Catfish and carp fishing in France: A meeting of fishing forum

The year 2009...

The long-awaited meeting of the Euro-Carp carp anglers' forum with 5 participants, all of whom share a passion for fishing, has finally become a reality. We met at the German-French border and after a short cigarette break we continued full of anticipation.

We arrived at Konrad Janssen's farm around 9 a.m. Our first goal was to get bait fish, as catfish is my main fish and the others weren't averse to catching the barbel. Unfortunately, Konrad was just getting bait fish, but promised to bring us the required amount directly to the fishing spot.

We continued our journey, picking up additional fishing licenses along the way. When we reached our destination, we unloaded the cars and dinghies. After lowering the boats from a steep cliff, Vadim and I decided to tie a catfish rod each to our dinghy to make it easier to transport the equipment to the other bank. The plan worked perfectly: I went ashore, opened the reel brake, and Vadim effortlessly pulled the boat to his bank.

Soon all the equipment was successfully transported to the other bank. I quickly searched the most promising spots in the river with the depth sounder. Meanwhile, the smell (or rather "stench") of homemade and purchased boilies, dips and other carp baits was spreading along the bank.

The first rigs flew through the air and landed with a loud splash on the baited spots. After an hour or two, Konrad arrived with the bait fish, and a little later the catfish rigs were also set up. Wadim and I each set up 3 catfish rods, the other participants 2. We decided to fish with the rigging with a rip line.

The evening was approaching. We enjoyed our grilled sausages and a light French beer and listened to the occasional beeping of the electronic bite indicators on the rod pods and the ringing of the bells on the catfish rods...

The evening dragged on and our peaceful conversation was interrupted by the sudden ringing of a bell. I jumped up like greased lightning and ran to my catfish rod! The line snapped, the hook was set and I felt the weight on the other end! I realized that I was not dealing with a big catfish. After a short but intense fight, during which I experienced a few dangerous moments in which I was almost pulled into the water, the catfish finally lay on the bank. Wadim landed it skillfully by grabbing it by the lower jaw. We carefully put the magnificent guy on the line and continued to enjoy the evening...

Later, Vitali, another participant in our little meeting, also got in touch! In the approaching darkness, we watched a nice fight with a large river carp, which unfortunately broke free just before reaching the bank. Shortly afterwards, Konstantin had two bites on his carp rods at the same time! Two chubs weighing 1 to 2 kilos were pulled ashore.

The morning began foggy. I had slept on a chair all night and was therefore awake early. In the deepest silence I began the morning by feeding. Little by little the others woke up too. The carp rigs were cast out again and the feeding spots were baited again.

At 9 o'clock I heard another shrill ringing and saw my catfish rod bend and then snap back at the same moment! The ripcord (0.35 mm) snapped with a loud bang! At the same moment I set a strong strike and the "rock'n'roll" continued! Another huge catfish landed in our hands! Both catfish were very well-fed and muscular! We had to get into the water to release them, and that was at the end of September! After a short photo session with the catfish in the water, we were finally able to release them back into the wild! These exciting moments were all captured on camera!

The day passed without any particular incidents. Small bream and roach occasionally bit on the feeder rod. Vladimir joined us in the evening. And the same game began again: transport the equipment in the dinghy, quickly set up the carp rods, feed them. Two catfish rods had meanwhile been converted to bottom rigs with a stone on the ripcord and an underwater float.

After the work was done, we all sat together and had a lively conversation. There was a lot of laughter and there were also serious topics to discuss. The evening ended with heavy rain and no food at all. But we were not disappointed because we had not been bored during our conversations.

It rained all night, but by morning the fog had cleared and the sun was shining. After breakfast we set out to explore the river, taking our spinning rods with us. Vladimir took a rod for zander and pike fishing with bait fish. At one of the rapids something not very big bit my catfish spoon and got out after a few meters. Due to the brief contact I couldn't tell exactly what kind of fish it was, but we all agreed that it was probably a zander.

Towards the evening, the work started again: feeding the carp, changing the bait fish... And again we sat together, laughed and ate. Soon after, Vladimir managed to catch a beautiful carp! A quick photo and the fish was released again! We continued the evening, but unfortunately without the ringing of the bells and the beeping of the electronic bite alarms.

The next morning, the laborious preparations for departure began. The equipment was transported by boat to the other bank and loaded into the cars.

Even though we didn't catch as many fish as we had hoped, the meeting was a great success! We had a great time together and I'm already looking forward to the next time with this great group!

Vitali Dalke