Lac Solace, France

Solace is stunning, from the moment you pass the old original wooden gate and met by the wild flower meadow you’ll catch your first glimpse of Solace.

Continue to the newly refurbished facilities take in the surroundings and you’ll instantly absorb the Solace vibe that’s been created by the owner. If like us you’ll see a huge fish breach within 5 mins and then notice subtle but tell-tale signs of feeding it becomes apparent that’s its impossible not to be captivated by this intimate and very beautiful venue.

A relatively young lake that’s extremely fertile a stock that’s thriving which many will envy.

Swims are a comfortable size on the main bank which is perfect for the social group or smaller swims further up the lake, better suited for the anglers that prefer to keep thing to a minimum and fish nice a quiet….

Its the Solace vibe for a reason that’s been perfectly created for you to relax, enjoy and spend some quality fishing time with some mates.

Lac Solace is pretty rare for the west side of France, it is like a little gravel pit in England. Lovely blue water, a touch of weed, gravel and sand margins and hardly any silt.

It is a super private lake with a 500m private track leading to the lake, it’s a very relaxed atmosphere in natural surroundings with no silly rules and the owners will not be not sitting in your swim all week, unless of course you need some help.

There’s around big 40 fish, hand picked carp from scaly upper 20’s to gorgeous upper 50’s plus.

Lac Solace is near the town of Vihiers in the Maine et Loire which is at the bottom of the Loire Valley, about 5 hours from Calais, 3 from Caen and 2.5 from St Malo – it’s a fairly easy trip, unlike a place I visited a few years back that claimed to be 4 hours from Calais, 13 hours later we arrived.

It is not an easy lake but if you listen to owners advice, like many of the lakes in France, you’ll have a good chance of catching some good fish.

The lake has been fed for a year before opening so they definitely like the local bait. Lac Solace’s owners used their own bait to feed the residents in that period, a red and brown fishmeal boilie, along with pellet and maize were fed continually across different locations in the lake to encourage an even balance.

This of course means the fish are happy feeding confidently when they see this kind of approach. For this reason, wafters over house pellet and chopped boilie and a bit of maize have pulled out some of the better fish.

There are clay, sand, gravel, weed and silt areas out there so it’s well worth flicking around a marker to get the spot you fancy. Committing a bit of bait and fishing accurately on at least 2 if the rods has proven a useful approach.

Using the 3rd is great as a roamer, especially for down the edge, where the carp will freely feed under your feet. Just don’t get the spomb out, it’s definitely a turn off.

It is possible to drive directly to all 4 swims which is really handy and on site there is a lodge with orchard and lawn leading onto the lake. The lodge includes kitchen, sitting room and small tackle shop and there is also a separate toilet, shower and changing block to keep you smelling fresh.

There is a small tackle shop with end tackle and hookbaits in the cabin, but there is a tackle shop in Cholet which is a 30 minute drive away if you want something more complicated.

The average size of the fish is around 34/36lbs and most anglers are catching around 6 fish per week.

All the swims seem to produce in different conditions, but the 2 swims in the corners Wallace’s and The Inflow, seem to be most productive as the fish  enjoy ravelling along that snaggy bank.

Lac Solace has been kept as natural as possible and is a real “anglers” water, there are no gravel swims and the rules are simple and common sense.

The fishing certainly isn’t rock hard, but it does take some skill to go from an OK week to a great week, with accurate casting and well thought out baiting approached being the key for a good week.

3 top tips for Lac Solace

1. Be mindful when baiting up…Remember it’s an intimate venue!
2. Have 2 rods on 1 baited zone as they feed in numbers at times, if you get a bite wait before putting the rod out again!
3. Enjoy and be patient… don’t fill in several areas

Some of the handpicked Lac Solace residents:

You’ll need these for your trip to Lac Solace