In reply to Post #14
The "rules" dont often stipulate just carp...there are no other species allowed to be caught at night anywhere in France....at least until one of the more forward looking Federations changes that.

Fishing for any other species at night is poaching whatever baits you use. Ofcourse when fishing the public rivers and lakes, you inevitably catch a few BBC whilst carp fishing, but should not be a problem with the garde de peche...so long as you seem to be fishing for carp and the fish are not being kept for eating.

Even the odd Pike and Zander will take a boilie. One carp angler caught a 20lb plus Zander on a boilie from a local stretch last summer....

In reply to Post #7
Public waters just means that you have a right to access and fish them...on the carte de peche. The dates and size regulations depend on species and which department you are in. In my department night fishing is 24/7/365, but this is not the case elsewhere.

Only carp at night and theroetically only with vegetable based baits (boilies even if fishmeal based are considered as vegetable baits though). All night fishing was considered poaching previously and still is by some people, but with the growth of carp fishings popularity, night fishing zones were introduced to cater solely for the carp anglers.

Now that the catfishing is really taking off, some Federations are considering opening night fishing for them, although it a little more tricky to set up, as livebaiting, deadbaiting and lure fishing don't just target the cats. As Pike, Zander and Perch are very popular species over here and the quarry of predeliction for the majority of the members of the local AAPPMA's (most of their budgets go into restocking these species and trout) I can't see any form of fishing with baits that might take a few of their precious carnivores, being allowed at night.

Having discussed this at recent meetings of my local AAPPMA, I can't see it happening any time soon on our local waters. Personally I have been arguing for a fair crack of the whip for all anglers that wish to fish at night....as the current situation with carp only being allowed is the cause of some resentment from other anglers.

There are as you point out quite a few rules, but most of them are there for very good reasons, such to protect stocks during spawning etc.....Mind you having had a look at some the rules lists on the private carp lakes, I would say that there are less restrictions on all but a very few, if any public waters.

In reply to Post #5
1ere Catégorie are generally fast flowing rivers, or lakes that contain predominantly Salmonids.
2ieme Catégorie slower flowing rivers and lakes that contain predominantly coarse fish.

There are very few 1ere Category waters that will hold much in the way of carp.

You can only fish at night for Carp (not Cats, although this may change in the future from I have been hearing) and then only in areas specifically designated as night fishing zones (parcours peche de nuit, often refered to as PDN's).

You will have to check out the Haute Soane Federations website for dates of opening,and night fishing zones etc...I tried to take a look for you, but the site seems to be offline at the moment.

In reply to Post #28
Hi Ken

Great article!

I very rarely sack my fish but when I do I use a floating one from Fox, which to my way of thinking is an truly excellent bit of kit. However, I notice that you don't recommend the use of floating sacks for more than a very short period of time. Could you explain why please?

I have found that fish have much less of a tendency to lie on their sides in a floating sack and figured that the less constrained conditions in a well made floating sack would be a lot better for the fish...i have never noticed them flapping about or struggling in one and feel they are far less likely to damage their fins than if constrained by wet materiel clinging to them.

My train of thought is that when you catch a carp, it is better to keep the number of manipulations to a minimum and that a floating sack come weigh sling allows you to take a couple of extra and unnecessary transfers out of the equation, leaving less actions that might put the fish at risk.

My sequence is from landing net to weigh sling/floating sack on the mat, then weigh the fish directly, put floating sack back into the water to get camera gear ready and set up...if not already done in advance. Once the pics are done over the mat and sling, I put the fish back into floating sac/sling, then fold the mat (I have a folding one with handles) and carry to water for release.

It seems the best and safest way to me, but I am always open to new ideas for improving my fish handling skills, so your advice would be very much appreciated, especially if it appears I am doing something wrong!

A quick note to anyone coming to fish on public waters here in France, sacking fish at night here is illegal and is one of the first things a garde de peche is likely to check on if you get a nocturnal visit. This is one of the reasons I very rarely sack my fish.