Fishing at Lac en Goutte, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac en Goutte is set in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec. It sits in lake country bush country. It runs to roughly 10 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. About 1.4 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. You are 82 km from Val-d'Or. Gatineau sits 260 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac en Goutte

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Abitibi-Témiscamingue cover northern pike, yellow perch and walleye. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Lac en Goutte gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -16°C. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about late November in a typical year. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. On Lac en Goutte the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. For a change of water, Lac Pazzara is 0.7 km distant. The position on Lac en Goutte is worth confirming on the day.