Cabin fever is a terrible thing, and after 6 days of incessant rain it would be fair to say i was suffering from a lack of time on the bank. So when the forecast for Sunday showed high temperatures and a break in the rain i mentally pencilled a session in. I’m not ashamed to admit that while i came to France with high hopes of fishing untouched waters and bagging a few virgin kippers, i have in fact settled largely for sessions on our own lakes. You could say i had fallen into my comfort zone!

This, i decided, would be one last hurrah on Papillon Bleu before i plucked up the courage to take on one of the two big public waters i had earmarked for some serious attention. One of which has a close season ending next Sunday but is day fishing only, and the other is all-year, night fishing allowed, but 12Ha of snag laden French fishing frustration…

Anyway, the session on Bleu was rapidly rescheduled when i awoke on Saturday to an unfamiliar sound - silence. It appeared that the rain had dried up early for once and althought the skies were cloudy the temperature was much warmer than it had been. If ever there was a time for the fish to be feeding it was now! So, after a few laps of the lakes to clear blocked drains and check for rain damage i finally got my ‘fishing head’on.

I settled on a swim i had never fished before, partly for a change of scenery, and partly to take advantage of the effects of all this rain water. The swim i fished has a high bank and is therefore a little awkward to net and release fish from. Despite this, it has in its favour excellent access to a prime gravelly spot off the corner of an island and, of major interest given the conditions, a drain from our stock pond that bubbles and surges up from the bottom of the bank. This feature, when at it’s bubblesome best is sure to attract the Carp to it’s richly oxygenated water.

I had spent the rainy evenings tying rigs and experimenting a little and my chosen approach today would alter slightly. On the island god i kept to my usual tactic of popped-up 10mm tigernut boillies, but with the rod to the turbulent water by the drain i decided to fish a method feeder with 2 grains of popped up corn coming straight up from the feeder on a 2 inch hooklength. This was partly because i knew coloured water would be flowing in, and partly because i wanted my bait to waft and wave around in the flow.

The method feeder rod was the first to go, but sadly there was no fish attached - not a great start for my new rig. However i recast and within minutes the bobbin shot up to the rod butt and i was in! The fish fought doggedly, but unspectatularly and was soon on the bank - a pristine Common of 16lb 8oz. It wasn’t long before fish started to roll and show everywhere in front of me, and as i was thinking i could well be in for a big haul, sure enough the feeder rod bolted off again. This time a 11lb 8oz Common was attached and put up a magnificent scrap underneath the rod tip. Clearly this was another young fish with something to prove!

During this time i had been recasting my island rod regularly with method feed moulded around the lead - this had resulted in a small bream, but so far no Carp. Another screaming take on the feeder rod and i was in to a much more serious fish this time. No mug this one, it kited from snag to snag and took some real force to remove from the overhanging trees to my right. However, the fish eventually relented and a fine 21lb 12oz mirror was on the mat - my fourth twenty of the year and this was proving to be quite a session.

After regaining my breath and casting again tight to the over hanging trees by the inflow, I wondered if a change was necessary on the second rod. Fish were showing all around the island and i couldn’t understand why i hadn’t had a take. Just as this though enetered my head, the feeder rod chirped into life AGAIN. To get down to the water and land fish i had to move the island rod off the alarm, and no sooner had i netted and readied the camera to photograph a stunning black backed, heavy-plated Mirror of 16lbs, than i heard a scraping of my reel across the ground - my other rod!

Luckily there was no need to be ‘locked up’ on that rod, and the baitrunner gave line slowly, but necessarily to prevent my rod taking a dip. Abandoning the photo-shoot (not without a moment’s reluctance) i slipped the beautiful Mirror back and grabbed my other rod. Walking back away from the island it was clear this fish did not match the one i had just returned. A small homegrown common darted around under the rod tip for a while before succumbing to the charms of my landing net. A wriggly photo later and it was time to re-convene.

I had no rods in the water, aching arms and i was covered in mud and slime - but boy was i happy! The island rod was the next to produce with a lovely mirror of around xlbs. This old thing had obviously seen a rig or two in it’s time, but was typical of the elusive, bigger Mirrors that i had yet to land; the wrist of it’s tail had a scattering of tiny scales - something of a Bleu trademark.

Almost imperceptibly, the wind cooled as i slipped that old warrior back, and i caught the distinct scent of change in the air. Sure enough a sprinkling of rain came over the lake, and although it never threatened to resume last week’s deluge, it had a noticable effect on the fishing i.e. i could keep a rod in the water more than 10 minutes! After some waiting, followed by some casting showing fish (resulting in a worthy Bream), i decided to wait it out for one more fish from the inflow. Sure enough, after a while, and a few casts to keep the bait going in, the rod roared off again for one last time. The fish on this occasion was a lovely little Mirror of 12lbs - as you can see from the size of it’s head there was plenty of growth left in this one.

Packing up as the air turned cold and the last light ebbed away i couldn’t have been more delighted with the session. 7 lovely fish, each different in their own way and although i had still yet to contact one of the monsters within, i felt i Bleu had been kind to me that afternoon.

Stumble it!