Labyrinth

The Labyrinth fishery nestles amongst 100 acres of mature woodland in the famous Yonne valley. It comprises one beautiful, intriguingly – shaped lake of about 50 acres, another of 5 acres and one mile of the River Yonne.The property was purchased by Les Beaux Lacs in 2007 and represented an enormous amount of hard work to turn it into a fishery. The previous owners had never fished the property and had left it locked-up and unused for 15 years! Since then, one mile of fencing has been erected, over a mile of woodland track cleared, one mile of electric cable and water piping laid underground, several fridge/freezer centres constructed, plus showers, washroom, toilets and more than 25 swims made!

The Main Lake
The main body of water is known as The Labyrinth because of its intricate combination of points, bays, creeks and heavy tree-growth, in which it can be difficult to find one’s way! The Labyrinth is about 50 years old and was originally attached to the Yonne, so that barges could take away the sand and gravel. When completed, the river entrance was closed and the whole place left to go wild. The lake averages about 12 feet in depth, with numerous shallower bars and plateaux. Clean sand and gravel spots can be found at all depths as well as silty pockets. Weed-beds are present and these become more prominent later in the summer in the bays and smaller areas. The carp have been caught at all ranges from under the rod tips, to medium range and at distances exceeding 100 yards (bait boats are permitted).

Stock
There are about 650 carp in the main lake at present and this is made up of about 150 original fish and a further 500 that have been introduced (see our website for details and pictures of some of the stock fish). A photographic record is being kept of as many fish as possible and this shows more and more originals still being caught. The current Labyrinth lake record is a 74.2lb mirror caught by Steve Pearce from Goblins in October 2014. The lake record is not expected to stand very long, especially as there has been several reliable sightings of at least one huge, original common! In addition to the carp stock, there are a few catfish present and although these average only 50lbs, a huge fish of well over 100lb was seen, hooked and lost, and soon adopted the name of the Minotaur (the guardian of the Labyrinth!).

Swims
There are currently 22 swims on the main lake and this might be increased to a maximum of 25 in the future. If you look at the plan of the lake, you will see that great care has been taken to ensure that every swim has ample water in front of it and that no swims are ‘competing’ with each other. There are now six double swims; Dredger’s Point, The Redwood, La Plage, Meercat, Roe Deer Bay and The Stumps. (A draw for double swims takes place before the main draw). About a third have been dug out by machine and are dead-level and the remainder have been left natural, so some of them are sloping towards the water.

River Yonne
The River Yonne is certainly one of the best carp rivers in Europe and has produced a former world record of 81 pounds, only a short way downstream from our stretch. There is a reasonable head of carp up to 40 pounds with a sprinkling of much larger fish. Our stretch is nearly a mile long and has been fished very little. Several swims have been cleared in strategic positions and these offer exciting fishing for many previously uncaught fish. All our seven swims are registered as private with the navigation authorities. For most of the year, normal carp gear and leads up to 4oz is adequate – only in times of high rainfall are heavier leads required. A good ploy is to keep a river swim baited whilst fishing the lake and then drop onto the river for a night or two if you fancy a change. Several large fish, including 55, 59 and 62 pounders, have been caught from our privately-registered swims.

Facilities
Mains water and electricity have been laid on at the fishery. There are toilets situated at three places, as shown on the main plan. The main toilet and shower block is situated between the Tennis Court Swim and La Plage and this features three electric showers, two toilets and two large sinks with hot water 24/7. There are several drinking water taps around the fishery and these are also shown on the plan. There are currently three fridge and freezer centres. These contain large fridges and freezers, mains charging points (UK and continental sockets) and a worktop to support radio-controlled boats, etc. 

Details on the other lake in our complex can be found here:

Mar-Pêche

1. NO ACCESS to the fishery BEFORE 1pm on the first day of your booking. There will be a DRAW for swims at 2pm (French time), except for chalet anglers (Mar-Peche) and fortnightly bookings (on their second week) which have priority. A draw for double swims (of which there are six) is made before the normal draw.

2. Departing anglers must leave the property by 10am on last morning.

3. On MAR-PECHE; anglers booking Kingfisher Lodge will automatically be given exclusive use of The Jetty swim and anglers booking Woodpecker Lodge will automatically be given exclusive use of The Fallen Tree swim. If chalet anglers choose not to fish their designated swim and set-up elsewhere, then that chalet swim becomes available to other anglers for the remainder of the week.

