Questions, answered.

Yes. The guides and the rigs and knots are free to read, no account needed. The printable cheat sheet asks for your email so I can send it and let you know when I add a new water. Nothing else.

Dan. I'm an angler who plans each trip, fishes the water and writes the guide. Every page is bylined to me, because you should know who stands behind advice you're about to act on. More on the about page.

Licence prices, seasons and boat hire change every year, so every figure carries the date it was checked and a link to the official source. Always confirm the current rules with the federation before you travel.

No. Nothing here is for sale, there's no checkout and no account. I say what to buy in plain sizes and types and link you to the official licence and boat-hire sources, which I don't profit from.

Leave your email on the cheat-sheet page and it unlocks in place, ready to print. I'll use the address to send the sheet and to let you know when I add a new place to fish, and nothing else.

On purpose. I'd rather write one water properly, the fish by month, the licence checked, the seasons dated, the spots named and the rigs worked out, than mark fifty I haven't fished. Each guide that goes live is one you can act on.

Perch and pike from the bank; zander, lavaret, Arctic char and lake trout from a boat. Perch is the most reliable, pike the biggest (the lake record is 130 cm), and zander the prize. The lake holds 33 species in all, but those six are the trip for most visitors.

Yes. You need a French fishing licence (carte de pêche), bought online at cartedepeche.fr or from an approved local shop. To fish from a boat, run multiple lines, or fish the gambe with more than three nymphs, you also need the boat option.

For 2026, a day card is €18, a week (vacances) card €36.50, and the adult annual €87, from cartedepeche.fr or a local tackle shop. The boat option costs extra and adds a catch logbook (a €15 deposit). Confirm prices with the Fédération de Savoie before you buy.

For 2026, pike reopens 20 April, and perch and zander both reopen 30 May, running on to late February (pike close 22 February here). Lavaret closes early, on 18 October 2026. Spring is thin; June onward is prime.

You can fish from the bank for perch, for shallow pike in May and June, and for zander at the river mouths in low light. But zander, lavaret and Arctic char are boat fish here. A boat opens up most of the lake; the bank is a perch-and-pike trip.

Because of PCB contamination, you must release Arctic char, eel, bream, tench, and roach over 10 cm. Lavaret is the prized eating fish. Pike, perch and zander are fine within the size and bag limits. Release of lake trout is encouraged.

Yes. Pike must be at least 60 cm, zander 50 cm, lake trout 50 cm (and one a day). Perch has no minimum size. You may keep at most three predators a day, all species combined. Char and the other PCB-banned fish go back.

The first and last hours of daylight. This is a clear, deep, busy alpine lake, so a bright midday is slow. Fish dawn and dusk and rest in between; zander often switch on as the light goes.

A light spinning outfit (2.10–2.30 m rod, 2500 reel, PE 0.8 braid, a 0.22 mm fluoro leader) and a small box of hooks, weights, jigheads, floats and soft plastics build five of the six rigs. Add a wire trace for pike and a soft second rod with a sabiki for lavaret.

A 2.10–2.30 m light/medium spinning rod, a 2500-size reel, PE 0.8 braid for the main line and a 0.22 mm fluorocarbon leader. That one outfit fishes the drop shot, the float rigs, the vertical jig and the pike rig (with a trace added).

A drop shot for an active lure hovering off the bottom, or a sliding float rig for bait at a set depth. When perch sit hard on the bottom in a deep swim, the slip-float paternoster presents the bait just above the lake bed.

A vertical jig: a 15 g jighead and a soft plastic dropped straight down and worked with a lift-and-drop. Zander hold deep and respond to it best, especially in low light. A heavier drop shot also takes them.

You need a trace, wire or 0.50–0.90 mm heavy fluorocarbon, because pike teeth cut a normal leader. Below it, fish a big soft shad on a jighead, or a roach under a float. The trace is the one non-negotiable on a pike rig.

On the gambe: a string of small nymphs on dropper loops with a weight on the bottom, lowered to the shoal and lifted gently, mostly from a boat. A ready-made sabiki is the shop version. A gambe with more than three nymphs needs the boat option.

A Palomar knot. It ties the hook, swivel, jighead and trace, is strong and simple on braid and fluorocarbon, and on its own builds every rig here. If you learn one knot, learn this.

Yes. Wet every knot with water or saliva before you pull it tight. A dry knot generates friction heat as it cinches, which weakens the line and can cost you the fish. Wet it, draw it down slowly, then trim the tag end close.

A dropper loop, tied straight into the line so it stands out at right angles. It makes the hook branch on the slip-float paternoster and each dropper on the gambe, so there's no three-way swivel to buy.

A non-slip loop knot. It leaves a small fixed loop at the eye so the jighead or lure swings and moves freely, which improves the action. If you prefer a fixed connection, a Palomar is fine.

No. A bought rubber bobber stopper threads onto the line and slides by hand to set the depth, so there's nothing to tie. A pack lasts a long time. The only knot on the float rigs is the Palomar.