Lac Coquart in Côte-Nord: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Côte-Nord, Quebec. It sits at 442 metres above sea level. The water covers around 9.97 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. The bank runs about 35 km in total, split between open shore and sheltered corners. It ranks high for size among our Côte-Nord listings. The town to know is Port-Cartier, 81 km out. The big place round here is Saguenay, 346 km distant. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Coquart

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Across Côte-Nord, recorded fish include logperch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Lac Coquart fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 14°C; by January the average is down near -19°C. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Break-up comes around mid May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid May and starts locking again about early November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Anyone fishing Lac Coquart regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the perch, a small jig tipped with worm, dropped along the edges, is hard to beat. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. If the gate is shut, Lac Bien at 2.3 km is the nearest alternative. Rules at Lac Coquart are worth checking on the day.