge the many rivulets off the mountains were pouring mud into the rising lake. So the flow was becoming...
  8. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    We are just back from a camping trip to Entraygues-sur-Truyère. Very scenic but at this junction of the river Truyère and river Lot the current was strong and the bottom too rough. We spotted carp and big chub but could not get our bait to them without snagging. So on our second day we went...
  9. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    There is still a lot of "politics" being played out. A couple of years down the line I am sure there will be compromises that allow some degree of what we have been used to before Brexit. At the moment the EU leaders do not trust Boris, but Boris will not be PM for ever (maybe not for long...
  10. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Yes, it's all got very complicated! We expected this and got our fingers out to complete all the residency requirements before Brexit completed - but it was close! We have several friends who have been slower getting these things done and changing from UK to french driving licenses has become a...
  11. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    When we were making plans to move to France we spent some time studying maps and the roads. As we have been getting stressed with flying abroad for holidays we were looking to have as much as possible within a few hours drive. Sally has old friends who have lived in Gourdon (just north of...
  12. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    The views whilst fishing can be spectacular...... When all this Brexit and pandemic stuff is sorted out I hope a few UK anglers will be visiting again. In general I would say visiting carp anglers head for the lower sections of the Lot. From Cahors eastward the river fishing is relatively...
  13. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    The fish in the Lot are nearly always in top condition. I may not get many chub but average size is around 4lb. The carp turn up a few times a year, not bad when I rarely target them. Back in March I had a 26, 29 & 42lb carp in about three hours (added a 4lb barbel as well) - when they move into...
  14. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    Here are a few captures from the river Lot....... Carp to 42lb, barbel 9lb, chub 5.5lb, bream 6.5lb.....all caught on short daytime sessions. Lots of blanks as well, when this river is not quite right the fish just switch off! Hopefully I will start catching barbel again soon - my favourite...
  15. Steve Arnold

    River fishing in France

    I have only just noticed this forum has a freshwater section, so here is the story of my river fishing since moving to France nearly four years ago. My wife and I sold almost everything we owned and moved to France from Scotland. What we had left (still plenty of fishing tackle!) was barely...
  16. Steve Arnold

    Off Set Hook Points

    If you practise catch & release with flatfish perhaps offset points not a good idea. My experience is that they lead to flatties being gut-hooked too often. I have seen match fishers simply pulling soft longshank hooks out of deep hooked flounders. Those flounders being kept in a bucket of sea...
  17. Steve Arnold

    Lets see your boats

    Hi Richard, we are all good here! Not looked at this forum for a while. Doing our best to dodge the virus and little socialising, thankfully not many cases in our area. How about you two? Travel to France must be difficult now, have you still got that boat in the Med? Edit... just caught up...
  18. Steve Arnold

    Advice Fixed Spool Reels for boat fishing ?

    For the Scottish east coast boat fishing, drifting over rough ground, I used a light uptide rod and Shimano 8000 oc baitrunner for years. That outfit pulled plenty of cod and ling to double figures but was sporting enough to have fun with pollack. If the drift was slower a heavy spinning rod...
  19. Steve Arnold

    Hooks

    I still have some Breakaway Spearspade and Spearpoint hooks. For worm baits I still like the Spear-spade even though I do not like tying them! So much choice now, but when Breakaway first marketed those hooks they were streets ahead of the competition. Breakaway still have some advertised, I...
  20. Steve Arnold

    Lets see your boats

    Downsized quite a bit since moving to France....... But it's great for fishing the river Lot......
View older results
Back
Top