Lac de St. Cassien is a man made reservoir in southern France near Cannes. The sizes is circa 600 hectar. It consists of tree arms, the south, the north and the west arm. The south arm is famous for the catches of the biggest carp but the one with the lowest density of fish per hectar. The north arm is the deepest and the biggest one. It can be up to 40 meters deep and contains a good average of carp of all sizes. A good place to start your fishing at lake Cassien. The west arm is the smallest one but the liveliest. Compared to the south and north arm it is narrow and you will see a lot fish activities. In spring the carp move to the very end of the west arm to spawn in the shallow water. Please stay away from the restricted area marked by buoys. If you are caught by the police or the Guard du Peche fishing there it will cost you a lot of Euros, your whole tackle will be confiscated and you will increase the problems for all honest carp anglers at lake Cassien. The lake was built in the early 60's by flooding the valleys. It is blocked by a dam in the north arm and is used for hyropower purposes. The first stock of carp was made in 1964. As far as I know it was discovered for modern carpfishing by the british carp angler Paul Regent in the early 80's and increased fast in popularity. Due to the fact that Cassien is used as a reservoir the water level can change serveral meters in a short period of time. When the water is low you can see the stumps of the former trees of the valley. These stumps are the major snags. They are thick covered with mussels and you can imagine what they will do to your line. The mussels are together with thousands of crayfish the main food source for the carp. The water temperature is high enough all year round for the carp to feed on the them which is the main reason why they grown bigger and faster than usual. The biggest carp known at the moment is a 33 kg mirror and the average weight will be in the high twenties. This sounds very good but be aware this lake is far from being easy. The weather can be great all year round. Because of the short distance to the Mediterran Sea you will have very high temperatures there in summer, a beautiful mild spring and autum and the winter can be warm too. I experienced 15° C at Christmas a couple of times. But especially in winter it can get very cold at night with down to minus 10° C. When it starts to rain it pours down maybe for serveral days. Another problem can be the wind or better the storm. The french call it Mistral. A warm and very strong wind from the south. I had the joy to fish in this storm a few times. I saw rodpods flying away, tents broken down and boats gone down the lake. So be very careful when the storm starts and do not go on the boat when the waves go higher. You can risk your life. The easiest way to get a fishing license is to buy it at one of the three cafes in the south arm. The first one you will see if you come to the lake will be Gerad, Les Bois de Callian. It is very advisable to go there and have a look at the pictures of big carp in the café. It will help you to raise your spirits after a long drive. The second one will be Chez Pierre and just before the bridge is another café placed which is called Pecheur du Lac. The price for a one year ticket is 54 Euros (november 2002). I strongly recommend you to park your car at the parking area of one of the cafés. They are guarded and if you buy a couple of drinks or a meal there it is free. If you park your car somewhere else at the lake it will by broken in for sure. I will not give you a bad picture of the people living there but my friend car was opened one time we were fishing there and all the remaining stuff inside was stolen. I know a lot of guys who had the same problems so park your car in the guarded parking area and you should be on the safe side. The fishing rules changes a little every year and at the web you may find a homepages where you can check the actual fishing rules but it is likely that it is written in French. It will be the best to use forums like carp.com to ask others who were fishing there recently or ask at Gerad's café when you buy your ticket. There is a barkeeper who speaks English. The most important rule in summer is the night fishing ban. Do not to use a tent during this time. Another problem during the hot summer time in southern France are wood fires. The police is really mad about cookers of all kind during this time. If you are caught by the police with a Coleman cooker for example you will get a fine and probably loose your fishing license. The fact that you can fish with four rods at the same time leads to high pressure on the carp. For me lake Cassien is the highest pressured water on the continent. Because of the beautiful weather you will find carp anglers there every time of the year. Especially in spring and autum it can be difficult to find a free spot. The last time I was there was november last year and the lake was packed with carp anglers from all over europe. We were lucky to find a good swim the second day but it was not possible to move swim for the next 10 days. The only time it slows down a little is during the coldest time in january and february. But then a difficult water turns to a nightmare and the weather can be really bad. Regarding the tackle I advise you to bring strong rods (3 - 3.5 lb) and big reels. At the most swims you will have to row out your hookbaits so it is adviseable to have a lot of line on your reels. My friends and me we use heavy lead (4 - 6 oz) and snagleaders due to the mussels. It is always a good idea to use big subfloats to keep your line away from the ground and the snags. On the rig side we use