Lac Cerf, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Abitibi-Témiscamingue end of Quebec holds Lac Cerf. The bank is 353 metres above sea level. At about 13 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 1.9 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Mattawa is the closest place, 38 km off. Greater Sudbury is the closest city, 206 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Cerf

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Abitibi-Témiscamingue cover northern pike, yellow perch and walleye. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. At Lac Cerf the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 18°C at the top of summer and -14°C at the bottom of winter. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late April. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Expect Lac Cerf to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Lac Duchrow is 2.8 km distant. Where Lac Cerf is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.