Free Line 108 — September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 189
PAUL BENNETT
STEVE
BRIGGS
t h e flow is strong enough a n d I wo u ld c er t a i n ly g o fo r fa i rly
l a rge hooks of size 4 and u pwa rd s .
The type of river you wa n t to f i sh w i l l va ry g re a t ly a n d
w i ll depend on a lot of th i n gs . Fo r s o m e p e o p l e t h e t h ri l l o f
f i s hing a tiny river and c a tc hi ng c o mp le te ly vi rg i n f i s h w i l l
b e their driving force, wh i le fo r o t he r s i t wi l l b e th e b u z z o f
t a ckling one of the huge wa te rways w i t h n o i d e a wh at w i l l
p i ck their bait up next – o n ma ny r ive r s t he re i s th e p o te n t i a l
fo r something tiny or inde e d o f re co rd -b re a k i n g p rop o rt i o n s
a n d so the best thing is to go t h ro u gh s o m e o f t h e o p t i o n s a n d
a l ittle bit of what they have to o f fe r.
River S e ine
I ’ll start with what is obv i o us ly t he m o s t fa m o u s o f a l l t h e
French rivers. The Seine i s t h e s e co n d l o n g e s t Fre nc h r ive r
a f ter the Loire. It rises 1 8 mi le s ( 3 0 ki l o m e t re s ) n o rt hwe s t
o f Dijon and flows in a no r t hwe ste rly d i re ct i o n t h ro u gh Pa ri s
b e fore emptying into the E n gl i sh Ch an n e l a t Le Hav re . T h e r ive r
i s 485 miles (780 kilomet re s) l o n g a n d w i t h i t s t rib u ta ri e s
d rains an area of ab out 3 0 , 4 0 0 s q ua re m i le s ( 7 8, 7 00 s q u a re
k i lometres).
Carp can be found v irtu a lly t hro u gh i t s e n ti re l e n g t h b u t i t
i s the areas around Paris wh i c h a tt ra ct mo st o f t h e a t te n t i o n .
I t was the section where th e Rive r Yo n n e jo i ns th e S e i n e wh e re
t h e worlds first 80lb car p wa s l an d e d by M a rc e l Ro uv i e re
b a ck in the early 19 80 ’s a n d a lt h o u gh t he re h ave b ee n s o me
re servations about the we i gh t o f t ha t f i s h, t h e re ’ s n o d o u b t
i t was a huge fish for the ti m e . T h e are as o f Fo n tai n e b l e au
a n d Montereau have always b e en ve r y p o p u la r, es p e c i al ly w i t h
m any British anglers from t he l ate 1 9 8 0 ’s .
In more recent years i t i s t h e c en t re o f Pa ri s wh i c h h a s
FR E ELINE 79
