Lac Barbe in Laurentides: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Laurentides, Quebec. The surface lies 240 metres up. The water covers some 13 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 1.6 km of margin, front to back. Ferme-Neuve sits 45 km from the bank. It is 161 km to Gatineau, the nearest city. Others worth noting: Lac Usher 2.7 km away, Lac Minou roughly 2.9 km, Lac Miron 3 km away, Lac Frime roughly 3.5 km and Lac Alces 3.6 km away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Barbe

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Reported across Laurentides: pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brook trout. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Anyone new to Lac Barbe should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -15°C to 18°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Lac Barbe runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac Usher at 2.7 km is the sensible second choice. The position on Lac Barbe is worth confirming on the day.