Fishing at Lac Abidos, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec, sits Lac Abidos. What surrounds it is mixed forest. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Head to Notre-Dame-du-Lac, 108 km away, for anything you forgot. Gatineau is the closest city, 241 km away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Abidos

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Abitibi-Témiscamingue include northern pike, yellow perch and walleye. The county list is broader than any single water. Read Lac Abidos before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 17°C; the cold one sits at -15°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. That is the shape of the year on Lac Abidos.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac Hozain at 0.5 km is the sensible second choice. What applies at Lac Abidos may have changed since it was mapped.