Lac en Boucle Fishing near Chapais, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac en Boucle is one of the Nord-du-Québec listings for Quebec. The surface lies 343 metres up. At some 2.83 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. There is roughly 17 km of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. Start from Chapais, 55 km down the road. Waswanipi follows at 68 km, then Chibougamau at 78 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac en Boucle

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Nord-du-Québec include Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout, lake whitefish and cisco. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Lac en Boucle responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 16°C and January reads -20°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. The season on Lac en Boucle follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. For a change of water, Lac des Petites Plages is 4.6 km distant. The position on Lac en Boucle is worth confirming on the day.