Free Line 108 — September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 191
PAUL BENNETT
STEVE
BRIGGS
l e an commons between mi d d o u b le s a n d m i d 2 0’ s . O f co u rs e
p e ople just aimed for that s e c ti o n o f t he r ive r w i t h o u t l o o k i n g
f u rther afield but it’s fair to s ay t h at t h ere i s mu c h m ore to
t h e River Lot than Cabana c a n d th e r ive r i s a ct u a l ly a ro u n d
1 0 0 miles long. Carp have g row n o n we ll ove r t h e yea rs a n d
a l so other sections are mo re l i gh tly- sto c ke d an d I ’ve c e rta i n ly
h e ard reports and seen p i ct u re s o f f i s h we i gh i n g m o re t h an
3 0 kg in recent years.
The river is also a lot m o re a c c es s i b le t h a n i t o n ce wa s ,
which could be seen as a g o o d o r b ad t h i n g . M o s t o f t h e t i m e i n
t h e past you had to take to t he b o a t to h ea d o f f for a q u i e t sw i m
o u t of the way, but now muc h o f th e b e tte r k n ow n s ec ti o n s a re
re achable by car. T he nati o n al ro d l i c en s e w i l l c ove r yo u fo r
m ost areas and the many b a rs i n t h e re g i o n s m ay b e a b l e to
h e lp when it comes to nigh t s e c ti o ns a n d are a s fo r a c t i o n o r
b i gger fish.
River Loire
The Loire is the longest rive r i n Fra n ce w i t h a l e n g t h o f 62 9
m i les (1,012 km). It drain s a n are a o f 4 5 , 1 9 5 s q u a re m i l e s ,
o r more t han a fifth of Fra n ce ’ s la n d are a . I t ri s e s i n t h e
h i ghlands of the southeaste r n q u a r te r o f th e M a s s i f Ce n t ra l
i n the Cévennes ran ge. It f l ows n o rt hwa rd fo r ove r 1 , 0 00 k m
( 6 20 mi) through Nevers to O rl éa n s , th e n we s t t h ro u gh To u r s
a n d Nantes until it reache s t he B ay o f B i s cay ( At l a n t i c O c e a n )
a t St Nazaire. Its main tri b u ta ri e s i n cl u d e t h e N i èv re , M ai n e
a n d the Erdre rivers o n i t s r i gh t b a nk , a n d t h e A l l i e r, Ch e r,
I n dre, Vienne, and the Sèv re N a n ta i s e rive r s to t h e l ef t b a n k .
It contains carp throu gh o u t mu c h o f i t s l e n g th a l t ho u gh
t h e average size is sai d to b e a ro u n d 2 0 lb , b u t t h e re c o rd s t a n d s
a t over 60lb. There are l ega l ni gh t are as i n s o m e se c t i o n s ,
FR E ELINE 81
