Hi fellow fishermen, today we are going to discuss a topic that is certainly close to the hearts of several of you, especially in the just-concluded period of summer vacation: fishing with your family!
Whatever your family is made up of, sharing the fishing experience with the people you love is a special and important time. I consider myself a lucky person because this year, for the first time, I was able to organize this kind of vacation.
But how to plan a vacation with fishing in the way and keep everyone happy? Obviously some compromise is a must and a lot depends on your family's needs, but now let's take a look together at some elements to take into consideration in order to be successful in planning such an epic undertaking. Because it is unthinkable to organize a week-long session, in a tent and without services of any kind, when different people are involved and especially with small children. I considered several alternatives and in the end the most obvious choice seemed to be renting a house near a nice lake, more or less known.
The first problem that emerged was a logistical one, such as the amount of equipment needed: rods, pods, dinghy, electric motor, battery, battery charger, echo sounder, lots of bait and together all the necessities for the little one! Where and how to transport everything? The lucky ones have a van and probably would not have stopped at the first hitch.
The second problem was related to how to set up the session without making it too heavy for the family. In the big lakes in summer it is advisable to do carpfishing at night to have a few more chances: during the day there are too many tourists, but I would have faced the nights alone and so goodbye to sharing.
I initially gave up, abandoning the idea, but then I thought about it and came up with the tourist destination now on the lips of all carpers: Bled! It is a tourist place, spectacular for fishing families, where you can find every comfort in a landscape setting that I dare to call idyllic. Here everything is easier thanks to the various accommodations near the body of water and, as far as the lake is concerned, I don't think there is any need to emphasize the very rich fauna present.
The adventure seems feasible: I already have the contacts, since in the past Bled was the destination of some lucky fishing sessions for me. I started thinking about the long drive, though, since it takes 6-7 hours by car from Modena to reach that paradise. I just wouldn't feel up to it with such a small child to tackle the road.
Then came the enlightenment! Many years ago I organized an autumn session with a good friend of mine on a Romagna Apennine towards Cesena, more precisely in the hamlet of Acquapartita. This is a small tourist resort with a really pleasant climate, where many fishermen go because of the many spas there and especially to breathe clean air. In its famous park is a medium-sized lake, where it is possible to practice a little bit of all freshwater specialties, subject to payment of a fishing permit. In my opinion, the body of water is great for carpfishing and feeder.
The choice was almost immediate: let's take this vacation in hotels, which there are at least 4 all located near the lake. Especially if you move early, it will not be difficult to find availability for one or two rooms. Moreover, the hoteliers are helpful toward the needs of fishermen: I even took advantage of the "take-away lunch" formula, which is really very convenient.
The quarry is not very challenging, but I still had to adopt a couple of technical gimmicks to see a few more eats. I won't go into how I set up the session, but I can tell you that there was no shortage of carp. However, being a family vacation, I preferred to devote some time to them as well and to visiting these little-known but very beautiful places. Not to mention the Tosco-Romagnola cuisine: so many delicacies absolutely worth trying.
In conclusion, I can confirm that putting together such a vacation is not easy: you have to take into account everyone's needs and often make do, perhaps prioritizing the services rather than the body of water. But I guarantee that in the end it won't weigh you down: you will be able to share your passion with the people you care about, and that is priceless.
Daniele Annovi
Team Molino Zombini.
