Cotentin. A beginner, she catches a huge pike: “On the order of the exceptional”

Mathilde Berhault will remember it for a long time! Beginner fisherman since the opening of the season Saturday April 27, 2024this young woman of 22 years old indulged in her new hobby in the Douve river in Picauville (Manche) for only the second time, on the evening of Wednesday May 8.

Suddenly, the sensors on his livefishing rod sounded. A big fish had bitten the hook, on which roaches were attached. “Luckily my husband and theone of his friends were with me, otherwise he remained in the water! », remembers the native Cotentinoise, who wanted to imitate her 33-year-old partner, himself a fishing enthusiast for around twenty years.

“The fish of a lifetime”

A pike, weighing 10.2 kg and 1.10 m long, finally found himself in the arms of the neo-fisherman. “My husband told me it was the fish of a lifetime! »

This is confirmed by Thibault Noesser, president of Aappma (Approved Association for Fishing and Protection of Aquatic Environments) Trout Cherbourgeoise-Mouche de Saire, whose territory covers the five large watersheds of the North Cotentin . “There aren’t many fish of this size here. It’s extraordinary ! » A member of the same association adds a layer, supporting figures:

Generally, we are between 60 and 70 cm. This is something exceptional.

As a result, the two fishermen take the opportunity to remind people that it is necessary preserve as much as possible these extraordinary fish. “Locally, they do not grow very quickly because of the biotope», explains one. ” There regulationdoes not help, because it allows amateurs to take pike without maximum size limit, contrary to the rules in other departments, the minimum being 60 cm. And as they are many , the fish do not have time to grow. »

Their message is very clear: we must release fish of this size, to protect the resource . “It’s about the future and some sustainability watercourses. THE large spawners like this pike are better in rivers. » As Thibault Noesser points out, a female pike measuring more than one meter will be able to lay many more eggs year-round than another smaller one.

More communication

If Mathilde Berhault wanted to keep her enormous specimen, she would like to point out that she will put the next ones back in the water, while she does not intend to abandon her new passion on such a good path. “The day we caught that one, we released all the other fish. »

So that the Picauvillaise and other fishermen in the department can continue to survey the department’s waterways, the members of the Aappma have several ideas in mind to preserve the resource.

More and more young people are using the lure. They usually take a souvenir photo and release the fish. 30% of our routes are also “no kill”: samples are prohibited. We also limit a maximum of six trout per day and per person, including two brown trout.

His comrade encourages more communication and of consultationbetween fishermen, huntersAnd farmers.

” We have a exceptional playground, fabulous ! We need to put everyone around the table to move forward. » And so that in a few years, catching a 1m10 pike will no longer be an event.

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