The Nère runs past the garden, and you can fish it — all year round. Forty-five hectares of water ten minutes away, more than five hundred within half an hour. Trout in the Louge, catfish in the village lake — and a whole house to set down your rods.
La Broquère looks out over the Nère valley. The country around is water country: three first-category rivers within twenty minutes, a dozen or so still waters, the Garonne and the Salat half an hour away. The Comminges hasn't the reputation of the great Pyrenean rivers; it has the resource, without the crowds.
For a group, the house does the rest: seven bedrooms, fifteen guests, the whole place to yourselves, a large kitchen and outbuildings to dry your kit. The season — from the trout opening in mid-March to the last weeks of September — covers by far the quietest months of the year.
It flows below the grounds, among the trees. Not a torrent: a hill river, quiet, taking its time. And you can fish it — the whole of the Nère belongs to the Aurignac angling association's waters, including the stretch that borders the property. We asked before writing it down.
Don't expect two-kilo trout. It's modest fishing, and that's its charm: gudgeon, small fry, a little hook, maggots, a light rod. The fishing you do at eight and remember at forty.
And it never closes. The château's stretch is second-category water: gudgeon and coarse fish can be caught all year round, in January as in July. It's the only water in the area you can fish in November without taking the car.
A little hook, maggot or worm, a light rod drifting with the current. Gudgeon, small fry, coarse fish. You come home with the pan-fry for lunch. A valid fishing permit is all you need; the bank is private riverfront — please keep to the bank and close gates behind you.
Coarse fish and gudgeon have no closed season in second-category water. Four lines allowed, maggots permitted. Only predators take a winter break — they reopen on 25 April.
This is where a child catches their first fish. No journey, no waiting, no complicated kit. The discovery permit for 12–18s costs €22; for under-12s, €7.
That the Nère is a great trout beat. It isn't. The trout are in the Louge and the Salat, a quarter of an hour's drive away; the predators are at the lake. The Nère offers something else — the river at the end of the garden, without taking the car. That's rare, and it's enough.
Forty-five hectares bearing the name of the château's own commune, three and a half kilometres from the gate. It is run by the Aurignac angling association; the water is second-category. You catch pike, zander, perch — and catfish, which the association confirms are present. Coarse fish and black bass round out the picture.
The place has stayed wild: no facilities, no beach, no shops. It's an anglers' lake, and that is exactly what makes it worth it.
Boat and float-tube allowed, with a launch for small craft. Electric motor only — petrol engines are banned. Boating permitted from 1 January to the last Sunday in January, then from the last Saturday in April to 31 December.
The lake is among the waters where the Club Halieutique stamp (€40) is required. The weekly, daily, discovery, women's and junior permits are, however, exempt — a point that changes the maths of a stay, set out below.
Four rods allowed in second-category water. Size limit 50 cm for pike, 40 cm for zander. Black bass is strictly catch-and-release across the whole department: immediate return, no exceptions.
Three brown-trout rivers within twenty minutes. Two of them are restocked six times a season by the Aurignac association, on its visitor and beginner beats.
From the village lake to the two-hundred-and-fifty-hectare reservoir, the Comminges and the Savès hold an uncommon density of still waters — all within forty-five minutes.
The château's lake. Catfish, pike, zander, perch and coarse fish. Float-tube allowed, rarely busy.
The neighbouring commune, along the D98. Pike, zander, perch and black bass share it with carp and coarse fish — but the association is candid: it's zander and perch you bring out.
A farm reservoir left wild, six kilometres to the north. Carp and predators. Swimming is not allowed: you come to fish and to walk.
A reservoir on the Garonne, just off the motorway. Petrol engines allowed and a firm launch for any craft — the best put-in in the area. Catfish, zander, pike.
The big Garonne water. Petrol engines allowed, a firm launch. The nearby Lac de la Picayne hosts the department's competitions.
The largest in the area, at Lunax. Night carp allowed outside the bathing zone, with a firm launch. In fire season the lake is used by water-bombers to scoop: you should then return to the bank.
Night carp from the marked swims only. No bivouac from 15 July to 31 August; check the local by-law.
On the edge of Saint-Gaudens, ringed by a three-kilometre path — handy when some of the group aren't fishing.
Given the federation's “Family” label, and rated by it a fine predator beat from a float-tube, with a good head of pike. Catch-and-release beat: live and dead baitfish banned.
Drive times are indicative, from the château.
On 20 and 21 June 2026, the 32nd World Trout Fishing Championship with natural baits — nations and clubs — was held at Clarac, on the Garonne, below the Rodère dam: a nine-hundred-metre beat. The Saint-Gaudens association ran it, with those of Montréjeau and the Haut-Comminges. A parade of the competitors at Saint-Gaudens, a fishing village at Clarac, the prize-giving at Villeneuve-de-Rivière.
You don't pick a water at random to set the world's best anglers loose on it. The Comminges hasn't the fame of the great Pyrenean rivers; it has just been given the seal of approval. The beat is forty minutes from the château, and it fishes year-round.
Trout on natural baits — worm, waxworm, free-lining — is exactly the fishing done here: on the Louge, the Noue, the Salat, restocked six to seven times a season. These are the very waters the world's judges came to test.
Two well-regarded specialist shops serve the area, about half an hour away; several sell the fishing permit, if you'd rather buy it in person than online. Nearer — at Aurignac, a quarter of an hour off — the village ironmonger mends and rescues.
The best-stocked dealer in the area, run by enthusiasts whose advice is its reputation. Closed Sunday and Monday.
A local institution, open at dawn — and on Sunday mornings, which is rare. Hunting, fishing, tackle repairs.
A large store of hunting, fishing and country goods. The fishing permit is issued here. Open Monday to Saturday.
