Lac de l'Ouest Fishing in Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac de l'Ouest stands in Mauricie, Quebec. The setting is northern bush. At about 36 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 3.0 km, small enough to learn in a day. Size puts it in the front rank of our Mauricie list. Start from La Tuque, 57 km down the road. Saguenay is the closest city, 112 km away. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac de l'Ouest

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Mauricie cover northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Read Lac de l'Ouest for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -16°C to 17°C. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On average, early May opens the water and mid November closes it again. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac de l'Ouest runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Lac des Fougeres at 1.2 km is the nearest alternative. For Lac de l'Ouest, the notice at the access point is the final word.