Lac Bleu Fishing near Maniwaki, Quebec

• Overview

  Outaouais, Quebec, is where Lac Bleu sits. Country round the bank runs to lake country bush. With some 11 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 1.3 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Maniwaki is the closest town at 18 km. Saint-Boniface lies 24 km off, Mont-Laurier another 26 km. Two sets of local rules meet not far from this water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bleu

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Survey and observation records for Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Read Lac Bleu before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -14°C to 18°C. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Anyone fishing Lac Bleu regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac Croche at 0.7 km is the sensible second choice. Signs at Lac Bleu carry more weight than any list.