What’s it like?

Having fished all over Europe and beyond, I’ve been there and seen it with French venues, but Lepinet is definitely one that sticks in the mind.

Lepinet is a solid choice for the UK angler, although it has been more popular with Europeans more recently, it is certainly a lake that many UK anglers will enjoy a holiday alongside.

A 17-acre lake full of carp to over 60lb and a single monster sturgeon over 150lb, Lepinet is a varied lake with sand, gravel, clay and depths up to 3m’s.

Originally, there were around 200 fish resident in the lake but after a stocking program there’s over 700 carp in there now, with the majority over 30lb. There are a lot of underwater features to find, fish to and be aware of.

How do you approach Lepinet?

On my visits I chose to fish with Size 4 Wide Gape X hook as a starting point because I’d read in a few places that people had been having trouble with hook points going over because of the gravel and rocks in the venue so I opted for a tough hook that I had complete faith in.

It proved a great choice.

I’ve had no problems at all with this set up on my sessions and my rigs were ready to rock all of the time so I’d certainly ensure you have the most secure, strong end tackle to you can.

Tightly baited areas seem to work really well at Lepinet, as well as fishing at range, if you can combine the two accurately then you’ll be in for a good trip.

Although it looks obvious, don’t ignore the markers out in the middle of the lake as there’s a good chance these were baited the week before. The markers are an obvious place for most anglers to start and generally they are baited regularly.

We found these areas harder too than other spots where they’d obviously been cleared off.

Best Pegs

Pegs 1, 2, 10 and 11 are down the wider end of the Lake and have proven to be more prolific than others in the past.

These pegs give you more water and also I think the fish feel safer at further range out in the middle of the lake.

Obviously the fish visit all areas and I’m sure other pegs will fish better in certain conditions, but I consistently saw a lot of fish in these areas regardless of conditions.

Top Tips for Lepinet

When anglers are allowed to use rowing boats and bait boats on these types of venues it is easy to forget the noise level you are putting into the water. Yes you are on holiday but try not to forgot that this can have a huge impact on the fishing.

Try to hone your skills in a boat and a stealth approach will catch you a lot more fish at Lepinet.

I’ve fished quite a lot of holiday venues over the years and I like to do things that others do not to stand out.

For example baiting up at lunch time when the lake is quiet and not fishing well anyway, rather than in the evening when everyone else is doing it and there is also a good chance of a run.

I’ve often seen the fish move into my area when the noise level goes up and everyone starts to bait up at the same time. And yes I normally get a run.

Tackle you will need at Lepinet