A remarkably well-stocked village ironmonger, at Aurignac. It sells no fishing tackle, but has what you need to mend, glue or replace — the handiest option when driving thirty kilometres for a screw would be absurd. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Gunsmith and fishing tackle, to the east of the area. Useful if your days are spent around Carbonne and the lower Garonne.
For a first kit, a pair of boots, or replacing something left behind. Closed Sunday.
The federation keeps an up-to-date interactive map of permit sellers at fede-peche31.com ↗.
The Haute-Garonne fishing federation publishes two interactive maps covering all the fishable water in the department. The layers switch on as you need them: night carp beats, boat fishing, accessible fishing, category limits, reserve zones.
Beats, reserves, first- and second-category limits, night carp beats and accessible fishing.
Lakes and reservoirs, launch points, jetties accessible to those with reduced mobility.
A permit is required of anyone who fishes, whatever their age — riverfront owners included. It takes a few minutes at cartedepeche.fr ↗, or from one of the shops above.
| 2026 permit | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | €18.50 | One day · Haute-Garonne only · 1st and 2nd category |
| Weekly | €36.50 | Seven consecutive days · 1st and 2nd category · 91 departments |
| Adult | €87 | The year · Haute-Garonne, excluding waters marked “H” |
| Inter-federation | €114 | The year · 91 departments · all waters |
| Junior (12–18) | €27 | The year · 91 departments |
| Discovery (under 12) | €8 | The year · one line |
| Women's discovery | €42 | The year · one line |
| Club Halieutique stamp | €40 | Add-on, for “H” lakes — including Saint-André and the Gimone |
For a week's stay, the weekly permit — €36.50 — is the best value. It covers first and second category, is valid in ninety-one departments, and is exempt from the Club Halieutique stamp: so it opens Lake Saint-André and the Gimone at no extra cost.
The annual adult permit, at €87, does not cover them — you must add the €40 stamp. For a week, the weekly gives access to the same waters for a third of the price.
Fishing is closed for the two days before each stocking. If you're aiming at a stocked beat, that constrains your arrival date.
Bag limits. In first category: ten salmonids and two pike, one rod only. In second category: ten salmonids and three predators, of which at most two pike, four rods. Size limits 50 cm for pike, 40 cm for zander, 23 cm for brown trout in second category. Black bass is strictly catch-and-release.
Four qualified guides are listed by the federation for the department. Taking one for the first day is often worth the cost: for a beginner's lesson, or simply to find swims it would take a whole season to find alone.
Fly, tight-line nymph, free-lined natural baits, lures.
River and lake trout, predators from the bank, kayak and float-tube. Youth trips, ages 8 to 16.
Beginner sessions, school projects, trekking-and-fishing trips. Trout and predators.
Trout free-lined, on the nymph, on lures and on the fly — up to the mountain lakes. Predators from the bank.
Yes. The Nère runs past the grounds, and the whole river belongs to the Aurignac angling association's waters — we checked with them before writing it down. A valid fishing permit is all you need. It isn't a great trout beat: you catch gudgeon and small fry, on a little hook and a maggot. It's children's fishing, three minutes from the door. The stretch is second-category water: gudgeon and coarse fish can be caught all year round, with no close season, on four lines and maggots.
Yes, without exception. Anyone who fishes, at any age, must join an AAPPMA and pay the aquatic-environment levy — riverfront owners included. The permit is strictly personal and non-transferable. Get it online at cartedepeche.fr, or from a local seller.
The weekly permit, €36.50 in 2026: seven consecutive days, first and second category, valid in ninety-one departments. It is also exempt from the Club Halieutique stamp, which opens Lake Saint-André and the Gimone at no extra cost.
Yes. Lake Saint-André is among the waters where the Club Halieutique stamp (€40) is required — but the weekly, daily, discovery, women's and junior permits are expressly exempt. The €87 annual adult permit, however, is not enough on its own: you must add the stamp.
In 2026, trout opens on Saturday 14 March at 06:38 and closes on 20 September. Predators — pike, zander, perch, black bass — open on Saturday 25 April at 06:25. In second-category water there is also a window from 1 to 25 January.
Yes. Lake Saint-André allows boat and float-tube with an electric motor — petrol is banned — and has a launch for small craft. Lake Boussens and the Cazères water, on the Garonne, also allow petrol engines and have firm launches. As a float-tube counts as a craft, buoyancy equipment and insurance are required.
Yes, all year, except the nights of 24 to 26 April 2026. In the area: the Gimone outside the bathing zone, Lake Boulogne-sur-Gesse from the marked swims, and the Garonne from Boussens to Pinsaguel. You must mark your presence with a light; any carp caught at night is returned at once.
The specialist shops are about half an hour away: Saint Go Pêche and Decathlon at Estancarbon, Maison Ducos at Mane, Terres et Eaux at Villeneuve-de-Rivière — which issues the permit — and Comminges Armes at Carbonne. Much nearer, at Aurignac (twelve minutes), the Canut Zapater ironmonger handles small repairs. The federation keeps an up-to-date interactive map of all sellers.
It's one of the things the house suits best. Sole use, seven bedrooms, fifteen guests, fully equipped kitchen, barbecue, outbuildings for kit, pets welcome on the ground floor. The fishing season, March to September, covers much of the low and mid season.
Access to the Nère confirmed by the Aurignac angling association (Michel Lacroix), July 2026. Sources: Guide Pêche 31 — 2026 edition, Haute-Garonne departmental federation for fishing and the protection of the aquatic environment (fede-peche31.com · 05 61 42 58 64). The information on this page is given as a guide and may change: the préfecture order in force and the current year's guide are the sole authority. Check reserves and no-fishing zones before heading to the water.