Lac Duguay Fishing near Maniwaki, Quebec

• Overview

  Set in Laurentides, Quebec, this is Lac Duguay. It sits at 335 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 13 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Around 2.0 km of margin, front to back. You are 23 km from Maniwaki. Gatineau is the closest city, 98 km away. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Lac Duguay

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Laurentides, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brook trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The shape of Lac Duguay decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -14°C. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. That is the shape of the year on Lac Duguay.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, Lac Bella is 1.9 km off. Check the position at Lac Duguay before loading the car.