The Lake

Étang du Soleil, translated this means Pond of the sun. The lake is set in the sunny region of Limousin, south of Limoges.

14 acres of lake surrounded by farmland and the village of Masseret Du Gare. The lake is pre Napoleonic which means we have an automatic legal right to 24 hr fishing.

The lake was previously used by the French to fish for predators, such as pike & zander. As far as we know it was never been fished for carp so it was virgin territory. The local villagers have told us of big carp cruising and splashing and we have now seen them too. (click on latest catch for update)

We have stocked the lake with carp of 20, 30, & 40+lbs this winter. (see latest catch for details)

Following the lake being drained in Feb 2003 we have removed the large Zander and most importantly the posion chat (small American catfish). All we are left with now are a few small zander, pike and 260+ carp to 49lb and cats to 87lb.

An aerial view from the tower of the Lake

Click on the thumbnails below.

You can clearly see the main stream bed. This is a permanent feature of the lake and it can be reached from peg 5 through to 10.

The lake bed is made up of silt, sand and rock. Dotted around the lake on the sand bars are small gravel bars, all of the pegs have a mix of these features around them. The bailiff and co-owner, David will be able to tell you the exact spots.

We are in the heart of France and the Limousin region is famous for the Limousin beef Cow. We regularly share a field with these cows on pegs 8, 9 & 10 and occasionally on peg 1. They are non aggressive, friendly and keep away from human contact,  in very hot weather they sometimes drink from the lake and they can be very inquisitive. Please do not feed the farm animals and wildlife, they tend to want more and get over-friendly.  The by-product off this activity is that the carp love these banks as it attracts zoo plankton which is a high source of protein for them.