Fishing at Lac Butcher, Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Butcher belongs to Laurentides. The land about it is pine and birch. Small at around 6 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Nearest place of any size is Ferme-Neuve, 21 km away. Further out sit Mont-Laurier (38 km) and Saint-Boniface (62 km). Close by you have: Petit lac Rabot near enough 1.7 km, Lac Cain after 2.1 km, Lac Boucher near enough 2.1 km, Grand lac Rabot after 2.8 km and Lac a la Truite near enough 3.3 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Butcher

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Reported across Laurentides: pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brook trout and rock bass. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Treat Lac Butcher as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -15°C. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Break-up sits around late April on average, with the water closing again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Lac Butcher runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Mapping shows a jetty some 1.2 km off. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Failing this one, try Petit lac Rabot, 1.7 km away. For Lac Butcher in particular, ask before you travel.