Fishing in the Abbey - more canal delights

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CS:
Waking in Pregilbert we were ready to catch ourselves some fish dinners. We biked out of the village across the bridge to the Abbey grounds which have been turned into a fish farm. Armed with rods and a small container of sweet corn provided by the grinning attendant, who refused to suggest any clues about methods, we tried our luck in the ponds filled with fish. CS managed to hook a large trout almost as soon as the hook hit the water (how or why she will never know but it was a nanosecond after IJ had noted that she felt the whole human race would be annihilated before a trout took a hook with corn).

Nevertheless the process proved slow (IJ also hooked a trout on corn) until we discovered the bait the French family who joined the sport were using. Small pieces of salmon proved the secret weapon (we surmised that was one reason for our 'helper's' grin) and in no time we had seven large trout thrashing away in our basket. Only hold-out PP refused to have a go, proclaiming he had never had any luck catching a fish in his life and that record was unlikely to change. The rest of us pointed out it would certainly not if he didn't have a try but he would not be persuaded. We didn't need eight fish anyway. They weighed in at 6 kilos but the place was closing so they were prepared to gut but not fillet our catch. CS foolishly offered to do the job and smelled of fish ever after (not quite). We had enough fish for three meals and we enjoyed fresh trout for dinner - yum!

On to the twin Maillys (Mailly-la-Ville and Mailly-le-Chateau) we discovered that shops are indeed all shut on Monday. They proved to be two pretty little towns on either side of the meandering waterway. The steep hill to Chateau being braved by EB, PP and CS on their bikes, JJ and CJ were clever enough to ask some passers-by at the foot of the hill what could be found at the top and decided riding uphill to closed shops was superfluous.

Power and water available at the mooring and no nighttime squeal to wake us, we got up on Tuesday to pouring rain. CJ and JJ had made the first foray and returned with warm fresh baguettes for breakfast protected under raincoats and umbrellas. The heaviest downpours lifted from time to time and we made our craft shipshape for the next leg to Chatel-Censoir where we hope to find an open mini-marche.

PP:
Well Ahoy!! then - all of this ho-hum about catching fish which practically leapt ashore to be caught. I know that even if I had stood with a basket where they were leaping, the fish would have done a roll-off-the-top, and a barrel roll - finishing in someone else's basket!

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Photos

The Scurvy Crew
In Mailly-la-Ville

Wild Life
Swan family

The White Horse Inn
Cheval Blanc

Church
Mailly-la-Ville