Fishing Lac Charles in Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Outaouais in Quebec is where Lac Charles sits. The surface lies 236 metres up. Small at around 8 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel at 27 km is the nearest place to stop. Then Ripon, 27 km, and Saint-André-Avellin, 29 km. Also on the doorstep: Lac Brymer just 3.8 km, Lac a la Croix 4.1 km away, Lac Fletcher just 4.4 km, Lac Bobine 4.8 km away and Lac Champagneur just 4.9 km. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Lac Charles

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Lac Charles the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 19°C, with January the cold end at about -13°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Ice clears near late April and comes back about early December in a typical year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. The season on Lac Charles follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Lac Brymer is 3.8 km off. Check the current arrangement for Lac Charles.