Lac de la Butte in Nord-du-Québec: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac de la Butte lies in Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec. It sits at 252 metres above sea level. This is big water, about 10.18 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. The bank runs about 60 km in total, split between open shore and sheltered corners. Size puts it in the front rank of our Nord-du-Québec list. Nearest place of any size is Kuujjuaq, 116 km away. For a city, Saguenay is 976 km off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Butte

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Across Nord-du-Québec, recorded fish include Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout and lake whitefish. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Lac de la Butte gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -25°C to 12°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early June. Ice usually gives way near early June, and forms again about late October. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. On Lac de la Butte the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Lac Leroux at 3.5 km is the nearest alternative. What applies at Lac de la Butte may have changed since it was mapped.