Fishing at Lac des Vents, Nord-du-Québec, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac des Vents lies in Nord-du-Québec, in Quebec. The surroundings are taiga. At 32.89 sq km you are fishing a fraction of it whatever you do. Few waters listed in Nord-du-Québec are bigger. The closest town, Chapais, is 34 km distant. It is 302 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. More in the same country: Lac Rane (4.8 km), Lac de la Baie 5.6 km away, Lac Caopatina (8.3 km), Lac Irene 11 km away and Lac du Bras Coupe (11 km). There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Vents

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Nord-du-Québec records list Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout, lake whitefish and cisco among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Lac des Vents a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 16°C, with January the cold end at about -19°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Count the season from break-up, usually early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Anyone fishing Lac des Vents regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. The nearest alternative is Lac Rane, 4.8 km out. Where Lac des Vents is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.