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

• Overview

  You will find Lac du Merle in Côte-Nord, Quebec. Country round the bank runs to spruce and muskeg. Around 15 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. A shoreline of some 1.7 km keeps the choices simple. You are 42 km from Forestville. Beyond it, Betsiamites at 50 km and Chute-aux-Outardes at 65 km. Nearest other option: Lac Aspen 0.8 km away, Lac du Tremble 1 km, Lac Gravel 1.5 km away, Lac Roger 1.6 km and Lac Kinney 1.6 km away. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Merle

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Côte-Nord, recorded fish include logperch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read Lac du Merle before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 16°C and January at -17°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Plan around that when you fish Lac du Merle.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Perch take small lures and worms fished near the bottom close to structure. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lac Aspen at 0.8 km is the sensible second choice. The position on Lac du Merle is worth confirming on the day.