Situation
Located about twenty kilometers east of Troyes, in the department of Aube, the beautiful lake of the Orient Forest has an area of 2,300 hectares. The depth varies between two meters and more than fifteen meters in certain places.
It was dug in 1965 to lower the level of the Seine river and is a compensation reservoir intended to control and calm the floods. It is located on the edge of a magnificent forest with a superb oak grove that makes it a remarkable site.
Fish in exceptional density
In terms of fish population, pike is the most common species with an exceptional density and a very high average size. Specimens of more than 10 kilos are almost common. Pike can be fished by boat with all techniques and it is difficult to recommend one spot rather than another.
On the other hand, from the shore, it can be found more particularly on the perimeter of the Chevaudon, Grands Sillons and Little Italy peninsulas, in the Jolivet and Napoleon coves. The level of the lake changes quite often and when it rises, it drowns entire parts of the forest. It is a good idea to prospect the limits made by the trees whose feet are in the water.
The perch is also strongly represented and there is no lack of big fish. They are to be fished by boat, off shore, from spring to fall. From the shore, in winter, prospect the base of drowned trees; never forget that they like wood. The favorite spots for perch are the same as for pike, with the addition of a small marsh that is very surprising for this species: the tail of the Colette fountain. In the part isolated by the road that runs along the lake, the tench and the roach are the best represented cyprinids.
The best fishing is done by boat, after a silent arrival along the large reed fronts, especially around the peninsula of Picarde and in the cove of Gaty.
The carp is very sought after in boat in the ditches and the scions of the middle of the lake. For the pike-perch, it is to be sought in edge and in the part of submerged forest. It is also found in the parts with stony bottom like the tail in the Colette fountain, on the lake side, along the Beaumont dam and in the Larivour cove.
Other well represented species that can be fished from the shore or by boat are roach, rotengle and bream. A few rainbow trout can be caught, but their population does not justify a fishing trip.
In the surroundings, the Seine, very beautiful in the region, the Barse and the Morge canal are to be prospected for their population of whites and carnivores too.
A specific regulation
This lake is classified as a second category lake in the private domain, which entails the specific closure of the pike and it is non-reciprocal, it is necessary to acquire a specific fishing card. If its banks are sometimes quite difficult to access, they are not all fishable as the cove of Terriers, the cove and the peninsula of Picarde, the cove of Piquets, and some parts of the cove of Bois Foucaut.
Moreover, the Anse des Oiseaux, because of its ornithological observatory, and the peninsula of Luxembourg-Pinet as its animal park, are not recommended as fishing spots. It is necessary that everyone can access his corner of the lake. Finally, the beach of Mesnil-Saint Père is reserved for nautical activities and swimming.
But let the fishermen be reassured, they still have three quarters of the lake to track down their favorite catches. The use of the thermal engine is forbidden on the lake, for the comfort of all. As far as safety is concerned, you have to be careful in case of gusts of wind.
