Lac Cameron near Saint-Raphaël: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  The Outaouais end of Quebec holds Lac Cameron. Around the bank it is rolling bush. This is sizeable water at about 1.50 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. The shoreline runs about 7.2 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Few waters listed in Outaouais are bigger. Saint-Raphaël at 10 km is the nearest place to stop. After that come Maniwaki at 23 km and Saint-Boniface at 36 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Cameron

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Lac Cameron for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 19°C on average, January about -13°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It holds true on Lac Cameron more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. A jetty or pier is mapped about 700 m from here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Lac Wright, 2.1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Lac Cameron carry more weight than any list.