Lac de la Belle in Laurentides: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac de la Belle belongs to Laurentides, Quebec. It stands 380 metres above sea level. It covers about 8 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Shoreline comes to about 1.6 km, small enough to learn in a day. The nearest place of any size is Ferme-Neuve, 83 km away. Gatineau is the closest city, 208 km away. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Belle

  We hold no depth figure for this one. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Species logged across Laurentides include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brook trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Read Lac de la Belle for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 17°C and January near -17°C on the long-run figures. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It holds true on Lac de la Belle more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac Piraube at 1.1 km is the sensible second choice. Nothing here settles the position at Lac de la Belle for certain.