Lac Carmichael, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Outaouais, Quebec, this is Lac Carmichael. The surface lies 282 metres up. This is a pocket water of some 9 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. The closest town, Deep River, is 58 km distant. Gatineau is the closest city, 136 km away. Others worth noting: Lac du Chimpanze at about 2.4 km, Lac de l'Enclume 3.1 km, Lac Cameron at about 3.6 km, Lac Giroux 4.5 km and Lac Lucas at about 5.8 km. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lac Carmichael

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Treat Lac Carmichael as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -15°C. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. The season on Lac Carmichael rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Lac du Chimpanze, 2.4 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Lac Carmichael as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.