My first participation in 2016 on Lac du Bourget is a superb memory, even if I hadn't found the fishing. I was only waiting for one thing: the 2017 edition, which I wouldn't have missed for the world. The kind of competition I love. Everyone on the same line and may the best man win.

This year, Lac de St Cyr has been chosen for the French float tube cup, near Chatellerault in the Vienne department. 85Ha of magnificent biotope and plenty of promise!

9 FSB Carnaclub members took part, and for most of them, this will be their first edition, and they're all ready to go.

For my part, I'm approaching the competition like any other: relaxed (it's only fishing) but with the knife between my teeth... I'm here to fight, otherwise, there's no point in competing. My main objective is to validate 2 additional dates and try to qualify for the final of the French Float tube "Challenger" championship, which will take place on November 10 and 11 in Cergy. A record 71 participants this year. I like that too, the more people there are, the harder it is, the more you're pulled up.

The procedure is simple: 2 rounds, reset to zero at each round and the places from each round are added up. Whoever makes the lowest number wins.

The ranking is done on "fish points" by counting the 6 biggest caught, 1 point per millimeter.

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We don't have much information on the lake, this is the first FFPS date on this stretch of water.

The organizer has shared the map and bathymetry, an effort of deontology very much appreciated, as some of the competitors know the stretch of water very well for fishing there regularly and this willingness to document everyone is welcome.

We know that there are pools, shallower areas and quite a few weed beds. A nice population of Pike and Perch, with a very interesting average size. Catfish and a few pike-perch too.

After analysis of the bathymetry and discussions with other FSB Carnaclub members and a few competitors, I decide on a simple strategy for this first run: I look for the Pike at the start of the run, around the weed beds and then we'll advise depending on how things go, I plan to get on the Perch when the weather is warmer and sunnier, it being overcast in the morning.

10:00 kicks off, and we're off for 8 hours of fishing.

I start with my Pike combo, Rainshadow IFS 904 and Savage gear 20cm Trout. Then I spin some big shads, Pig Shad Jr from CWC and and Dexter 200 from Illex. The idea is to fish on the move, to get to know the environment and beat the ground, then refine afterwards.

As often, everyone quickly leaves for the other side of the lake, I choose to stay around the starting area and grid to understand. A neighbor makes a meshed Pike after 10mn right next to me, it's good, they're active.

I register one or two very shy taps and several follows, I decide to downsize the lures, so I switch to my good old SJ-706-IM from NFC and a 35Grs Divinator color Ablette. BIM. Second cast, I record my first catch, a 71cm Pike. The 706 bends, but the pissed-off Pike climbs anyway. One hour's fishing, already no capot, date validated (ranking assured), first objective achieved.

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I insist on the same combo, I unhook a badly piked Pike and decide to follow the edge about 40m from the edge, the Pikes seem to be above the weedbeds in about 2m of water. 15mn later, second Pike, same combo, 72cm.

I continue along the edge, but record no more hits for over an hour.

I ran the lures a bit on the 706, shads, swimming fish, jerkbait, nothing.

I then switch to crankbaits. The idea is to beat ground by changing zones to find other active fish in "power fishing" mode. I take my NFC CB-704-IM combo, a combo I love and which has won me a huge number of fish. 2 meters deep above the weedbeds, I pass the Bswitcher 2.0, which dives to 2 meters, to pass just above. This crank has the advantage of being ball-less and relatively small in size, so it catches both Pike and Perch. A few casts, and BIM! A cartridge from outer space, I hook a fish that darts around like a madman. They've got a hell of a catch, the pike here. The surprising power reserve for such a blank plays its role, each rush is shorter than the previous one, the fish goes up to the landing net. 79.5cm.

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It's half past noon, with over 4 hours of fishing left, I'm already halfway through my quota of 6 fish, and I'm thinking to myself that it smells good.

Lots of other anglers are catching fish, you can hear the stewards being called almost all the time and they've got work to do, which is very appreciable when we're doing 2-fish-measured dates on the day for more than 20 participants... In the meantime, it keeps the pressure on, I know that 3 fish won't be enough today and that we absolutely must get the 6-fish quota in. Ignore the others and concentrate on your fishing.

I don't record any more bites on the Pike, the sky clears and the sun appears. I take advantage of the moment for a snack and decide to devote myself now to building up the quota by getting on the Perch.

I find a very localized school of Perch on the edge of the weed bed, I stop and switch to Drop Shot. I pull out my NFC MB-661-HM combo and a double drop on 5Grs of sinker, a neon yellow Gtail Saturn and a black One'Up. I always mount high contrasts in double drop, to see what it takes on.

A few animations, the Perches chew but it's shy, then a super fine, barely perceptible touch, shoeing, hanging. I pull in a 27cm Perch. Circling the spot, I see a few bigger echoes, probably Pike looking for the Perch too... I cast again into the bank, and suddenly, big stop. I cast, the 661 bends, bends again, but nothing moves... then it's gone. The brake sings, it bends again right up to the handle... I'm on fluoro, 20/100... absolute stress... get it up, stop it jumping, turning over... it arrives at the landing net after 2-3 hearty rushes, I can see the hook at the corner of my mouth, if it turns over, it's dead. I decide to exhaust it immediately, I lower the landing net, it turns over one last rush, but I manage to get it into the landing net... it cuts me off, but I have the last word. 5th fish, 70cm, now it's starting to smell good.

