Mention the white cliffs of Dover to a fly fisher and they will automatically think of chalk stream fishing in the nearby Hampshire countryside of southern England. However, those same white cliffs are not limited to the British side of the English Channel. The chalk plains of northern Normandy have the same white cliffs and the same type of streams. A two to three hour drive from Paris will put you there.
To get some help in this endeavor I used the services of Nick at Gourmetfly.com. While Nick can help anglers finding fishing destinations all over France, his home waters are in the Normandy region. Via email I told Nick when and gave him a general region of where I wanted to fish. In my case, I informed him that I would be driving in from Eindhoven, the Netherlands. I wanted to fish Friday evening, do some touring during the day Saturday and then fish in the late afternoon and evening. I also wanted to fish all day Sunday before returning to Eindhoven Monday morning. Nick promptly made a proposal meeting all of my requirements. After I agreed, to his suggested itinerary, he made all of the arrangements as far as reserving rooms and beats along the various suggested rivers. He then sent me a detailed confirmation containing locations, driving directions, contacts and costs. Some of these costs were charged to my card and others needed to be paid in cash on the spot. He also sent suggestions on the type of equipment to bring and recommended flies. His itineraries also contained recommended restaurants and points of interest to visit in route from one location to another. This was all done quickly and efficiently via email. Additionally, Nick had a client that had asked for the same type of arrangements as I. He asked if it was OK if I had a fishing partner for the weekend, which was fine with me. Friday evening, Nick scheduled me to fish the la Touques for sea trout. The la Touques meanders northward through Norman countryside and enters the English Channel at the fishing town of Trouville. It has a run of sea trout, sea run browns, which return to their home stream for spawning purposes. These trout can reach between 8 and 12 pounds. Like many anadromous fish today, the la Touques� sea trout population is sustained via a hatchery, even though there is some natural propagation. The counter at the hatchery indicated that year to date, 1,810 fish had returned. On arriving at the designated meeting spot, an auberge in the village of Coquainvilliers, I meet Matthias, who would be fishing with me for the weekend. Christian Graule, the river keeper, soon joined us. After introductions, Christian led as we drove to the fishing area just outside of the village. Here we processed our licenses and fees. Eric then showed Matthias and me around the beat indicating its boundaries and best fishing spots. Christian�s English is extremely limited and so is my French. Fortunately, Matthias spoke a bit of French. The la Touques isn�t a river for the inexperienced. While it is a small river, about 40 feet wide in most parts, it can be very deep, particularly at the bends. Its high banks and multitude of trees make it difficult to wade and cast most places. Most casting is done while standing on the river�s banks. Casting into some of the choice water requires getting the fly under the tree braches on the opposite bank while contending the overgrown grasses and thistles acting as line snaggers on your side of the river. In places where you can wade, the banks and vegetation make it necessary to be able to roll cast. Since this is an evening fishery, we were fishing at the best time for sea trout. The evening was clear and it stayed light until around 11:00. Matthais had better success than I did. He hooked into a couple of resident brown trout and one sea trout. Unfortunately, the sea trout unbuttoned itself after several jumps. As sea trout can be rather robust, a single-handed seven or eight-weight rod is suggested. I used a sink tip line and found myself mired in the river growth quite a bit. Matthais used an intermediate line and did not have the same issues. Sea trout flies are similar the summer steelhead flies in sizes 8 and 10. While Nick suggested both brown and black variants, the fellow at the Pont Leveque tackle shop preferred black. Christian indicated that he liked a larger orange fly as soon as dusk sets in. Also, I would recommend hip waders, at the least, to help facilitate the release of any fish caught. Saturday�s agenda held the River Andelle in store. This is a classic chalk stream with a bit of pedigree. At one time, these were the waters of the French and British privileged class. Some notable Americans such as Eisenhower and Hemingway have fished this stretch of river as well. However, changing