Lac Ambroise in Outaouais: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Ambroise is set in Outaouais, Quebec. The ground round it is lake country bush. This is a pocket water of some 5 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Quebec listings. 16 km away sits Maniwaki, the nearest town. Further out sit Saint-Raphaël (20 km) and Saint-Boniface (26 km). Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Ambroise

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. 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. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. At Lac Ambroise the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 19°C; by January the average is down near -13°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Anyone fishing Lac Ambroise regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. The nearest mapped parking is 1.3 km away, so the last stretch is on foot. Overnight stays are possible about 620 m out, where camping is mapped. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Lac du Pont de Pierre, 1 km out. Rules at Lac Ambroise are worth checking on the day.