Lac Baril, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac Baril is an Outaouais water, in Quebec. It sits in lake country bush. It runs to roughly 11 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The bank runs about 1.7 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Some 20 km away sits Saint-Raphaël, the nearest settlement. Maniwaki is 30 km and Saint-Boniface 39 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Baril

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Open biodiversity records for Outaouais list pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Take Lac Baril a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -14°C and July at about 18°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Anyone fishing Lac Baril regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Lac Yama is 1.6 km distant. Check the position at Lac Baril before loading the car.