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the odd lift and lower of the rod tip to
remain in the lower part of the water
column where the pollack feed.
The fish were patchy, located in very
specific spots close to recognisable
features on the screen. One particular
lump of rock was surrounded by fish;
the screen was red above the outlined
rock. I cast my eel and let it sink on
free spool, but keeping in touch by
feathering the free spool of the little
multiplier until the bump of touch-
down was felt. As fast as possible I
clamped my thumb on the spool and
lifted the rod tip, at the same time
winding into gear and then
maintaining the wind at a slow,
steady pace until I was confident of
being out of the danger zone of
becoming snagged.
The lightweight outfit was much less
than we would choose to use for pollack
fishing here in the UK, yet it proved
more than adequate in the limited
depth that we were fishing, mostly
between 50ft and 100ft deep, so even
though the reel only holds about 135
yards of 20lb braid, there was more
than enough to play the feisty pollack,
especially as they were coaxed off the
bottom before taking the lure.
When a pollack takes there is no
mistaking it. As I retrieved slowly a
couple of light knocks were felt, it is a
mistake to slow down at this point so I
just kept winding until the rod hooped
over as a fish took the lure. As soon as
it feels the pressure a pollack will crash
dive for the bottom and the power they
can generate is phenomenal, which is
why you must have your drag set
properly before fishing. The drag
should be adjusted to give line smoothly
as soon as the rod reaches about 75% of
its curve, then as the rod hoops over to
the stiff part of its action the drag can
take over the job of protecting the
leader and hook hold by yielding to
further pressure and giving line under
control. When the fish makes a dive, let
it and use the flexibility of the rod and
the drag to wear it down. Playing the
fish like this I soon had a good pollack
beside the kayak.
Over to my right Denis showed me
how to do it with regular hook-ups to
average sized pollack around the 6lb
mark with one that was as near 15lbs as
doesn’t matter, a real beauty to catch on
light tackle off the kayak – a belting
fish on light tackle anywhere for that
matter! The most successful lure on the
day was the natural coloured Savage
Gear sandeel. With so many fish about
and having caught a few I decided to
give the lemon back version a try. This

brightly coloured version is white

bodied with an orange belly and lemon

yellow back. The fluorescent colours

stood out in the blue water and the fish

certainly found them to their liking

with my biggest of the trip at around

12lbs being caught on the lemon back.

The trip taught me a few things, not

least of which was how many French

anglers fish for sport, taking just one or

two for the table. On our trip Denis put

all of his fish back as he had some in

the freezer from a previous trip. He also

told me that the French anglers only

really target the pollack and bass, but

as a diver for over 40 years he says the

rocks are full of big conger and wrasse.

The tides are too strong for much

netting to take place but what little

hobby netting is done reveals there are

loads of flatfish, whiting and some cod

on the sands and gilthead bream too,

but nobody fishes for them and

certainly nobody bothers fishing off the

shore. Perhaps there is a huge untapped

potential there for the holiday angler to

fill their time with.

Getting there and

accommodation

Brittany Ferries sail daily from Poole

and Portsmouth direct into Cherbourg

itself. I went on the cruise ferry because

the season for the fast ferry hadn’t

started yet. I stayed with Denis in his

family home, but there are good

campsites close to the waterfront at

Camping Municipal La Saline, on the

western outskirts of Cherbourg and

camping IGESA, with other camping

areas close to good launch beaches one

at Hainneville and another at Les

Dunes. Cottages to rent or B&Bs are

plentiful in the area too, if your family

prefers creature comforts home from

home or a small group of anglers want

to share a house.

Landing back on the

beach at half tide –

there is a substantial

tidal range, so a trolley

is a good idea!

There are

some big fish

lurking in

these waters,

which are

perfect for

the kayak

angler

The pollack

took the lures

with confidence

A selection of weighted

sandeels – the heavier

ones proved more

successful in the strong tides

Another

pollack falls

for the Savage

Gear sandeel