# France - La Rochelle: 9 days of cofishing with Sunshiner



## alain17 (Jul 7, 2012)

Hi !

Once again, sorry for my very rough english.

You know Sunshiner who's a very active member on this forum.








He came to visit France with his wife and had contacted me to come fishing with me in La Rochelle at the end of his stay.
We spent nine days together.
Despite the language barrier (my English is quite low and Sunshiner don't speak French), we were able to share and talk (not just about fishing!) and spend good moments of fun.
Sunshiner is a charming guy, very friendly. He is interested in many things. It has an amazing fitness: it is able to paddle for hours despite his 67 years ! However, he was very surprised by the temperature of the water that he found cold (here the water is only 15°C and not at 25°C !)
Despite the horrible weather during these nine days, we tried to find favorable places to go fishing from kayak.

Here are pictures of our fishing trips ...

The day of the arrival of Kevin, I took a nice "jewfish" about 6 to 7 kg, just to impress Crocodile Dundee!









The next day, standing up early to enjoy the weather (very rare!) and moderate wind.
Sunshiner takes hiss first french jewfish! So happy for him!
He will take two in the morning and will release more ...









I will not be left with several beautiful fish always combative:









Sorry Sunshiner, in France we eat frogs and snails, but not starfish!









Second fishing session without sunshiner who has struggled to get up early! A very nice seabass.








For the first time, I took the pic myself: one day defore, sunshiner kindly offered me a digital "waterproof" camera. Sunshiner thank you again for your generosity.

Next session: beautiful sunrise ... and still some fish.









The following days, it was more difficult: wind, rain, very "dirty" and brown water. unfavorable fishing conditions. We looked for places to shelter from the wind. But no fish!








Let's go fishing!
























Well, here it is a little restless, we go!









And finally, the last session. A beautiful seabass of 3 kg or more to finish!


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Great report Alain, those fish all look like good fighters.
Shame the weather turned bad but at least you still managed to get on the water.


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Great report Alain.Thanks also for the new rigging technique for soft plastics. I can't wait to try that one out.


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2013)

Great stuff Alain.

Do the meager have otoliths in the head similar to our mulloway? They look like this


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## lagunabay (Apr 26, 2011)

Tres bien. Merci Beaucoup monsieur Alain. Thanks for your story


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## alain17 (Jul 7, 2012)

Hi Australian fishermen!

I'm happy that you liked this artcle.

Nezevic o the meager have otoliths in the head similar to our mulloway? They look like this
Alain : Absolutly, they have !

See you soon on the forum


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## Redro (Sep 5, 2005)

Great report Alain. Looks like you guys had fun - wish I could have joined you! I had lunch (as one does in France!) with Jean-Michel yesterday - I said I might try and come down to La Rochelle in September (when J-M is back on Ile de Re). Will let you know. I am off to Arcachan with the family next Saturday. I will have the kayak with me.


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## robsea (Apr 7, 2010)

Bonjour Alain

A ripper of an article mate! Thanks for the photographs of the fish from the waters of La Rochelle. The mulloway photograph looks surprisingly familiar. The cofishing idea is an excellent one. If ever you are in Australia and looking for a fishing buddy on the south coast of NSW, 3 hours drive south of Sydney, then look me up.

cheers

rob


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## hoit (Aug 29, 2005)

Hi Alain,

thanks for the trip report and putting up with Kev (only joking :lol

Great to see that kayak fishing spirit span continents.

Cheers
Hoit


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## FitzroyFisher (Mar 27, 2013)

wow sea bass they look like good fun!


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Back home now, no bad effects. And the weather's starting to get better here.

My time with Alain, Claude (his wife, a lovely lady, locquacious dinner companion and great cook!) and their two dishwasher dogs Hector and Ulysses was a highlight of my trip.









Here they are, walking the dogs along the towpath of a disused (except by fishermen) canal near their home.

What truly amazed me was how much Alain and I had in common; and fishing was the focus. Even with a language barrier we could communicate enough to get out fishing often, sometimes at very short notice. He took the time to brief me, with drawings on note paper, about the main local fishing techniques. This meant that when we first faced the water together (no surf!) I could instantly understand why he used the techniques he'd explained to me.









Alain's battered old Renault Twingo fishing truck reminded me of my Zook. Here we are, at the yak unload/load point for the main fishing destination.

As you've seen, we caught fish, and pretty good specimens they were, too. One fish would have made me very happy, but I caught quite a few just to prove that my catch was not a fluke.









This is where we fished. Tight in to the piles.

Now for the technique at the big bridge which you can see in some of the pics earlier. We fished really close to the piles, usually in a strong tidal current and sometimes in windy conditions. Alain believes it is essential to get the lure right to the bottom, quickly, and keep it there, hence the weight of the heads which varied from 35gm to 53 gm (28gm = 1 ounce). So, once in position we simply dropped the lures straight down until they hit the bottom and then worked them gently so that they bumped the bottom and "bounced" along as the yak was carried along with the current/breeze. Most of the time the bottom felt sandy, but really close to the piles there were various snag hazards (fish structure) and of course these were the most likely places to hook fish, and, unfortunately, the structure. So fishing in this style does result in occasional loss of lures to structure, but I successfully desnagged my lure four or five times by manoeuvering directly above it and jiggling the lure before I eventually lost one, after many hours fishing.

Incidentally, I used the same reel I favour for snapper fishing with SPs, a threadline rigged with 6kg braid. Alain loaned me a rod similar to the one I use at home.

The wind, when it blew, was cold. My ragged old wetsuit was included my baggage, however, and I wore it every time. (Alain offered to loan me one of his but I doubt it would have fitted me snugly.) Even so, on the last day the wind was too cold for me, and too difficult to manage for that fishing style in a paddle powered yak. Absolutely, Alain's Revo was ideal for fishing the bridge, as he could hold location against the breeze while twitching his rod to entice the strikes.

Alain is every bit as keen and competent a kayak fisho as the best I know in Australia. Hopefully I'll be able to show him some Aussie kayak fishing action some day. A couple of my favourite pics of Alain:









Here he is at Whale Beach, Ile de Re, a favourite location at the western tip of the island.









This is typical. A superb seabass hooked and landed by Alain in difficult and cold conditions on our last fishing trip together.

Thanks mate!

Kev


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## sunshiner (Feb 22, 2006)

Gatesy said:


> Kev, I am interested in that SP rig. Is there a hook on the jig head as well or only the treble? Cheers Gatesy


Hi Mike

There are two previous TR threads, started by me, on this subject and your specific question has been answered before. If you go to

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=650171#p650171

you'll read the explanation, and some of the other stuff.

Hope you and the family are well.

Kev


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## Haynesy (May 6, 2011)

What a great report...when I saw the first pic of the sea bass I couldn't believe the similarity to the Aust Bass. Hope you continue to post your reports Alaine even though your mate Sunshiner has returned.


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## TheFishinMusician (Feb 5, 2007)

Excellent work gentlemen! 
What a fantastic thing it is to be able to go halfway round the world & be put onto some great fish & be hosted in style.

Bravo!


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