Last week Hubert Calvar suddenly passed away. His untimely death left us in shock: this big, strong man was destined to fish the crystal clear waters of the Archipel des Glénan for many more years to come. Our thoughts are with his family, relatives and friends.
We first met Hubert in 2013. That year our bass fishing trip in Brittany started in Loctudy. We spent two days on his Bombard Explorer fishing the Archipel des Glénan. The next year we returned to the Finistère region for another fishing trip. This stunning part of the world left quite an impression on us, just like Hubert’s personality did.
Because aside from his superb skills as a guide, captain and bass angler, Hubert was a straight up great guy. He loved to be out on the water, enjoy his bass fishing, entertain and educate his clients – which we never felt like, it seemed as if we were out fishing with a friend from the very start – and have a lot of fun.
Apart from all the knowledge, experiences, new insights and ideas we gained from fishing with and talking to Hubert, we first and foremost remember him for being a truly nice guy. We will dearly miss his warm personality, enthusiasm and friendliness. Our trips with Hubert are lifelong lasting memories that we will always treasure. Rest in peace big guy.
Hubert Calvar
This year our trip was planned early in the bass fishing season: me and my girl are expecting a baby end of August, so I had little choice. After a ten hours drive we arrive in Loctudy early afternoon. After we have checked in at our hotel, I send our future friend Hubert Calvar a text message that we are in town. No more than 15 minutes later we are at a café talking bass in English, French and Franglais. Language doesn't matter; we understand each other. Hubert shows us the harbour and invites us to his place to check out his boat. We soon discover we are dealing with a perfectionist here; probably even worse than ourselves. Sitting behind two Lowrance HDS10 screens (on the terrace) we discuss the strategy for our first fishing trip the next day. Hubert takes us through his plan showing us a sequence of waypoints and additional notes. We immediately love him.
Les Glénans
It’s 06:00 AM when Hubert comes to pick us up in his rib (a Bombard Explorer DB 730). We’re all excited to head out, but he serves us breakfast first. No fishing on an empty stomach! The rib has more than enough space to handle 4 anglers and is equipped with the aforementioned double HDS10 Gen2 and an 150 HP Yamaha outboard. Plenty of rods, reels and lures at hand, so we don't worry one bit about the materials. Hubert hits the gas and it’s full power towards the archipelago of Les Glénans. This group of islands is located some 20 km from the coast and will be our hunting grounds for the next two days. Despite the wind and waves between 1.5 and 2 meters high – quite high for Dutch standards – Hubert is not very impressed. “Otherwise you can never go fishing.” The rib cuts perfectly through the waves and in no time we arrive at our destination. But where to start? Literally dozens of islands and rocks rise from the sea, with tidal currents and waves working their way around and over them. The forces of nature have created a beautiful scenery and multiple hotspots. Sky-blue waters, bright white beaches (it almost feels like you're in the Caribbean), islands and rocks with white wash all over the place. This is bass fishing heaven!
Fish on!
At the first mark Joran and Hubert are busy going through all the different kind of lures, but I decide to let mine swim a.s.a.p.. Some 5 minutes later Joran asks me how heavy my shock leader is. I proudly respond that I'm fishing very light: a fluorocarbon 40/00 mm Varivas shock leader is. While I’m still thinking that I'm fishing pretty 'Finesse', Joran starts laughing and warns me not tell and shock Hubert. Over here they have a somewhat different take when it comes to finesse. Our guide fishes with a 10 (!!) lbs leader that is between 2 and 4 meters long. We learn there is a difference between Dutch finesse and Finistère finesse. When I ask Hubert why they are fishing so light, he tells me that they simply catch more fish this way. We are convinced immediately! Hubert fishes finesse all the way. When the sonar tells us there is 12 metres of water under the boat, Hubert explains us he is ‘starting’ with an X-layer rigged on a 7 grams jighead (Decoy SV 67). For a moment I think he’s taking a piss out of me, but he casts out and it’s almost immediately ‘fish on’. No bass, but a wrasse that nailed the soft plastic. Besides an experienced captain, we are also dealing with a first class fisherman who knows what he's doing.
