Lac du Lamantin in Côte-Nord: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac du Lamantin is a Côte-Nord water, Quebec side. The surroundings are spruce and muskeg. It runs to roughly 64 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The town to know is Saint-Honoré, 87 km out. Saint-Fulgence follows at 88 km, then Saint-Ambroise at 96 km. Other water within reach: Lac de l'Asterie (1.2 km), Lac du Sac at 1.5 km, Lac de l'Ecope (2.1 km), Lac du Mouton at 2.2 km and Lac Outarde (2.6 km). No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Lamantin

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Across Côte-Nord, recorded fish include logperch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Lac du Lamantin as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 16°C on average, January about -19°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid May. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac du Lamantin.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the perch, a small jig tipped with worm, dropped along the edges, is hard to beat. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Lac de l'Asterie is 1.2 km distant. What applies at Lac du Lamantin may have changed since it was mapped.