Lac Deroy in Nord-du-Québec: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Deroy is a Nord-du-Québec water, in Quebec. It sits in spruce and muskeg. At 2.21 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. At about 9.4 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. The closest town, Kuujjuaq, is 346 km distant. Saguenay sits 765 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Deroy

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Nord-du-Québec include Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout, lake whitefish and cisco. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Lac Deroy the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 13°C in July and bottom out at -25°C in January. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late May. From about late May to around late October, expect open water on the long-run figures. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Deroy.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Lac Beaupin is 1.9 km distant. None of that is settled for Lac Deroy in what we hold.