Fishing Lac Beauchamp in Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Set in Outaouais, Quebec, this is Lac Beauchamp. Elevation runs to 49 metres. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Quebec listings. Nearest place of any size is Templeton-Est, 2.7 km away. Viscount Alexander Park is 4.1 km away, with Gatineau at 6.3 km. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Beauchamp

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Anyone new to Lac Beauchamp should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -11°C and July at about 21°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. Ice clears near mid April and comes back about early December in a typical year. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Anyone fishing Lac Beauchamp regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. There is a car park 180 m from the bank. Parc du Lac-Beauchamp takes in this water; protected-area rules will apply. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Baie McLaurin, 3.7 km away. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Beauchamp for certain.