Lac Begin in Côte-Nord: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Begin is one of the Côte-Nord waters in Quebec. The bank is 447 metres above sea level. The water covers around 3.23 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. The shoreline runs about 11 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. It ranks high for size among our Côte-Nord listings. For a base, Chute-aux-Outardes sits 108 km out. Saguenay sits 202 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Begin

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Côte-Nord records list logperch among the fish reported. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Work Lac Begin in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 16°C and January near -19°C. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Look for the thaw near mid May; the fishing lifts straight after. Averages suggest open water from about mid May through to roughly early November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Lac Begin rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the perch, a small jig tipped with worm, dropped along the edges, is hard to beat. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac Jessie sits 4.1 km off and takes the overflow. Check the position on Lac Begin before loading the car.