De Mille Lake Fishing Guide, Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador

• Overview

  De Mille Lake is set in Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador. Height above sea level is 530 metres. At roughly 16.57 sq km it ranks among the larger waters in the region. The outline measures near 62 km, so a boat opens up water the bank never reaches. It is one of the larger waters we list anywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador. The nearest place of any size is Wabush, 24 km away. For a city, Saguenay is 602 km off. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on De Mille Lake

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Wabush, recorded fish include lake whitefish, Atlantic salmon and brook trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On De Mille Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -23°C and July at about 13°C, the water has a wide range to work through. This is a two-season water: locked, then wide open. Break-up comes around late May, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up sits around late May on average, with the water closing again about late October. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. De Mille Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. You will be walking about 1.3 km from the nearest car park. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Moosehead Lake, 11 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for De Mille Lake.