Steve Arnold
Well-known member
I found this story in the french fishing press......
The photo has already been published in the Belles Prizes section of La Pêche et les Poissons magazine for January 2024. But this 131.5 cm pike captured by Mathieu Girard deserved our attention. It's not every day that a giant like this comes out in France, and what's more in the middle of a storm! It falls into the category of exceptional fish.
At the beginning of November, storm Ciaran hit France. Bad luck, Mathieu Girard and his dad Yann had chosen to organize a week of fishing with friends on the Aigle dam, on the border of Cantal and Corrèze. “We were alone on the lake, soaked ,” says Mathieu. We still went out every day but the fishing was difficult. » With Gaétan, Enndy and Kevin, in six days of fishing, on a lake she did not know, the small troop will total eleven pike and five chain zander.
Euphoria
On Thursday, November 2, after bailing out the two boats, under downpours of water, no one lost hope. “It was 4:25 p.m., we didn't expect it, but I felt the typical bite and the teeth rubbing on the leader ,” reports Mathieu. The young student (a BTS in water management and control in Nevers) had chosen to return to an area where, with his Side-Imaging, he had spotted some big echoes during the week and had had a few hits. At 18, Mathieu Girard already had three meters under his belt and has already fished many lakes in France. An experience that paid off on the Aigle dam! “We had a small landing net, but thanks to Kevin’s dexterity, it came in ,” smiles Mathieu. It all came down to the mind. I waved to my father who joined us. It was euphoria on the boats. The best part is that we were able to share this together. The locals had never seen this, they were amazed. We met a fishing guide at the launch, he couldn't believe it. »
“Depression = big fish,” the dad, Yann, told us when we first made contact. He himself captured a 97 cm zander during this holiday week! And the same week, Mathieu learned on social networks that a 131 cm pike was caught on Lake Geneva: “But it was finer, I think mine exceeded 15 kg, I even estimate it at 17 kg. He was perfect. He left in one go, the water was not very hot, 12 degrees. With the Livescope in the second boat, we even saw it set off again. It was truly a great fishing moment and, if I may say so, the fulfillment of a fishing life. » We can already predict that there will be people on the Eagle during the next storm!
A 131.5 cm pike caught in France, in the heart of a storm
The photo has already been published in the Belles Prizes section of La Pêche et les Poissons magazine for January 2024. But this 131.5 cm pike captured by Mathieu Girard deserved our attention. It's not every day that a giant like this comes out in France, and what's more in the middle of a storm! It falls into the category of exceptional fish.
At the beginning of November, storm Ciaran hit France. Bad luck, Mathieu Girard and his dad Yann had chosen to organize a week of fishing with friends on the Aigle dam, on the border of Cantal and Corrèze. “We were alone on the lake, soaked ,” says Mathieu. We still went out every day but the fishing was difficult. » With Gaétan, Enndy and Kevin, in six days of fishing, on a lake she did not know, the small troop will total eleven pike and five chain zander.
Euphoria
On Thursday, November 2, after bailing out the two boats, under downpours of water, no one lost hope. “It was 4:25 p.m., we didn't expect it, but I felt the typical bite and the teeth rubbing on the leader ,” reports Mathieu. The young student (a BTS in water management and control in Nevers) had chosen to return to an area where, with his Side-Imaging, he had spotted some big echoes during the week and had had a few hits. At 18, Mathieu Girard already had three meters under his belt and has already fished many lakes in France. An experience that paid off on the Aigle dam! “We had a small landing net, but thanks to Kevin’s dexterity, it came in ,” smiles Mathieu. It all came down to the mind. I waved to my father who joined us. It was euphoria on the boats. The best part is that we were able to share this together. The locals had never seen this, they were amazed. We met a fishing guide at the launch, he couldn't believe it. »
“Depression = big fish,” the dad, Yann, told us when we first made contact. He himself captured a 97 cm zander during this holiday week! And the same week, Mathieu learned on social networks that a 131 cm pike was caught on Lake Geneva: “But it was finer, I think mine exceeded 15 kg, I even estimate it at 17 kg. He was perfect. He left in one go, the water was not very hot, 12 degrees. With the Livescope in the second boat, we even saw it set off again. It was truly a great fishing moment and, if I may say so, the fulfillment of a fishing life. » We can already predict that there will be people on the Eagle during the next storm!
