3 Blondes sitting by the river....

Three blondes are sitting by the side of a river holding fishing poles with the lines in the water. A Game Warden comes up behind them, taps them on the shoulder and says, "Excuse me, ladies, I'd like to see your fishing licenses."

"We don't have any." replied the first blonde.

"Well, if your going to fish, you need fishing licenses." said the Game Warden.

"But officer," replied the second blonde,"we aren't fishing. All we have are magnets at the end of our lines and we're collecting debris off the ottom of the river."

The Game Warden lifted up all the lines and, sure enough, there were horseshoe magnets tied on the end of each line. "Well, I know of no law against it," said the Game Warden, "take all the debris you want." And with that, the Game Warden left.

As soon as the Game Warden was out of sight, the three blondes started laughing hysterically. "What a dumb Fish Cop," the second blonde said to the other two, "doesn't he know that there are steelhead in this river?!"

Line Size...

Baitcast reels can handle heavier line and actually allow for longer casts than spinning gear in the same size range.

Line size probably plays the most important roll in tackle selection. Whether fishermen realize it or not, pros are using baitcast tackle for a very specific reason. Baitcast reels can handle heavier line and actually allow for longer casts than spinning gear in the same size range. Anglers regularly use line in the 14- to 17-pound-test range. A small spinning reel has a smaller, narrower spool, which has a hard time with large diameter lines. Small baitcast reels can handle these lines and provide greater casting distance.


Baitcast rods usually have more backbone than spinning rods too. The backbone of a rod is the portion of the blank closest to the handle that gives the least when bent. When properly constructed, a casting rod's backbone will lie directly on top of the blank as the angler holds the rod. This backbone allows lures to be "ripped" through vegetation more easily, while also ensuring a more powerful hook-set than a spinning rod of the same class.

The arrival of braided line, with its thin diameter and much heavier breaking strength, brought some issues to light in fishing circles. This super-thin line causes problems on baitcast reels simply because it is so small in diameter. Setting the hook on a fish with braided line on a baitcasting reel tends to bury the line deep into the spool, a situation that will cause a major backlash on the very next cast. (Small line diameter is also why monofilament lines less than about 10-pound test are seldom found on baitcast reels.)

The availability of larger spinning reels with better drags accounts for the increased use of spinning tackle in saltwater applications.

Spinning tackle, on the other hand, usually handles braids much better. In fact, several manufacturers make reels that pick line up onto the spool in such a way that it can't bury itself into the spool on a hook set. That, coupled with the virtual no-stretch quality of braided line, has made spinning tackle more and more attractive to anglers.


From a saltwater perspective, anglers using baitcasting outfits can be seen more often these days fishing the inshore arena. The heavy use of artificial lures in backwaters coupled with reels that can now stand up to saltwater conditions have made baitcasters very popular today.

The spinning tackle used in saltwater today tends to be larger than that used in freshwater and consists of larger reels on heavier rods and line up to 30-pound test.

Anglers looking to make a choice between spinning tackle and baitcasting tackle need to look at their specific fishing techniques before making that choice. In reality the choice is not between which one an angler uses. It has become more of a choice of which of the two an angler will use in a given situation. In general, the lighter the line required in a given fishing situation, the more attractive spinning tackle becomes.

Live Bait

A local fisherman returning from a fishing trip with 6 large size salmon in his creel. Nosy Parker comes along and asks if the man been fishing. "Yer!" replied our stalwart. Asked what bait he had been using our hero replied that he had used chewing tobacco. Nosey asked how one used chewing tobacco as bait, and our man replied, "I put the tobacco on the hook in the normal way, cast in the normal way and when the fish strikes I haul back on the line to hook it. When the fish comes up to spit, I hit it on the head with but of my rod!" Needless to say there were no more questions.