4. Maximum of four rods per person. Rods must be fished from the same swim and not spread along the bank.

5. All particle baits (beans & seeds) must be fully cooked before use, ‘soaked only’ particles can be a danger to the fish and are not permitted.

6. No litter; any anglers found with litter in their swim whilst fishing, or after they have left, will be banned from the fishery. Please note that ‘litter’ includes beer bottle tops and the cellophane from around cigarette packets!

7. All baits to be reeled in when temporarily leaving the lake.

8. No non-fishing guests unless agreed with the management beforehand.

9. ROWING BOATS: MAR-PECHE: there are two rowing boats, but these are strictly for fish-rescue only and BOUYANCY AID JACKETS MUST BE WORN. The boats are not to be used for anything other than to rescue a snagged fish and anyone using them for other reasons will be asked to leave the fishery immediately. Use of boats on either fishery is done entirely at your own risk and no responsibility is accepted by the management for any accidents or injuries that might occur. Anglers are NOT PERMITTED to bring their own rowing boats. LABYRINTH: Rowing boats are available for hire at the lake; maximum of two anglers per boat and bouyancy aid jackets must be worn at all times. Anglers are NOT PERMITTED to bring their own rowing boats.

10. RADIO CONTROLLED BOATS: MAR-PECHE: Radio controlled boats are not permitted on Mar-Peche, EXCEPT on ‘whole lake’ bookings. LABYRINTH: Radio controlled boats are permitted on Labyrinth but these must not be sent over other anglers’ areas.

11. Please challenge any persons that you suspect should not be on site. All anglers should be in possession of a Booking Confirmation, etc. Avoid giving any information about the fishery and its stock, etc. to people that should not be on the property. Inform the management immediately if you discover anyone that should not be on site as they could be tackle thieves!

12. Abuse of alcohol or use of drugs is forbidden (you must remain sober at all times).

13. All carp caught must be photographed on each side and the pictures with details of weights, sent to Les Beaux Lacs within 4 weeks of trip.

14. All gates to be closed and properly locked at all times.

15. Anglers must show the maximum possible respect to other anglers by being polite and courteous at all times. When driving around the lake you must keep to the outer perimeter track in order to keep disturbance to a minimum. When driving around in darkness, please drive very slowly and use side lights only.

16. All anglers to exercise the greatest possible care of fish; use LARGE unhooking mats, and position on flat ground surrounded by grass. No sacking on MAR-PECHE. On the LABYRINTH, only use sacks which have a good water exchange, no retaining carp for more than three daylight hours. Do not sack carp in less than 4 feet of water. Avoid sacking fish that are in a spawning condition. Catfish are not to be retained in sacks or tunnels. YOU MUST BRING MATS, SLINGS AND SACKS BIG ENOUGH FOR CARP OVER 80 POUNDS IN WEIGHT AND UP TO 4 FEET LONG. No sacking allowed on Labyrinth in July & August.

17. Removal or introduction of fish strictly prohibited (except Rules 25).

18. The owners or any private guests of theirs, reserve the right to fish at any time, except in the instance of whole lake bookings.

19. The management reserves the right to amend these rules or add new rules at any time, except in the case of ‘whole lake’ bookings.

20. No dogs, no open fires (except barbeques) and no guns.

21. Strictly NO SWIMMING under any circumstances.

22. Only single hooks (no doubles or trebles) are to be used for catfish.

23. Anyone asked to leave the fishery due to rule-breaking will not be entitled to a refund whatsoever.

24. All BREAM are to be removed from the main lake and put into the small lake or river.

25. Maggots - only live maggots can be used - no dead ones are to be put in the lake.

26. Although we have two fisheries, anglers are only allowed access to the fishery for which they have a reservation, unless previously agreed with the management.

Advice for fishing in France can be found HERE.

GPS:
Lat 48.347137451172
Lon 3.102772951126

ADDRESS

Rue de la Chapelotte, 89340 Villeblevin, France

PHONE

07803 813314

EMAIL

lesbeauxlacs@aol.co.uk

WEBSITE

Lake Website

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