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More French Fishing

Our April 2000 contribution from Jon Beer

You know that bloke in black-and-white movies with the sharp suit, pencil-thin moustache and a soft trilby pulled down over his eyes? He sidles up and, out of the corner of his mouth, says he's got hot tip. Well, that's me. I'm going to mark your card.

Jot this down: Lozère, first week in June, 165F. "Lozère" is not the name of a nag, it is a place. It is the place if you want to fish for almost anything wild with an adipose fin. Lozère is a small departement in the heart of France's Massif Central . Like the USA's mid-west, which is not remotely "mid", let alone "west ", the Massif Central is not "Central" at all. It is near the bottom of France, a vast area of uplands and mountains without ever actually getting pointy like the Alps or Pyrenees. Three of the great rivers of France, the Lot, the Allier and the Tarn are born in Lozère within few miles of each other. I fished there a couple of season ago and it is, without doubt, one of the troutiest places I know. Look: the French have the pleasant system of classifying rivers into two categories. Category 1 rivers are the fast cool waters where trout and things like them thrive: category 2 waters are warmer and slower, the home of the cyprinids roach, chub, bream and other silvery things. Lozère has more than 2,700 km of rivers and streams: they are all category 1. So there's a lot of trouty water but what makes Lozère unique for the fisherman is the variety of the stuff.

Take a look at the map (http://www.peche48.com/carte_lozere.jpg). The right-hand side is a fretwork of little streams and rivers. On the lower left it is almost bare save for a single river, the Tarn, winding across the middle. It rains just as much on the left, so what happened to all the water? It sank. The big bare patches are the Causse, a vast limestone plateau which soaks up rain and melted snow like a sponge. It percolates down through the rocks through some pretty impressive caves - to emerge as springs in the bed of the Tarn and the River Lot to the north of the Causse. The water is clear and cool though the spectacular gorges of the Tarn.

There is a trout unique to these rivers of the limestone. The Zebrée trout gets its name from the three prominent dark bars on each side. I have never discovered whether this is a genetic or environmental trait. Trout stocked into one of these rivers do not seem to develop the markings on the other hand I have caught these distinctive zebrée trout in other limestone watersheds, particularly gorges, from the Jura Mountains on the Swiss border to the Rioja region of northern Spain. What is certain is that against a pale limestone bottom dotted with clumps of dark weed the fish disappear uncannily.


The Tarn gorge is spectacularly beautiful, with the bright dry scenery of the Mediterranean lands the sea is only an hour or so away. Half an hour north and you are in Dartmoor. The contrast is startling. The Aubrac is a region of moorland and meadows in the north-west of Lozère. This is harder country the speciality dish of the region is Aligot, a runny blend of mashed potatoes, butter and cheese. Delicious but inclined to make you sit down and think a bit. The rocks are harder here. I was fishing a little stream that bounced over a waterfall. The waterfall had a strangely artificial air about it. It was built of hexagonal columns of dark rock, the Giants Causeway in miniature. It was basalt, from the insides of a volcano and about as different from limestone as chalk from fromage. The trout of these streams are smaller and brilliantly spotty, like the trout of Dartmoor itself.

They have the odd lake in Lozère as well. In 1988 one of these, near the town of Villefort, coughed up the European record brown trout. It weighed a portly 14.30 kg. That is 31_ lbs in old money.

Why June? Lozère fishing is at its best in May and June just like Britain - which is not to be wondered at because the insects and the trout don't realise they are foreign. And if you are feeling flush you can fish for them in May but you will have to buy an annual licence and annual club membership. But from the first of June you can buy a Carte Vacance, valid for 15 consecutive days which will allow you to fish over most those lovely 2,700 km of rivers and streams. And this lot will cost you the princely sum of 165F - which is £15.64 in real money.

I mention this now because the Federation of Angling Associations in Lozère has just produced a brilliant video which simply shows you the sort of water and fishing you will find in the various watersheds. I have fished some of these and they are spot on. It can be ordered on their website which gives all the regulations and dates and detailed descriptions of the waters at http://www.peche48.com . It is in French but you can get this translated, after a fashion, by going to http://translator.go.com first.


For general information about French fishing and a glossary of French fishy words you won't find in a translator, take a look at the pieces on France (September '98 and October '98) in the Fish and Fly Features Archive.

Jon Beer contributes regularly to publications including Trout & Salmon and The Telegraph. If you have any comments, do not hesitate to get in touch or use the message board.