Chambon is a lava-dammed lake — the Tartaret volcano erupted some three thousand years ago, sent a lava flow down the valley, and blocked the Couze Chambon river where it runs out of the Monts Dore. The result is a fifty-hectare lake in a wide, sunny basin with the volcano sitting at one end and the fishing going on at the other. It gets busier than Pavin or Chauvet in summer because it has beaches and pedaloes and all the apparatus of a proper French family holiday, which is fine — you just fish it in the hour before the pedaloes come out. Trout and perch, standard cast. The inflow at the east end and the outflow by the Tartaret are both worth time. Not the most remote water in the Massif Central, but a good lake all the same if you pick your hours.
- Public aappma day ticket
Good drifting conditions on Lac Chambon
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
No strong hatch signals at the moment — general searching tactics should work best. The ripple is helpful — fish should move onto the feed and a slow-drifted team or single wet will cover water well.
Conditions on the water
Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.
The brief
The plan
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.
If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.
Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.
A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.
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
- Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
Precipitation
Who this water suits
Lac Chambon, on the water
Field guide · contributor-editedWhat this water is
Chambon is a lava-dammed lake — the Tartaret volcano erupted some three thousand years ago, sent a lava flow down the valley, and blocked the Couze Chambon river where it runs out of the Monts Dore. The result is a fifty-hectare lake in a wide, sunny basin with the volcano sitting at one end and the fishing going on at the other. It gets busier than Pavin or Chauvet in summer because it has beaches and pedaloes and all the apparatus of a proper French family holiday, which is fine — you just fish it in the hour before the pedaloes come out. Trout and perch, standard cast. The inflow at the east end and the outflow by the Tartaret are both worth time. Not the most remote water in the Massif Central, but a good lake all the same if you pick your hours.
- Lake
- Volcanic
How to get to the water
Where the rules change
- Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Licences, sorteo, the rules
- AAPPMA Puy-de-Dôme
- 1ère catégorie
- Busy summer months; fish early.
Lac Chambon
Chambon is a lava-dammed lake — the Tartaret volcano erupted some three thousand years ago, sent a lava flow down the valley, and blocked the Couze Chambon river where it runs out of the Monts Dore.
Good drifting conditions on Lac Chambon
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
No strong hatch signals at the moment — general searching tactics should work best. The ripple is helpful — fish should move onto the feed and a slow-drifted team or single wet will cover water well.
Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.
A good match for this venue — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.
If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.
Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.
A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.
- Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.
Terrain map
- AAPPMA Puy-de-Dôme
- 1ère catégorie
- Busy summer months; fish early.
Chambon is a lava-dammed lake — the Tartaret volcano erupted some three thousand years ago, sent a lava flow down the valley, and blocked the Couze Chambon river where it runs out of the Monts Dore. The result is a fifty-hectare lake in a wide, sunny basin with the volcano sitting at one end and the fishing going on at the other. It gets busier than Pavin or Chauvet in summer because it has beaches and pedaloes and all the apparatus of a proper French family holiday, which is fine — you just fish it in the hour before the pedaloes come out. Trout and perch, standard cast. The inflow at the east end and the outflow by the Tartaret are both worth time. Not the most remote water in the Massif Central, but a good lake all the same if you pick your hours.
- Lake
- Volcanic
- Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Chambon is a lava-dammed lake — the Tartaret volcano erupted some three thousand years ago, sent a lava flow down the valley, and blocked the Couze Chambon river where it runs out of the Monts Dore. The result is a fifty-hectare lake in a wide, sunny basin with the volcano sitting at one end and the fishing going on at the other. It gets busier than Pavin or Chauvet in summer because it has beaches and pedaloes and all the apparatus of a proper French family holiday, which is fine — you just fish it in the hour before the pedaloes come out. Trout and perch, standard cast. The inflow at the east end and the outflow by the Tartaret are both worth time. Not the most remote water in the Massif Central, but a good lake all the same if you pick your hours.