Gone Fishing: French Expressions by the River
Everyday French expressions you'll hear on a day out fishing by a river or lake in France.
To fish in rivers and lakes in France you need a carte de pêche, bought online on cartedepeche.fr and issued through a local fishing association (AAPPMA); there are day, week and year cards. Fishing in the sea from the shore needs no licence, but minimum sizes apply. Fishing friends use tu and plenty of fish and weather idioms, and many go out early in the morning on weekends.
- 1
J'ai la pêche ce matin !
I'm full of energy this morning!
Tip: Literally 'I have the peach'.
- 2
Ça mord ?
Are they biting?
- 3
Je suis comme un poisson dans l'eau ici.
I'm totally in my element here.
- 4
Arrête de noyer le poisson !
Stop dodging the question!
- 5
Il fait un temps de chien.
The weather's awful.
- 6
Il faut se lever aux aurores.
We have to get up at the crack of dawn.
- 7
J'ai besoin de prendre l'air.
I need some fresh air.
- 8
On a fait chou blanc.
We came back empty-handed.
- 9
Il pleut des cordes.
It's pouring down.
- 10
Il a mordu à l'hameçon.
He took the bait.
- 11
C'est le calme plat.
Nothing's happening at all.
- 12
Ça vaut le coup.
It's worth it.
- 13
Je suis trempé jusqu'aux os.
I'm soaked to the bone.
- 14
J'ai une faim de loup.
I'm starving.
- 15
Sois muet comme une carpe !
Keep quiet, not a word!
- 16
On est en pleine nature.
We're right out in the wild.
- 17
Quelle belle prise !
What a catch!
- 18
Il y a anguille sous roche.
Something fishy is going on.
- 19
Je suis frais comme un gardon.
I feel fresh and lively.
- 20
On remet ça le week-end prochain ?
Shall we do it again next weekend?