Lac Du Bauchet, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Côte-Nord end of Quebec holds Lac Du Bauchet. Height above sea level is 418 metres. The water covers around 4.43 sq km, which puts most of it out of reach from the bank. At about 44 km of edge, most people fish a single area and learn it well. Size puts it in the front rank of our Côte-Nord list. Kuujjuaq is the closest town at 286 km. The nearest city of size is Saguenay, 868 km away. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Du Bauchet

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Open biodiversity records for Côte-Nord list logperch. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Lac Du Bauchet gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 12°C at the top of summer and -24°C at the bottom of winter. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Ice-out usually falls in early June, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around early June on average, with the water closing again about late October. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It holds true on Lac Du Bauchet more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the perch, a small jig tipped with worm, dropped along the edges, is hard to beat. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac Morpain at 3.6 km is the sensible second choice. For Lac Du Bauchet in particular, ask before you travel.