Annecy is the postcard lake that happens to be a serious fishery, which is an unusual combination. The water is clean enough to drink in most years — the town has spent decades making sure of it — and the Arctic char (omble chevalier) live down in the cold deeps where they always have. Most French anglers fish the char vertically from a boat with weighted nymphs at forty metres plus, which is not quite fly fishing in the sense Norman Maclean would have recognised but is certainly the best way to reach the fish. The shoreline gives up trout and perch to a reasonable caster in the spring and autumn edges, and the féra (lavaret) can be persuaded with small nymphs on a gambe rig over the mid-depths. You will share the lake with paddleboarders and pleasure boats — this is Annecy — but get up before the town does and you have it to yourself for the hour or two that matters.
- Public aappma day ticket
Reasonable late spring fishing likely at Lac d'Annecy
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Lac d'Annecy. Flat calm means fish may be spookier — longer leaders and subtler flies will help.
This venue is often best in spring through autumn.
Conditions on the water
Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.
The brief
The plan
Start with Perdigón (14-18) — on the point — slow figure-of-eight retrieve. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
If fish refuse on top, drop to a buzzer under an indicator at different depths.
Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.
Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.
What's on, when
Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.
Top pattern + the box
Why today scores what it does
- late spring conditions with clear skies and calm wind.
Precipitation
Who this water suits
Lac d'Annecy, on the water
Field guide · contributor-editedWhat this water is
Annecy is the postcard lake that happens to be a serious fishery, which is an unusual combination. The water is clean enough to drink in most years — the town has spent decades making sure of it — and the Arctic char (omble chevalier) live down in the cold deeps where they always have. Most French anglers fish the char vertically from a boat with weighted nymphs at forty metres plus, which is not quite fly fishing in the sense Norman Maclean would have recognised but is certainly the best way to reach the fish. The shoreline gives up trout and perch to a reasonable caster in the spring and autumn edges, and the féra (lavaret) can be persuaded with small nymphs on a gambe rig over the mid-depths. You will share the lake with paddleboarders and pleasure boats — this is Annecy — but get up before the town does and you have it to yourself for the hour or two that matters.
- Lake
- Limestone
How to get to the water
Where the rules change
- TroutLast Saturday of January → End of December
- Charvaries_by_lake → varies_by_lake
Licences, sorteo, the rules
- AAPPMA Annecy + boat fishing supplement required
- Nature reserve at the south end is closed to fishing
- Check omblière zones for char closures.
Lac d'Annecy
Annecy is the postcard lake that happens to be a serious fishery, which is an unusual combination.
Reasonable late spring fishing likely at Lac d'Annecy
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Lac d'Annecy. Flat calm means fish may be spookier — longer leaders and subtler flies will help.
This venue is often best in spring through autumn.
Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.
A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.
Start with Perdigón (14-18) — on the point — slow figure-of-eight retrieve. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
If fish refuse on top, drop to a buzzer under an indicator at different depths.
Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.
Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.
- late spring conditions with clear skies and calm wind.
Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.
- AAPPMA Annecy + boat fishing supplement required
- Nature reserve at the south end is closed to fishing
- Check omblière zones for char closures.
Annecy is the postcard lake that happens to be a serious fishery, which is an unusual combination. The water is clean enough to drink in most years — the town has spent decades making sure of it — and the Arctic char (omble chevalier) live down in the cold deeps where they always have. Most French anglers fish the char vertically from a boat with weighted nymphs at forty metres plus, which is not quite fly fishing in the sense Norman Maclean would have recognised but is certainly the best way to reach the fish. The shoreline gives up trout and perch to a reasonable caster in the spring and autumn edges, and the féra (lavaret) can be persuaded with small nymphs on a gambe rig over the mid-depths. You will share the lake with paddleboarders and pleasure boats — this is Annecy — but get up before the town does and you have it to yourself for the hour or two that matters.
- Lake
- Limestone
- TroutLast Saturday of January → End of December
- Charvaries_by_lake → varies_by_lake
Annecy is the postcard lake that happens to be a serious fishery, which is an unusual combination. The water is clean enough to drink in most years — the town has spent decades making sure of it — and the Arctic char (omble chevalier) live down in the cold deeps where they always have. Most French anglers fish the char vertically from a boat with weighted nymphs at forty metres plus, which is not quite fly fishing in the sense Norman Maclean would have recognised but is certainly the best way to reach the fish. The shoreline gives up trout and perch to a reasonable caster in the spring and autumn edges, and the féra (lavaret) can be persuaded with small nymphs on a gambe rig over the mid-depths. You will share the lake with paddleboarders and pleasure boats — this is Annecy — but get up before the town does and you have it to yourself for the hour or two that matters.