Lac Bacalan Fishing Guide, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac Bacalan, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. The setting is pine and birch on every side. With some 11 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. About 1.5 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. The nearest town is Notre-Dame-du-Lac, 110 km away. Gatineau is the closest city, 236 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bacalan

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Abitibi-Témiscamingue cover northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Lac Bacalan responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -15°C to 17°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Lac Bacalan rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Lac du Tresor at 0.5 km is the nearest alternative. The position on Lac Bacalan is worth confirming on the day.