times allowed a local fellow to become river keeper. Now we can fish in the same water as the select few before us. As in the la Touque, this is for the most part, an evening fishery. Classic fly- fishing rules, where you spot and cast to rising fish, are encouraged. The river itself is about 30 feet wide but it does have braids in places. While it is necessary to have waders, most fishing is done from the bank. Waders are necessary to facilitate release of the fish, cross the river or make difficult casts. The grounds are fantastic! The centerpiece is the Ch�teau de Radepont, which now functions as a community center. Another notable landmark is the 13th century Abbey of Fontaine Gu�rard, which marks the downstream boundary of the property. Matthias and I arrived early. Not seeing any rising fish and being impatient, I did a bit of nymphing and wet fly fishing with some success catching several browns in the 10� � 14� range. Nick arrived around 5:00. Nick speaks excellent English, which made introductions easier than the previous evening. After introductions, we fished a bit and then moved down river a half kilometer or so where there is a small fishing chalet (hut). Here, we had a BBQ picnic along the river. Nick put on a very nice spread with fresh bread, cheese and assorted barbequed meats. This was complemented with both red and white wines, an after dinner coffee and digestif. After this dinner, you are all set to go fishing. Dry fly fishing the Andelle requires a sure cast and a degree of line control but is not nearly as demanding as the la Touque. You walk along the banks watching for rising trout and present your fly. These fish are wary. They set themselves down with a less than stealthy approach or an errant cast on your part. After the dinner above, that was quite a challenge. While I caught only one trout after dinner, I had lots of opportunity to do better than I did. A four or five weight rod with a floating line is all that is necessary here. Standard dries such as Hendricks�, Adams� and Caddis� along with some emergers between sizes 14 and 20 will suffice. Bring along some beadheads in case you want to try some nymphing. Tippet sizes between a 5X and 7X will do. Streamers are not allowed on this water. Sunday�s fishing was for rising Grayling on the River Iton. However, instead of the clear skies we had the previous two days, in typical European fashion, the weather changed. It reverted to April with gray skies, intermittent rains and cooler temperatures. There must have been some kind of miscommunication because when we arrived on site at the pre-arranged time of 10:00, the river keeper was not there. After waiting 20 minutes, I called the river keeper using my mobile and the phone number Nick had provided me in case any issues should arise. I was able to communicate that we were on site and waiting to get access to the beat. After another 20 � 30 minutes, Eric Baud, the keeper arrived. Eric spoke limited English, fortunately we were able to communicate through Matthias. Having a European mobile phone prevented the situation from being a disappointment. Without it, I would have needed to drive into la Bonneville, the closest village, and find a public phone from which to make calls. Again, this was a classic spring creek with heavy weed growth in the water. It is about 40 - 45 feet wide in places. Because of the weather, the expected hatches did not occur. The weed growth made nymph fishing difficult except in a few locations. Nonetheless, I did manage both a very nice brown and grayling while nymphing some of the deeper waters with a weighted olive scud. During the course of the day, the weather improved and the hatches began. The dry fly of choice here was a size 16 CDC caddis. It worked when nothing else would. With dries, I caught another very nice brown trout and several grayling. Again, this is more technical water. The fish are wary and tend to rise on the opposite bank. The lower half of the beat is too deep to wade so in this section you need to cast from the far bank when you see a riser. Frequently you need to cast over shrubbery growing along the river�s edge. While the setting is very nice, it isn�t as grand as the Andelle. The grounds have two small chalets for the angler. One dual functioned as the river keeper�s tool shed. The other is built in the classic Norman half-timbered style. This beat is not nearly as long as the Andelle. When there aren�t many rising fish, this stretch of ground can be covered very quickly. Equipment requirements are the same as the Andelle. For some photos, go to: http://community.webshots.com/album/169446836OvKhzg I suggest that you use the slideshow option to view the photos. That will get you around the obnoxious ads. Michael Santangelo
