Autumn trip part 2 of 3
Carps in The Mountains
After leaving Grand-Rhone behind, we took hide at local friends, while a powerful storm passed by.
Caused to the big amount of rain that fell, the river was impossible to fish afterwards.
Jean Luc and I, had picked a larger mountain-lake for the next target. Our information was limited, but my partner got a closer look early in the season.
Water-level had been at its highest, so only a few spots were suitable for fishing. In a few days some carps were caught, and the best specimen topped at 15kg.
Rumor’s that lured him to the wooded mountains, spoked about much bigger fish.
Stucked: Here in beginning of October, summer heat has taken its turn, and water-mirror of the dam, is dropped to 10m. Below max capacity.
Uneven gravel keeps the van’s speed low, while we bump through the forest. In a clearing, were the road reaches all out to the edge, a lake reveals itself in the valley. Water, rocks and green mountain-tops, as far as eyes can see. Nothing disturbs the picture of this wild nature-scenario, and I almost feel honoured, to be spending a bit of time here.
To unload the gear at the water edge, we find access by driving down, on the old lake bed. It turns out being a bit to courageous, and almost impossible getting our car back up on the road. After a great deal of digging, mowing some stones, and about 15 panicked wheel-spinning attempts, we succeeded.
The joy of victory, would have been a little more subdued, if we were conscious on the damage, that incurred on the vehicle chassis.
A couple of weeks later the puzzled mechanic explains, that this pretty new van, not were made for off-road driving at all. Hes hand holds a bill, with the cost of 1200 euro.
Challenging environment: Before this river-valley was dammed and filled with water, agriculture was carried out on the hillsides along the river.
In Inca style, stair-like terraces were created for farming, and walls of stacked stone forms the steps. If you add roads, bridges, the old riverbed, a few trees and the natural rock formations, a colorful picture appears below surface.
Furthermore, lies the remains of crayfish and zebra-mussels, everywhere I put my feet. The gear is unloaded along an almost 2m high stone-wall. It’s packed with old mussels, and document the next days need, for heavy snag-leaders.
Boats are launched in a narrow arm. A group of carps, releases bubbles from the bottom, and continues there doing when we pass them by.
Some beautiful lake-branches between the mountains, are scanned with echo-sounder, and we decide to place us on a stretch, that connects the deep end of the lake, with the low part. If the carps are active, a couple of them should move through this narrow passage, that contains max-depths of 11m.
In a calm evening rain, tackles are sailed to the chosen spots. Silence quickly hits camp, when we tuck in after dinner.
Under attack: During night wind increases, and at first morning light a carp sees the inside of my net. Its modest 8kg are welcome, but in 10 hours my 20mm boilie, is gnawed into a 6mm crump. Remaining 2 rods gets pulled to the bank, and you should think for a start, that I totally forgot to mount the hook-baits. Due to a big population of greedy crayfish, I choose for hook-bait on each tackle, a single thoroughly dried 24mm boilie.
A big part of our boilies concerning this autumn trip, had rested for 6 weeks in drying trays. It made them hard as rocks, and more resistant to crayfish among other. They still got loads of attraction and nutritional content, because we incorporated this, with the dry ingredients.
A plan is made for changing hook-baits, plus feed in small amounts every 8 hour.
This way there would be bait on the spots, and our straight forward combi-rigs 24-7.
As defence against the all-destructive beasts, choose Jean Luc the use of shrink-wrap. These plastic-shields are worn out, every time he changes the bait.
Tiger-nuts are tested, but they succumb in a matter of hours.
After the first redemptive take, we catch 5 carps more before sunset. It’s all mirrors between 8 and 10kg. and their limited size makes room for concern.
Stone sure: Second night of the trip passes without fish, but through darkness, wind steps into character. An already high tempered wind, is spiced with powerful gusts, that strikes unpredictable in the valley. In order to keep everything fixed at the bottom, 170g leads is necesarry.
At noon, I’m placing a tackle using boat. A wind-blow of new dimensions, push the dinghy out of course, and seconds after it reaches my biwy! Tent-pegs get ripped out of the gravel, when my home and all its content, tumbles backwards. Astounded and at the same time admired, I see Jean Luc throw himself into the battle, trying to make damage control. My chores on the lake are abandoned, due to the serious cleaning that is required.
A couple of hours later, the biwy stands tall again. Now it’s secured by piles of rocks, and 2 solid ropes keep it grounded. Very satisfied with the result, I take a rest on my bed-chair. It doesn’t take long, before noise from all Jean Luc’s sounders, can be heard in the wind. Unruly biiibs is complemented by ugly, loud French formulations. The rod-pot had blown over, simultaneously his brolly got air-borne!
Pegs and storm-poles fly through thin air, while we save the residence from a long flight.
It’s a bit struggling this windy day, resulting in 6 mirror-carps more getting caught. 3 of these are 10kg+ Biggest one weighs in at 13.5kg.
A wall of carps: Third night, the fish makes a serious move on our boilies. 8 runs appears, and that’s only counting my rods. Jumping out of sleep to respond on first take, I find the mountain-valley changed, as with a magic blow!
Finally had the wind and clouds, decided to disappear in companionship. A sky full of stars is breaking the dark, illuminating a lake surface that looks like a mirror. After end fight, a total silence between the mountain-tops, makes it possible to hear your own pulse.
When the tackle is sailed back in position, it feels like every movement and rattle on board, propagates straight through the hole valley.
Fourth day and night, the activity on our feeding-spots continues, when 21 mirror-carps takes off in 24 hours.
Must runs get triggered at the foot of flooded, man-made walls, or on the belonging plateaus. Unfortunately, is our fear for a low average-wight being confirmed, when the best in the bunch just pulls 12kg. It makes it an easy decision, to pack up and move on. We had enough!
While camp is closing down, 2 more specimens hit the bank. They keep the standard, with respectively 9+ and 10.7kg.
Unforgettable: In this peace of raw mother nature, we took stay for 5 days. 28 takes kept me on my toes, while Jean Luc worked through 20 of its kind. It had been quite hectic down the road, and we enjoyed our part as audience, to this unique scene, build of French mountains.
Size of the carps didn’t reach a dream-like level, but there’s no doubt that many fell into a carp-anglers trap, for the first time in there live.
2 like-minded anglers, were the only people we saw on this quest. When leaving the lake behind, my mind tried to find room for every impression, so in posterity they would visualize clearly. Jean Luc’s holiday is coming to an end, and we decide moving to a gravel-pit lake, in the north of France. Here I will spend 6-7 nights, before I take direction of Denmark.
Martin Stormly 2021.
