9.8 kg Pollack – French Record
After a rather quiet end to the 2008 season, this fishing trip planned for early 2009 would leave an unforgettable memory — with the capture of a French record pollack.
During the severe frost of early 2009, the weather was clearly better suited to staying indoors and winterising the boat. As for me, the end of the previous year had been fairly slow. I had spent a few weekends exploring new areas without any real success — it happens to everyone. So for the start of 2009, I changed strategy with one clear goal: find big fish offshore on less-visited spots. We would have to run several dozen nautical miles out to sea, hoping to hook large pollack. But I was far from imagining what was about to happen.
Even the harbour water was frozen
At 5 a.m., the dashboard read -7°C. By 7 a.m., I arrived at Les Minimes harbour to confirm what I had already suspected from a distance — even the harbour waters had partially frozen over, with a surprising layer of ice forming between the pontoons and the rocks. We left the harbour aboard my friend Yannick’s boat, heading out for a long run offshore. The sun rose under a clear sky. Thanks to the large windshield, we could talk comfortably during the trip without being too bothered by the cold.
Our first wreck showed great fish marks on the sounder. Unfortunately, wind against tide is never a good sign. Once again, it proved true: we didn’t get a single bite.
I hook the pollack, it takes 15 meters of braid
We pushed even further offshore to another wreck. This time, the current dropped and the bites came quickly.
I rigged a chartreuse glitter slug and felt a tap, then another one — I struck. The fish was heavy and quickly became aggressive, taking around ten metres of braid in its first run. I tightened the drag to slow it down. Little by little, I recovered line, but the fish kept fighting hard, making powerful runs that almost made me doubt it was a pollack. At the same time, Anthony, who was with us, also hooked a fish. I slowly worked mine back up, but it kept diving right down to the last meter under the boat. Then a pale shape appeared at the surface — a superb fish. The distinct mark surfaces; it’s a superb fish.
A True Trophy Fish
At first glance, Yannick immediately told me it was over 8 kg. What a feeling. Smiling from ear to ear, I admired this incredible predator and we took time to capture the moment with a few photos. The pollack then spat out a small, shiny whiting, showing what it had been feeding on down on the bottom.
Around 9 kg on board.
On the scale, the fish weighed a solid 9 kg, but with the swell it was hard to get a stable reading. Either way, at that point, I knew it was already a personal record.
The fish was extremely thick — a real monster.
Wind picks up, fishing gets tougher.
I forgot about the freezing temperatures and was delighted with such a strong start. Unfortunately, the easterly wind increased to at least Force 4, the sea became rougher and fishing got more difficult. We landed another pollack of 7 kg, but the sudden change in weather, which hadn’t been forecast, pushed us to head back closer to the coast to fish rocky drop-offs in calmer water. We moved to another spot, a sharp drop from 20 to 35 metres. On the first drift, we caught two big pollack of “only” 4 and 5 kg, on pink and chartreuse shads. But the following drifts produced nothing, and we soon headed back to the harbour under bright sunshine that had warmed up the coastline. We soon made our way back to the harbour under bright sunshine, which had begun to thaw the remaining ice along the pontoons — a rare and striking atmosphere.
Official French record: 9.8 kg
At the official weigh-in, to our great joy, my fish came in at 9.8 kg — an officially recognised French record.
