Fishing at Lac Blais, Côte-Nord, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Blais stands in Côte-Nord, Quebec. The surface lies 529 metres up. Roughly 94 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. You are looking at roughly 8.9 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. The closest town, Labrador City, is 244 km distant. The big place round here is Saguenay, 812 km distant. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Blais

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Across Côte-Nord, recorded fish include logperch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Lac Blais a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -24°C to 12°C. Cold dominates the year and the fishing works around it. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near early June. Climate averages put the opening at about early June and the closing near late October. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan around that when you fish Lac Blais.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. For the perch, a small jig tipped with worm, dropped along the edges, is hard to beat. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Lac Philippe, 1.5 km away. None of that is settled for Lac Blais in what we hold.