Rainbow Trout Fishing in France, the Malaguet, a hidden Gem.
Published: 2nd September 2017 | Author: Guido VinckFor a couple of days during my holiday, I took the risk to drive to the Malaguet reservoir in the Auvergne for Rainbow trout in France. As I am living in Belgium the Ardennes rivers are my home waters but for nearly two months the fishing has been very hard. No rain and high temperatures caused the water to boil. Several rivers were actually closed to fishing.
This beautiful 54 acres reservoir is situated in the heart of France, the Haute-Loire region, directly in the middle of a woods. I fished there several years ago with great success so it was certainly worth another look. Situated at about 500m altitude this could be the place to have some great sport during the hot weather.
A phone call with my Managing Director, Bertrand Michalon, assured me that Malaguet was ‘on fire’ – with top of the water fishing being key. Imitative fishing is one of my favourite techniques especially with dry flies and that was ‘the moment’ during my stay on Malaguet.
Tactics
For Rainbow trout in France, you don’t need heavy tackle, I prefer to use a 10ft G.Loomis Streamdance #5 rod with an Airflo WF5F Elite fly line. The kit allows the fish to fight and give immense pleasure. A 20ft leader with 2 flies during a light breeze or a single fly in the morning and evening hours when it was nearly flat calm does the trick.
Fly Selection
I took the opportunity to fill my box In my box with a selection of Fulling Mill dry flies. From my previous trips, I found exactly what the Rainbows, Brownies and Char always wanted. Why? I do not know, but French trout very much prefer CDC flies – and they loved the FM Barbless Hopper CdC Yellow Owl (size 12) so much that after two days fishing all my CdC Yellow Owl Hoppers were gone. Not only the fish took the flies, but also fellow anglers who asked me to give them one of these super flies. This fly was not the only one which took several trout; in the morning, the Barbless Quill Owl Cul produced a good number of fish when it was flat calm. The High Rider CDC Olive (size 12) and the Klink Black Foam (size 14) done the job when there was ripple. Four fantastic flies, not only for this reservoir but for most of the UK reservoirs as well.
Rainbow Trout in France
If you happen to be in the region for a couple of days, there are some lovely rivers not far from Malaguet, check out the website to whey your appetite: http://www.lacdemalaguet.com/fly-fishing. Autumn can excellent!Needless to say that I had some great sport on Malaguet, a hidden gem, but for the next month’s I’ll return to the UK for the big reservoirs – keep an eye out for more posts.
Needless to say that I had some great Rainbow trout in France whilst fishing the Malaguet, a hidden gem, but for the next month’s I’ll return to the UK for the big reservoirs – keep an eye out for more posts.
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