Lac Bourget Fishing Guide, Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Bourget falls inside Laurentides. This is mixed forest ground. It measures about 53 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. With 5.8 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. It ranks high for size among our Laurentides listings. For a base, La Minerve sits 6.2 km out. Lac-Simon is 21 km away, with Labelle at 22 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Bourget

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Open biodiversity records for Laurentides list pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brook trout and rock bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Lac Bourget for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -14°C. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. At Lac Bourget the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Lac du Martin-Pecheur, 0.7 km out. Where Lac Bourget is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.