Lac des Castors Fishing near Saint-André-Avellin, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac des Castors stands in Outaouais, Quebec. It stands 248 metres above sea level. At 2 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Our Outaouais list holds plenty of bigger water. The closest town, Saint-André-Avellin, is 5.2 km distant. The nearest city of size is Orléans, 40 km away. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Castors

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Reported across Outaouais: pumpkinseed, yellow perch and smallmouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On Lac des Castors that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 19°C and January at -13°C. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. The lid tends to go about late April and return around early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That is the shape of the year on Lac des Castors.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. If the gate is shut, Lac a Larouche at 0.2 km is the nearest alternative. Rules at Lac des Castors are worth checking on the day.