Lac Barrie in Nord-du-Québec: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Barrie lies in Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec. Salt water lies 30 km off. Roughly 60 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 4.0 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Ground here is low by Quebec standards. 52 km away sits Kuujjuaq, the nearest town. It is 1091 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Barrie

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Nord-du-Québec records list Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout and lake whitefish among the fish reported. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Lac Barrie rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 12°C at the top of summer and -24°C at the bottom of winter. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early June. Break-up sits around early June on average, with the water closing again about late October. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Lac Barrie rarely departs from it.

• 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. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Lac Fox is 5.7 km off. Treat access at Lac Barrie as something to verify.