Lac des Vases Fishing near Saint-Raphaël, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac des Vases is an Outaouais water, Quebec side. It sits at 175 metres above sea level. At about 59 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The perimeter runs near 5.8 km, so plan the walk before you start. Few waters listed in Outaouais are bigger. 16 km away sits Saint-Raphaël, the nearest town. It is 80 km to Gatineau, the nearest city. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Vases

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Lac des Vases rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -13°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. At Lac des Vases the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lac de la Tuque at 1.3 km is the sensible second choice. Ask locally about Lac des Vases if anything is unclear.