Lac des Peupliers Fishing Guide, Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac des Peupliers is one of the Outaouais listings for Quebec. Everything around it is mixed forest. At about 24 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 3.2 km of margin, front to back. Some 39 km away sits Deep River, the nearest settlement. Further out sit Chalk River (42 km) and Petawawa (48 km). It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Peupliers

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Lac des Peupliers that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -14°C to 18°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. That is the shape of the year on Lac des Peupliers.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Should this one be busy, Lac Francoeur is 2.1 km off. Rules at Lac des Peupliers are worth checking on the day.