It's only 14:10... giving up nothing, maybe I can play higher than "just" validating a date... There's still plenty of time, I'm at 5 fish, I only need one to complete the quota.

I decide to insist on the Perch, but without success, I can't find them.

The end of the run is at 18:00, fishing has slowed down for everyone, I'm missing a fish, I've covered quite a bit of ground, I try to analyze. Around 15:00, I decide to try a risky move and go for the Pike to get my 6th fish. It's always risky to target Pike, but so far my choices have worked, so it's worth a try. As I analyze my bites and catches, I tell myself that Pike are lurking in the weeds, taking what passes under their noses in 2 meters of water. I decide to insist on this principle, while covering ground and not staying on the zones. I select a few cranks that dive to 2m, with and without balls, and choose a hard lure I really like, which moves a lot of water and... swims to 2m, the Rapala X-Rap, which I mount on the IFS 904. I run cranking on the CB-704, divinator on the SJ-706 and X-Rap on the IFS 904. And it works! 15:40, the X-Rap is stopped dead in its tracks, another crazy touch and a huge fight. And yet, this will be my smallest Pike of the round... 63cm.

But that's it, I've got my quota, and with 5 Pikes please. At this point, I'm sure I'll be well placed. I know a lot of people will be on quota, but 5 pikes out of 6 fish beats all the "Perch quotas" and what's more I've got a pretty high average, at over 70cm, so over 700 points per pike.

I'll stick with this strategy until the end of the round, but no more fish will come in.

End of this first round of the French float tube cup, regrouping, endless discussions about various fortunes. In the club Adrien has hit the spot on the Perches, David makes a nice quota too with a Pike over 80cm. A lot of people made quota, but not many with 5 Pikes, so it looks good for the round. I doubt I'll be in the top 10 for sure, or even the top 5... the rankings come down: I'm 2nd in the round, and first in the "Challengers" behind Julien Himbert and ahead of all the others, "Elite" category included!

It makes for a pretty special Pleasure. On the one hand, it's great: I've validated the date to qualify for the Challenger final, and with a 1st place, I've smashed my initial target. But 2nd in the scratch race, inevitably, makes you think of things...

Raclette evening with the club at the Campsite, we replay the match in all directions and sleep.

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[caption id="attachment_1067" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Woke up early. Slept great. Convocation 06:30, briefing, start of race 08:00 until 16:00.[/caption]

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Confirm, now. So many people have scored on one round and nothing on the other that I've decided to keep things simple. My initial objective was to validate two dates, I've done that for one, I'm going to look for the other. Once that's done, we'll decide what to do next. Let's take things one step at a time, and not get carried away with any crazy plans. This is all the more important as fish that are in great demand the day before are often very wary the day after. Very often the second round is much harder than the first...

Strategy decision: start with the Perch to ensure. Adrien made a killing the day before on the bank opposite the boat launch, in front of the pedal-boat beach. I decide to go fishing for Pike like the day before, fishing in 2m on the weedbeds while webbing, then looking for the Perch once I get to the area.

I iron my IFS-904 combo and X-Rap, alternating with the SJ-706 and the same Divinator as the day before. No touch, no tracking, no nothing. Arriving on the zone, I see a school of Perch on the sounder, I stop.

I pick up the MB-661 and its double drop, which I mount with a white One'Up 3inch and a black 2inch. And I throw in the bench. A few hyper-discrete touches, and then a few empty shots. Then an imperceptible stop (except by the 661-HM...) on the next cast, hooking, it doesn't move... the fight begins and I net a 39cm Perch. On the white 3-inch One'Up... a lure I hadn't passed the day before... I tell myself that as soon as I decide on something, it definitely works...

I insist, quickly tucking in a second 28cm Perch. Then nothing. The bench has moved and I can't locate it. But it's not yet 09:00, in less than an hour of fishing I've already caught 2 fish, the date is validated, the initial objective definitively achieved. It helps to take a step back, of course...

I see quite a few white fish fly around me. The sun's coming up, no wind at all, the surface is smooth as a mirror. I doubt the Pike are active, so I decide to insist on the Perch.

I position myself in the middle of the schools of whites and decide to do a 360 by casting all around. I choose a Black Minnow 90, Glitter White since the color worked on the Perches just before. I pull out my NFC SJ-762-HM combo and begin my casts/animations, with fairly aggressive twitching, to make the BM "darter", an animation that works very well with this lure and which the 762 acquits itself very well.

A few unfulfilled bites... then BIM! A big stop, in "interception" mode. It wasn't a Perch tapping into the whites, but a Pike. Another big fight, but on this occasion, the 762's power reserve got the better of it very quickly. Thanks to the steel leader that I always use in "Pike" waters, even when fishing for Perch. Because the BM is cased, without steel, it was an immediate cut... 69cm. 3 fish it's barely 09:00, whaoo!!