Wrasse and bass
The first part of the day we mainly fish around the islands of the Glénans. We catch many, many wrasse and some bass. We nevertheless have to work hard for the bass, and Hubert tells us it probably will not be easy catching them today. Then again catching wrasse is also a hell of a lot of fun. These fish know how to put up a good fight, are extremely colourful and come in so many astonishing varieties – plus we don’t catch this resident of the Glénans back home. The only downside to catching a lot of wrasse is that they wreck our soft baits with their sharp teeth. After a couple of fish it looks like the plastic has been slaughtered by these little butchers! When the tidal flow is near its end, our skipper decides it’s time for lunch. He takes the boat inside the islands and into a beautiful bay where we find shelter from the wind. There he prepares us a magnificent four course lunch: rosé, quail eggs, fried chicken, salads, bread and cheese. After fishing all morning we enjoy the food and drinks and discuss the strategy for the afternoon. Although the wind has increased a bit, Hubert decides to take the boat out of the archipelago and into the outer rocks and the white wash.
White wash
It’s quite a spectacle seeing the waves crash into the rocks with full force. Impressed by the forces of nature we ask ourselves how to try and fish in these conditions – this being a total new experience for us Dutchies. Even more impressive is the way Hubert manoeuvres his boat around the rocks and into position just a few metres out of the turmoil. This is quite something else compared with our fishing back home. All our senses are sharpened again because of the mix of extreme concentration and a touch of fear. When there is the sign from Hubert, our lures hit the white wash. Immediately a bass hits one of our soft plastics. Playing a fish in these conditions is nerve wrecking, but it all works out fine with our guide watching our backs – and more importantly: the waves. It’s an unbelievable sight to see the fish chasing our lures in the waves around the rocks. Excitement and fun go hand in hand here. After we have caught three bass from the rocks, Hubert tells us we really have to leave. It’s no longer safe fishing this spot with the ever increasing height of the waves. A bit sad, but also a little relieved we leave this unique mark and head for other fishing grounds.
Material damage
On the next mark in calmer waters, Joran notices his Tenryu Super Mix 2:40 (with a 2013 Daiwa Certate 3000) is no longer on board. After a thorough search and counting of the rods aboard, there is panic. Not only the Super Mix is missing, a Tenryu Injection from Hubert’s arsenal has also disappeared. What has exactly happened will always remain a mystery, but the grapes are very sour. A black cloud over a very beautiful trip. A little dazed and confused we continue fishing. At these last marks we find bass again. No tough guys, but there is action once again. Where it was the Megabass X-Layer that did the trick earlier in the day – we knew about the legendary reputation of this small and special-looking slug, but Hubert showed us why it has achieved that status – at this spot the blue Illex Nitro shad makes the difference. Where other softbaits only produce wrasse, the Nitro shad catches bass straight away. Tired but satisfied we set sail for the Port of Loctudy. It was a fantastic day fishing with Hubert. He’s a great guide who knows his fishing and is a lot of fun – always nice when you’re on a boat together for some 12 hours. It’s a shame we had to sacrifice two rods to Neptune, but on the other hand Joran now can focus on fishing with his Major Craft Crostage 'Hard Rock'. No more stress which rod to pick.
General conclusions on a day of fishing with Hubert Calvar:
Wrasse are called 'Soup', garfish are called 'smelly fish'
Peter is now known as 'Mister Spoon'
Use a 10-14 lbs fluorocarbon shock leader of 2 to 4 metres long
Snaps are only used on plugs, for soft baits you use a knot
X-layers are not slugs, X-layers are magic
If you have a Spindle Worm, bite of the front half and fish with the tail part – this guy is crazy…
For additional photos please check out the album on our Facebook page
