Fly-fishing
René Longval, the founding president of Société mauricienne des pêcheurs, has more than one trick up his sleeve when it comes to trout fishing. It's as a complete neophyte that I approached my master, so that he may teach me the basics of fly-fishing. And since teasing the fish is not part of my daily routine, I chose to tease the man instead.
«Mr Longval, these fish don't seem to be biting very hard...», I tell him as we stand at the edge of the quay.
«For us, catching a fish is like the cherry on top of the sundae, he answers. Even if we don't fulfill our fishing quotas, we sure fill our fun quotas! When the fish aren't feeling cooperative, I photograph wild mushrooms and flowers, I take the time to look at nature...»
Retired for the past five years, Longval teaches this complex art at the Seigneurie du Triton, a magnificent game preserve dating back to 1893, and which used to cater to rich Americans. It was an exceptional site, favored by Nobel Prize recipients and United States Presidents, and it hasn't lost any of it's charm. Then called the Triton Fish and Game Club, the preserve was bought by Quebec interests in the early 80s. Because the Seigneurie cannot be reached by car, a boat picks up the visitors as they exit the train station.
Mr Longval shares the heavy burden of teaching the visitors to the game preserve with Marcel Bordeleau, another experienced fisherman. The two men, who are as patient as hibernating bears, have become fast friends: they've been fishing together for over forty years. Funny without trying to be and hard at work, they are the Dupond and Dupont of fly-fishing. Except that unlike the characters in the world-famous French comic strip, this time it's Tintin, the reporter, that is overtaken by what's going on... once the two men embark on a conversation, it's impossible to stop them. And they never contradict one another.
The throwing of the line, characteristic of fly-fishing, is not something you learn in an afternoon. «The most difficult thing, explains René Longval, is to give your pole the right arch, which must begin at 1 o'clock and end at 11 o'clock, if you imagine your pole to be the hands of a watch. Often, people have a tendency to be too late!»
«You musn't crack the line too hard, says Marcel Bordeleau. You don't give it a sudden tug, just bring it back with a smooth movement of the arm.»
And again... «It's not the distance that matters, but the quality of the throw», adds René, like a wise fisherman.
«Sometimes we catch trout right beside the boat! You don't need to throw the line fifteen feet away...» says Marcel.
«You have to delicately put the fly on the water, and let it rest ten or fifteen seconds; then you take it away, as if it were a real insect, flying away», René answers.
«That's why you must be observant and copy the movements of live insects», adds Marcel, as he gracefully throws a line towards the horizon.
«That's the reason why we always have small nets with us in the boat, we collect insects and study their colors, their proportions, etc. Is that observant enough for you?!», concludes a smiling René.
It's by carefully listening to these two valiant fishermen that I understood that fly-fishing is more about the fly than the fish...
«Still haven't had a bite, you guys...», I say.
«Ah! Young man, fly-fishing is the height of pleasure! retorts René. Especially when you make your own flies.»
So, fly-fishing is not only about throwing the line, it's also about the art of crafting lures. Something which, by the way, our heroes are consummate experts at doing.
As night falls on Seigneurie du Triton, Marcel and René ask us to meet them in the Seigneurie's luxurious lounge, between two stuffed moose heads, so that they may give us some entomology lessons, and a host of ideas on how to make insects that look deceptively lifelike. The video which accompanies this report shows René making a lure.
«There are three different types of artificial flies, explains René Longval. The imitative, which more closely resembles the real insect; the suggestive, which mirrors the look and shape of the insect; and finally, the attractive, more colorful and flashy, which grabs the attention of the fish.»
To make a good lure, one needs to pay attention to the most minute of details; one also has to be resourceful in order to find the proper materials to faithfully reproduce the insect; a test of patience which keeps our two friends busy during the long winters, as they wait for spring and that moment when they'll be able to go back to Seigneurie du Triton.
