Canal du Berry 09 Chattilon sur cher.

This canal is a very interesting stretch of water . I have fished it a couple of times now and the + side is the amount of different species that I have caught or seen here.The down side is the lack of depth in some sections. It is coloured, but a colour I have never seen before, a sort of milky grey I could best describe it as. There is also variable flow in different sections. The section at Chattilon sur Cher is deeper than any I had fished previously at about 3 feet and about 15 yards wide. The downside was that there was little flow. I fed 2 lines, down the middle with chopped worm and 12metres with hemp and caster. I fished the far line for 45mins with no response at all. Coming in to the middle line on worm I had a pound skimmer after a couple of minutes. Next put in, a solid thump and I was in to a good fish., this turned out to be a bream of about 3lbs but it was clearly foulhooked. I thought I was going to be lucky, but lost it at the net.The next 2 put ins produced 2 tiny perch but after that nothing for ages. I switched from line to line but it was tough going now. Just when I was wondering if that was it for the day the float went down and I had a bream of about 2lbs. This was followed next cast by the tiniest zander I have ever seen, about the size of a matchbox. It was obviously the day for miniature specimens because next put in I had a silure catfish of no more than 8 ozs. My 1st silure but not a specimen. After this flurry of action the swim died completely. It was too nice a day to pack up and Heather seemed content relaxing in the shade, reading. The next excitement was a madcap dog that looked a bit dodgy with an owner that seemed to have lost control .Luckily her ladyship gave it her " Teacher " glare and the poor mutt passed respectfully by with its head bowed. Bright sun and a northerly wind coupled with no bites made it a bit dull so I decided on a stroll. The Cher runs parallel to the canal so I walked by the river for about 1/2 a mile . There were plenty of fish moving but not a swim fishable from the bank. A french angler asked how I was doing and when I said I had caught a silure he made a big fuss that I should kill it. Despite having mixed feeling about some species I only kill a fish if I or someone is going to eat it. Returning to my swim I decided on another hour and I'm glad I did because some crucian carp turned up out of nowhere they were all well over 11/2lbs and the best about 2lbs. Lovely to catch a few crucians I hadn't caught any for years except in commercial fisheries. I landed 5 and bumped a couple when the light made it difficult to see the bites. This was a pleasant way to finish in this region for now and tomorrow its off to Burgundy.

Love to see these fish.

My first silure is not a specimen.

Canal du Berry ay Chatillon sur Cher.

Back in Selles thursday 10/09/09

Heather and I are just beginning to get really settled in Selles now. Our French hosts Jean -Paul & Josianne have been charming and helpful. Each morning we have had a stroll down to the river and have made friends with a greedy little sausage dog on our way. Well , this morning it is so hot that even Fred the dog seemed half hearted about the treats we gave him. All " summer " we have been waiting for a bit of sun so shouldn't complain, but its not the best fishing weather. This in mind I took her ladyship out for the day hoping to find a restaurant posh enough for her. This left me just a couple hours to fish the Cher in Selles during the evening. The water is so clear here you can see every detail in 4 ft of water and every ring on the keepnet. I am very content here, the swims are comfortable and there are good fish moving. There was still not a cloud in the sky but the wind was increasing from the north east. The other annoyance was that the French youngsters seem as determined as their British counterparts to share their poxy muzak with me at full volume. Of course with car windows open in this heat. I must confess had I been at home I wouldn't bother fishing in these conditions but I'm here so I'm going to. The session was ok with plenty of bites and I caught mostly little barbel, however just one chuck on the feeder and I was snagged. Disappointingly the fishing didn't improve towards dark . The final tally was 24 barbel , 10 bleak , 4 chublets , 1 roach and a perch, interesting that small barbel seem to be the dominant species. Good for the future maybe. Had an interesting chat with Jean-Paul that evening , he regards the spread of the Silure catfish as an absolute catastrophe for fishing in the area claiming that they eat everything . To my eyes though the river seemed to have a fairly healthy fish population in various age groups.

Lots of tiny barbel like these.

The Cher in Selles.