Lac Cardou in Nord-du-Québec: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Nord-du-Québec, Quebec. It sits at 537 metres above sea level. At 3.80 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. There is roughly 28 km of bank, and each arm behaves like its own water. It is high ground by Quebec standards. Labrador City is the closest place, 218 km off. Saguenay sits 654 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac Cardou

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Records held for Nord-du-Québec cover Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout, lake whitefish and cisco. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Lac Cardou fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 13°C at the top of summer and -25°C at the bottom of winter. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. Look for the thaw near late May; the fishing lifts straight after. On average, late May opens the water and late October closes it again. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Anyone fishing Lac Cardou regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Lac Loubois sits 12 km off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Lac Cardou if anything is unclear.