briandki Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 does anyone know the rules on french rod licences. going soon and want to spend a bit of time on public waters. i would like to know how do i go about finding out what is and isnt fishable, where i can fish nights etc etc . any help would be most grateful.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs_rusheslake Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I found this post, using the search facility, posted by Guy Holman this January... might answer your questions.... There really is an awful lot of public water available over in France and some really spectacular places to fish. Even some of the smaller rivers, like my local river Célé hold quality fish in some quite unexpected places and I'm not talking about where it enters the Lot, for those that know the area! The privately run lakes, offer a very good deal (for the most part) and have obvious appeal...but as said above there are literally hundreds of public waters in France that hold very respectable fish and some real biggies too, that get rarely fished for. Even if its often a needle in the haystack and sometimes a very big haystack (I fish a few waters in the 500 to 1500 hectares range), there are often lots of 30's and 40's too be had too. Here is a site with all the night fishing zones listed by department for 2012. Any of these zones will have some decent potential for the public water carp fisherman. Night Fishing Zones in France 2012 You can also get your French Fishing Licence online these days. Although the site is only in French for the moment. If fishing public waters, a valid licence is required, this is not the case on the private waters. Public water fishing is often more of a challenge, especially for those looking for wi fi hook ups, fridges and the creature comforts, but can be a great adventure....each to his own I guess. The situation with fish pilfering for private lakes has come to a head of late. Mainly down to a Kevin Nash interview in one of the carp mags here, where he admits responsibility for 200 carp being transferred from the Lot area to a (once but no longer his) lake in the Aveyron......by members of his team but without his knowledge.................................... Laws have been strengthened in recent years, so now it is illegal to, remove or transport a carp of over 60cm and use carp sacks at night. You have to place a light to mark your presence at night in most areas too and stick to authorised night fishing zones....... Hopefully this will have some impact, but I ain't holding my breath....its easy to understand the point of view of the French "carpistes" though...public fish being taken to stock private ponds, be they English or French owned, deprives the licence holder of some of the best fish in THEIR waterways, so they feel well ripped off....to put it mildly! If you do decide to try a bit of public fishing in France, may you have a very successful and enjoyable time...I sure do...always the latter in any case...lol! All the best Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briandki Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 still cant work out if you can by a national licence or weather you have to get them region by region. or do you buy a licence and get regions stamped on it, paying an extra charge for each region... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpepecheur Posted July 25, 2012 Report Share Posted July 25, 2012 Like al things French, it is not straightforward. Your question is answered in this link. If you do not speak French you can cut and paste the URL into Google Translate and it does a pretty good English translation. http://www.cartedepeche.fr/33-la-reciprocite.htm Basically, wherever you buy your carte de peche, (online, tabacs, tourist office, tackle shops) it covers you for most of the area you are likely to be fishing in. If you are going to be fishing lakes as well as rivers, you need to buy one with a "vignette du Club Halieutique". Many waters are run by a club which belongs to this organisation and they have a reciprocal agreement so that all members can fish all lakes. So if you wish to fish these waters you need to make sure this stamp is included on your fishing license. They will tell you when you buy it. (It can be purchased separately and stuck on later) Hope this helps? If you have any specific questions try a PM to Guy Holman mentioned earlier. I believe he is studying to become a Garde de Peche so should know all the regulations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briandki Posted July 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 thanks for that carpepecheur, cant wait to get back out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpepecheur Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Good luck. Don't forget your sun-cream. Temp is 36 deg C at the moment and rising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briandki Posted July 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2012 Good luck. Don't forget your sun-cream. Temp is 36 deg C at the moment and rising!so where abouts are you in france? any good fishing in your neck of the woods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpepecheur Posted July 28, 2012 Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 I'm way down South, just North of the Pyrenees. Yes plenty of good fishing and most of it free (once you have licence). It is not quite the same as the North of France where you have organised carp fisheries. The carp around here have not been specially bred to put on weight and fattened up on high protein foods. They are more lean , mean and hard fighting but sometimes difficult to find. I rarely go further than my local lake, 3 miles away. 110 acres and usually I am the only person fishing! If you want to know more try googling this B00781MKAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briandki Posted July 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 got friends who i am going to visit that live in a village called chalarbre, which is very near lac mont bell. how close is that to you? love this part of france, the pyrenees are beautiful! maybe we could meet up for a couple of days fishing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpepecheur Posted July 28, 2012 Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 You are about 100 miles away and perhaps 2 hours drive. You are welcome to come over for some fishing if you want. Depends on dates and whether we have visitors. The same licence applies in both areas. Lac Mont bell is enormous, well over 1000 acres and holds large carp. It is reputed to be difficult (by French standards) and I am not sure how necessary it is to have a boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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