Sweet Chestnut Lake - Fishing Venue - Coarse / Carp / Cats in Saint Saud Lacoussiere (Dordogne, Aquitaine), France

Welcome to Sweet Chestnut Lake:

Colin

 I am 48 years old and have worked in Parks Management for Local Government for 25 years, I finally saw the light and escaped to set up a small fishery in South West France.

I previously lived in Herefordshire and have always had a passionate interest in angling. For over 40 years I spent most of my free time fishing the River Wye. I have many happy memories of summer days legering for barbel, trotting a float for winter grayling and boilie fishing at night for the elusive Wye carp. I kept a fishing diary since the age of 12 and have a record of every single fishing trip, adding up to several thousand entries, ( how sad is that!).

I am a great lover of the outdoors and enjoy and appreciate the wildlife, fauna and flora. Here at Sweet Chestnut Lake I have already encountered numerous new species of animal, bird and plant that I would never have seen in England.

Since emigrating to France my time has been spent renovating the lake and land. I have found a new passion and even the wettest and most muddy of tasks beats 9 to 5 in the Office any time!

Val

I am older and wiser than Colin! I too have a local government background. My interest in fishing has only been realised upon meeting and marrying Colin. Having the advantage of an experienced angling husband, I have been successful in landing several different species of fish of specimen size in a short space of time, which has been great fun. However, I must admit to being a 'fair weather fisher' and am just as content on the bank with a good book!

Most of all, I love the countryside and rural living and welcome the more relaxed way of life here in France.

About the water:

A beautiful stream and spring fed mature lake of just under 4 acres, 200 metres long and 70 metres wide. Depths vary from 1 metre, where the stream enters, to up to 5 metres at the dam end.

The lake has a certificate of Private Status awarded by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, which we secured in 2007. This means anglers do not need to buy any form of licence, there are no seasonal restrictions and fishing is permissible 24 hours a day.

Levels are always maintained in the lake by the incoming streams and also by springs that can be seen bubbling from the lake bed. In the severe drought in France, in summer 2006, when many lakes actually dried up, sweet chestnut lake retained it’s full height

The lake bed has a combination of rock, clay and silt and there is no significant weed or snags.

Half of the lake has lovely flat grassed banks, level with the waters edge. The remaining half is left more undisturbed as a wild life haven, but we have created access points for anglers between the trees, ideal for stalking.

The lake is surrounded by native woodland . The predominant tree species being Sweet Chestnut and Oak with Birch, Alder, Poplar and Willow also in abundance. Beneath the tree canopy is a profusion of other native vegetation, including Gorse and Broom, Alder Buckthorn and Bracken. Orchids have been seen growing in the shade of the trees.

About the fish:

The lake contains at least 2 tonne of carp, over 200 fish. Half of this weight comprises carp of the fast growing Czechoslovakian ‘Royale’ Strain, supplied by premier French fish dealer Simon Horton. These big framed fish, mostly mirrors, are gorgeous specimens which have made huge weight gains since they were stocked in the winter of 2006/2007. We now have a good head of upper 30’s to upper 40’s, with a lake record of 54lb 4oz.

NOTE: Statistics and reports are based on captures added to the Fish Captures database realtive to publicity settings.

Best fishing conditions (according to the Fish Captures database) for Sweet Chestnut Lake :

• air temp
  
  7°C
  (12.9%)
  13.5°C avg
• water temp
  
  14°C
  (10.7%)
  11.2°C avg
• water depth
  
  4ft
  (34.4%)
  5.8 ft avg
• water clarity
  
  Low clarity
  (33.3%)
• wind speed
  
  Slight Breeze
  (29.5%)
• wind dir
  
  Unknown
• weather
  
  Unknown
• air pressure
  
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