Etang de la Poitevinière – Chateau Lake - 100% unspoilt natural beauty

Hidden in the woods of Riallé, a small village near Nantes (Western France), Étang de la Poitevinière is part of a huge 2500-acre property. Many English and French carp anglers consider this breathtaking 170-acre lake the best all round Carp Lake they have ever fished. Enjoy this lake and you’ll never forget the amazing scenery and the striking beauty of the carp!

The Lake

Embraced by untouched woodlands, La Poitevinière, was an ancient setting with vast layers of iron minerals dug out 1000 years ago. The lake, also known as Chateau Lake, lies roughly east to west in the valley of the river. It’s about 2km long and almost 700m wide at its widest part. The old rivierbed that runs down the lake, as shown on the map, is not easy to detect; try to find areas where the silt is deeper as the depths hardly vary here. There are two vast shallow areas: one in the bird reserve at the eastern part of the lake, and one to the north of the lake’s island. The depths on the shallows range between 0.3m and 1m; there are deeper parts up to 5m at the outfall. The bottom of the lake is mostly hard stone, mud and some silt here and there.

The Swims

The swims are large wooden pontoons and can be booked by one or two anglers. The bivvies are placed in the woods behind the swims. It’s allowed to walk some 20m into the lake to cast your rods.
Swims 1 to 19 are situated on the southern banks of the lake where the woods provide plenty of shade; they are a perfect choice for the summer months. Swims 20 to 27 lie on the north side of the lake and have more space. These sunny swims are very pleasant in spring and autumn. Swims 28 and 29 lie on the only island of the lake. They are a little more expensive but a boat with electro engine is included in the price.

The Fish Stocks

Poitevinière’s stock is quite uncertain… We know that the lake was stocked about thirty years ago and that further stocks were added in the 90’s. The carp spawn successfully every year and the new bailiff Christine estimates the stocking around a thousand sizeable carp with at least 35% of the fish well over 30lb (14kg). Since 2008 she keeps a record of catch reports, which mention a 63lb 8oz Mirror (29kg) landed back in 2008. The biggest common carp was 50lb 12oz (23kg). We expect that this fast growing population will have some 60lb+ individuals very soon.
The lake has recently been stocked with 3 big catfish up to 75kg.

Facilities and Service

The sanitary building has completely been refurbished and is cleaned three times a day. Behind swims 25, 26 and 27 there’s also a toilet.
You can order fresh croissants and bread to Christine every day and she’ll bring them to your swim. At a stone’s throw from the venue there’s a supermarket, butcher, bakery and a tobacco store.

Prices

Swims 1 - 19: 200€ per angler, per week
Swims 20 - 29: 250€ per angler, per week