Four days excellent fishing at Ribiere
by Mike Goode
The Journey
We drove down to Ribiere, which is just next to Limoges - the journey would normally take 6½ to 7 hours from Calais . However , we had already had a 5-hour journey to Dover from Cheshire first, then a 1½ hour ferry crossing , and I would strongly suggest to anyone in a similar position to break the journey up with an overnight stop. We normally use the 'Formule1' chain of good cheap motels. No need normally to book in advance but at peak time it could be worth it. Just pull in any time and with a credit card & pay for your room, each room sleeps 3 and costs 23 euros ( around £16) . The receptions are unmanned after 10pm but if you want to go out for a meal or bevy and come back late you can, it is all automated and you are given a pin number to access the reception area m, the same pin allows access to your room. The toilets and showers are off each corridor - well worth the £6 each for a good nights rest.
Arrival
When we arrived at Ribiere for a 4-day session, we were met and welcomed by both Michel (the owner) and Eric (the fishery manager) . Eric gave us an escorted walk around the lake to choose our pegs. The lake is quite long and wide, certainly wide enough to allow both banks to be fished without any problems from the anglers on the opposing banks. We chose to fish the south bank on pegs 3, 4 and 5 and 6. The banks are firm and solid, and our bivvy pegs went in nicely without the need of a hammer. |
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Both banks are accessible by car or van so it was easy to un-load the mountains of "essential" gear we took. The vehicle then had to be returned to the car park. The whole lake and site is safe & secure, though, so there was absolutely no need to worry about the rear cluster brake lights being stolen from our van ( t hese had been nicked earlier whilst we spent time in Paris, but that is another story!) |
The Facilities
The facilities were excellent with good clean hot showers and toilets. (alt hough one of the lads in our party is disabled and he did f ind it difficult to walk the 200m back to the showers ) . There are also some studio apartments and rooms available for partners or families (some 200m from the lake). There is even a power supply to charge your bait boat or mobile telephone. Litter bins are positioned conveniently all around the lake and 'Eric the helpful' kept our ice packs in his fridge to help keep the baits as cool as possible. Supermarkets are only a few minutes drive away, but do take heed & check out when there is a French bank holiday (the French have twice as many as we do) and when they are closed ... they are all closed ... s o ensure you have supplies to last. |
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The Fishing
During our 4 nights, I can say we saw no "critters" (mice or rats) at night to worry about. Simon did have a mouse nip into his bivvy - but then after being bitten by a Reindeer on our last trip this was nothing in comparison . Simon does have a way with animals but he absolutely excels himself with fish! |
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| We fished for only 4 days. The fishing was steady, scattered with periods of activity . T here seemed no specific time or pattern when a run would occur but evenings and night time did produce most of the fish. The weather we had was really something else, we had two electrical storms and then two days of pure baking hot weather. |
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| We fished with PVA stringers over 15 to 20 boilies at various casting ranges. We did use CSL and Trout pellets but the fish still took stringers with 15 to 20 boilies pullted out . I would suggest heavy line, 15 lb minimum, as there are a few rocks and 'Ronnie and Reggie Krays' to contend with. The fish did tend to show themselves so a good strategy was to cast at a showing fish. At night fish were caught from our margins. Simon and Jason had the bulk of their fish from peg 5/6 with Steve and me bringing up the rear (as per usual ! ) |
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| All in all over 4 days fishing, we had 41 fish between the four of us. The best being a 34lb and a 32lb, with the bulk being mid 20's. There were only 6 fish caught below the 20lb weight. A fantastic result I'd say! |
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Overall Impression
Ribiere is a moderately easy water, not the easiest, but certainly not too difficult either. There are good fish to be had and many of them. The setting is lovely & the owners and Eric are really helpful. Take loads of ready mades or air dried boilies though, as without the accommodation there was no facility to keep frozen baits frozen.
This lake is definitely worth the journey!
Cheers,
Mike Goode
mike@sector2.freeserve.co.uk
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