Top 5 Fishing Lakes in France

1. Gigantica

Right, I know we recommended Lake Genesis on the Carp Fishing Holidays page, but who can argue with a lake called “Gigantica”, with a name this big it just has to be first, don’t it? Gigantica was once called the rather boring and unimaginative “Domaine St Christophe”, French we think, means something like “Christopher’s Domain”, whoever this Christopher is, he is a bit selfish naming the whole thing after himself. Luckily in September 2008, the Lake was bought by Danny “Turtle” Turley or as he is known to the great unwashed who bow before him – “Le Grand Fromage”, which means “The Big Cheese” or to those of you who failed GCSE French, “The Great Munch Bunch”.
By buying the lake, Turtle/Cheese was fulfilling every anglers dream, it doesn’t get much better than owning your own lake, with a lake everyday is like a carp fishing holiday. When he took ownership, Turtle decided a name change was in order and not being a selfish b****** like that fella Christopher, he decided on the mahoosive godly name of…you might need a sit down for this, “GIGANTICAAAAAAAAAAA”, whoah sucker scared ya there sucker? Basically he named the lake, Gigantica because of the huge carp that swim there, like your local Greggs at lunchtime, there are nothing but heavyweights in this lake. Unlike Greggs there is plenty of room to move, Turtle dropped the maximum number of anglers from 26 down to just 12.
Located in the town of St Christophe Dodinicourt, Gigantic is about a 3 and a half hours from Calais.

2. Lake Genesis   Number 2 on our list has to go to the previously mentioned fishing holiday location of Lake Genesis. Genesis is surrounded by beauty and history, just 15 minutes away is the town of Carrouges with its 14 century chateau, which the English took great pleasure in destroying in 1367. Run by Eddy and Val, Lake Genesis is located about 4½ hours from Calais and 2 hours from Le Harve, so it is an alright distance whether you choose to get the ferry across or go through the tunnel. There is about 2 ton of carp in Lake Genesis so it makes for a good carp fishing holiday with plenty to catch, in the lake there are commons, mirrors and even a few Koi and a grass carp. Nice range of weights too, with fish ranging from 13lbs up to 35lbs.

3. Ribiere

Coming in at number 3 is Ribiere, no not the footballer with Frankenstein features, but the lake. Lake Ribiere is a large water of about 10 hectares with swims on both sides. A former gravel pit, check out my gravel pit, Ribiere has depths varying from 6 metres to 1.5 metres. All the pegs there are real wide with plenty of space, so much space they can comfortably accommodate 3 or 4 anglers without any unwanted man loving. Facilities are absolutely top notch, Ribiere really adds a bit of luxury to your fishing in France experience. At the lake there are 6 studio-apartments sleeping up to 4 people and only a mere 150 metres from the lake. The apartments feature double beds (handy for those of you who do enjoy man loving), en-suite shower room, kitchen dining area and all important, a couch. They have satellite TV but English channels aren’t up to much, you have a choice of BBC World, CNN and er Euronews, but hey less time in front of the box is more time spent on the lake. The most luxurious thing however has got to go to the fact you get exclusive use of heated swimming pool and sauna, it may sound more suited to that spa weekend you carted your missus off to, to go on this carp fishing holiday, but honestly they provide some sweet relief after a long day of catching carp. As for stock, the lake houses carp up to 50lbs, there are also a load of catfish present too. Ribiere is located in the south of France, just outside of Limoges.

4. Lac les Pins

At 4 is Lac les Pins, this one is an absolute beaut, set in such a stunning and idyllic location, the lake is set amongst a mass of pine trees. Previously this lake and its surrounding area were used to hunt wild boar, there are said to be a few of the beasts still around and also if you are lucky you may just spot a deer coming down for a drink from the lake at sunrise. A stream fed lake, so there is no need to worry about losing depths, the stream also feeds plenty of natural food resources into the lake (for the fish, not you). The stunning specimens of Carp are a mixture of mirrors and commons with weights ranging from 20lbs to 50lbs. There are 9 swims on the lake, which are accessible from all sides. To enhance the quality of your carp fishing holiday, the owners of the lake, only allow 6 anglers to fish at a time, giving each angler a larger area to fish. As for facilities, there are gas burners near the swims for hot drinks etc. Hot showers and luxury wash facilities are also available in a newly refurbished lodge. Lac les Pins is located in the Limousin area of France on the border with the Dordogne.

5. Etang La Ridelee

Finally comes Etang La Ridelee, which at first sounded a bit like a dogging site to us, but we were assured its not. Situated in the Mayenne region of Northern France, Etang La Ridelee is another beaut, a private tranquil 40 year old 5 acre fishing lake. Etang La Ridelee really is a private affair with just one log cabin that will accommodate up to 4 people. The cabin has all ya usual shower and toilet facilities, so you don’t have to go at one with nature. It also features a fridge-freezer, satellite TV, DVD and a kitchen. As for fish, it is a bit of a mixed bag, it currently has some middleweight carp with weights up to 36lb, it also has some Crucians, Zander, Catfish, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Pike and Perch.