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I tell myself that if a Pike is active, he's not alone. So I decide to switch to Pike mode, pull out the IFS-904 and its X-Rap. I check the area, swimming in both directions, in front of the beach and over the weed beds. When I pass over a shoal of Perch, I change combo and try the drop shot, which will bring in another Perch, 27cm, Fourth fish. A little later, X-Rap casing, 62cm Pike on the landing net, still in the same area.

It's 10:30, I'm already up to 5 fish including 2 Pike. Around me, people have pulled in quite a few Perch, they're active and lots of people are concentrating on them. There have also been several gleanings, which, even with a coef of 0.5, are worth quite a few points. But there's still a lot of time left, and I'm thinking that "Perch quotas" alone won't be enough for this round, as so many are going to do it. So I decide to insist on Pike.

Having exploited the area quite a bit, I then decide on a trick that never works. The day before, I had some Pike followed in the morning to the area just in front of the boat launch. It's about the same time... I decide to go back. I cross the whole lake looking for Pike, alternating SJ-706/Divinator, CB-704/Crank 2m and IFS-904/X-Rap, no reason to change things that have worked so far. Arriving in the area, I launch the X-Rap right on the previous day's herbarium. Animation begins, and BIM! Another touch of space, another big fight and I float a 79cm Pike. A sick trick... it never happens... but it did.

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It's 11:00, the quota has been filled with 3 Pikes, one of which is pretty, and 3 Perches, one of which is also pretty, and there's still 5 hours of fishing left. The fun's over, I know it's going to be the top of the leaderboard, it's just a question of how high up... I stay in Pike mode, I bottom the whole area alternating the same combos, but no hits. I spin a few other lures, but to no avail. No wind, bright sunshine and warmth settle on the lake. Arriving in the middle of the lake, I come across my friend Vincent, who's making a killing on Perch, and in good size. I decide to try and improve my Perches, replacing the 27 and 28 with 30+ might help.

I bring out the SJ-762/Black Minnow combo again, but switch to the glittery black in size 90, to amplify the contrast with the blue sky.

I make a few Perches, but don't improve. And then another stop, another big fight... another Pike!!! I can't believe it... 62cm, so I take the 27 perch out of my quota, a gain of 350 points. It's barely 14:00, 2 hours of fishing left, I have 4 pikes, admittedly smaller than the day before, but hey... I insist a little on the Perch, but without improving, I switch back to Pike mode for the last hour and a half.

I finally hit one, still on the X-Rap, 6mn before the end of the round. He gives me another good fight, but when I get to the float, I have a doubt: is he meshing? I call the stewards and while they're arriving, I measure him on my knees. Not easy because it's not straight... I'm 59cm... the mesh is 60, if you present the stewards with an unmeshed fish, it's cancelled and you take a 500-point penalty... I think this brooch is potentially the one to win, but that the 500 penalty points are probably ejection from the podium... I don't take the risk, I put it back in the water and cancel the stewards' visit.

Discussing and with feedback from others, he's made a lot of fish, a few Catfish but mostly Perch and relatively few Pike. I know then that I'm well placed on this run too. A bit of intoxication while waiting for the results, Matthieu Cabar is at 5 Pikes, but he's the only one... I know at this point that the podium is assured, it remains to be seen which step.

Finally, I'm 2nd in the second round of the French float tube cup, behind Matthieu. The latter broc was effectively the fish to win the heat had it been meshed. But in the end, as Matthieu was far behind yesterday, he's not dangerous in the overall standings, the most important thing is that Julien Himbert who was ahead of me in heat 1 is ranked further than 3rd in heat 2, and... he is!!

When the result comes in, I have to admit I'm a bit high... not only did I confirm yesterday's heat, but I win... Second participation... if someone had told me that before, I'd have had a good laugh... winning the French Cup on my second participation, after only 4 years of "serious" fishing and for my first full year of competition.... and in front of the Elite competitors (the first division, that is...)... it leaves a rather special feeling, and a rather pleasant one, I must say.

[caption id="attachment_1070" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Incredible victory in the 2017 French float tube cup![/caption]

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My lesson from this lovely weekend is that if there's one truth to fishing, it's... that there isn't. I finished ahead of guys who fish 10 times better than me, Julien and David Imbert, Matthieu Cabar, and lots of others I know less about. Over time, against them, I take 10 heaps... but that's what's so nice about "one-day" competitions (even in two legs), it's that anything is possible... Now, back to earth, the hoods will continue to exist, no doubt about it, the doubts too, the strategies "that don't work", fishing is and will always remain the only way to win. Fishing is and always will be the school of humility, but on the other hand, at every next competition where I come across these super anglers, it's going to be "I did it once, so why not?

Finally, a big thank you to the organizers, a perfectly prepared and executed event from every point of view by Poitier Pêche Sportive, with a special dedication to Rodhouse and Goulven for the support and the magnificent blanks that enabled me to achieve this result. With an extremely low strike/hook rate, and in competition, it's often on the strike that things get lost... Rodhouse has a French Float tube cup to his credit. After a Champion de France Bateau last year, it's starting to talk, even in fresh water!!