Lac Berard Fishing in County of St. Paul No. 19, Alberta

• Overview

  County of St. Paul No. 19, Alberta, is where Lac Berard sits. The surface lies 630 metres up. With some 75 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The shoreline runs about 5.1 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. St. Paul sits 14 km from the bank. Two Hills lies 29 km off, Elk Point another 35 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Berard

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for County of St. Paul No. 19 include yellow perch, Iowa darter, northern pike, white sucker and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Lac Berard repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 16°C and January at -16°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. The season on Lac Berard rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Public mapping marks it as seasonal water rather than permanent. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Lac Cyr sits 3.2 km off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Lac Berard if anything is unclear.