Fishing Lac du Nord-Est in Côte-Nord, Quebec

• Overview

  The Côte-Nord entry here is Lac du Nord-Est, in Quebec. It stands 510 metres above sea level. This is big water, about 11.41 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. Some 46 km of shoreline means conditions can differ from one end to the other. Few waters listed in Côte-Nord are bigger. Port-Cartier is the closest place, 88 km off. The big place round here is Saguenay, 366 km distant. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Nord-Est

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Côte-Nord include logperch. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Fish Lac du Nord-Est to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 14°C and January near -19°C on the long-run figures. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The lid usually goes in mid May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid May until roughly early November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Plan around that when you fish Lac du Nord-Est.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Perch take small lures and worms fished near the bottom close to structure. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Lac du Passage, 1.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat access at Lac du Nord-Est as something to verify.