standart hair rigs on a fixed lead. You can use your favourite rig you have confidence in but please be careful not to harm the fish if your mainline gets caught by a snag. You also should bring your own boat. You can rent a boat at several places like the cafes but it is really expensive if you stay there for two weeks. We usually use foldable boats like the Bananas. They easy to put on the top of your car and will carry you and all your tackle for the trip. You need the boat to transport your tackle from the parking area to the swim, finding the hot spots, for baiting, rowing out your baits and playing if you get a run. Try to play every fish from the boat and you will increase your chances not to loose is in the snags tremendously. Baits at lake Cassien is a sience of its own like everywhere else. The most carp are caught on boilies but tiger nuts can be great too. Especially in summer you will experience at lot of crayfish trying to eat your boilies. One possibility is to cover the hooksbaits with stockings, the usage of tiger nuts is another one. You can also try to make your hookbaits rock hard but it will be only a matter of time for the crayfish to break them down. For baiting the spot whilst fishing I use cooked hemp and pellets (Matrix + by Pelzer Baits) in low quantities. It is absolutly not necessary to pile in a lot of free baits. Big beds of bait will scare the fish so restrict yourself to P.V.A. bag, P.V.A. stringers or just two handful of loose feed. The carp at lake Cassien can feed in big depth. I caught fish in 24 meters depth but also in 1.5 meters. Never neglect reed areas with shallow water when the water level of the lake is high. Even in winter you can catch them there. Try to find plateaus even in really deep water and do not forget to bring an echo sounder. Without the aid of this very helpful tool you will hardly find the hot spots. Forget the fish alert symbols on the echo sounder they will not help you to find the carp. It is far better to read the structure of the bottom correctly and fish where the carp might feed. You don't have to bring all your food from home. In a distance of 10 km is a big supermarket located which is called Le Clerc where you can get everything you need or not need. This brings me to the big litter or waste problem. In every car park at the cafes you will find big waste boxes where you can put in your litter. Put your waste in plastic bags whilst fishing and put the them in a box when you leave the water. There is no excuse for leaving waste at the lakeside. Stupid behaviour like this will create more trouble and problems with the locals and the police. Please use a shovel when you follow the call of the nature. Dig in your sh.. and keep the place clean. A lot of people drive to lake Cassien every year, catch nothing and leave it frustrated. Don't expect too much when you go there for the first time. At lake Cassien you can catch a fish of your lifetime but is also very possible to struggle. Try to learn as much as possible and try to enjoy your fishing there. You can love this lake or hate it, there is not much in between. There would much more to say about this beautiful lake, but whatever you do, fish fair and keep it clean so you can come back the next time.
The lake was built in the early 60's by flooding the valleys. It is blocked by a dam in the north arm and is used for hyropower purposes. The first stock of carp was made in 1964. As far as I know it was discovered for modern carpfishing by the british carp angler Paul Regent in the early 80's and increased fast in popularity. 
The fishing rules changes a little every year and at the web you may find a homepages where you can check the actual fishing rules but it is likely that it is written in French. It will be the best to use forums like carp.com to ask others who were fishing there recently or ask at Gerad's café when you buy your ticket. There is a barkeeper who speaks English.
You also should bring your own boat. You can rent a boat at several places like the cafes but it is really expensive if you stay there for two weeks. We usually use foldable boats like the Bananas. They easy to put on the top of your car and will carry you and all your tackle for the trip. You need the boat to transport your tackle from the parking area to the swim, finding the hot spots, for baiting, rowing out your baits and playing if you get a run. Try to play every fish from the boat and you will increase your chances not to loose is in the snags tremendously.
You don't have to bring all your food from home. In a distance of 10 km is a big supermarket located which is called Le Clerc where you can get everything you need or not need. This brings me to the big litter or waste problem. In every car park at the cafes you will find big waste boxes where you can put in your litter. Put your waste in plastic bags whilst fishing and put the them in a box when you leave the water. There is no excuse for leaving waste at the lakeside. Stupid behaviour like this will create more trouble and problems with the locals and the police. Please use a shovel when you follow the call of the nature. Dig in your sh.. and keep the place clean. 
A lot of people drive to lake Cassien every year, catch nothing and leave it frustrated. Don't expect too much when you go there for the first time. At lake Cassien you can catch a fish of your lifetime but is also very possible to struggle. Try to learn as much as possible and try to enjoy your fishing there. You can love this lake or hate it, there is not much in between. There would much more to say about this beautiful lake, but whatever you do, fish fair and keep it clean so you can come back the next time.
