Lac Gough Fishing in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Gough in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec. Elevation runs to 360 metres. The water covers some 21 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. There is roughly 3.2 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Senneterre lies 105 km from the water. Then Val-d'Or, 120 km, and Ferme-Neuve, 127 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Gough

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Abitibi-Témiscamingue cover northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Lac Gough decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 17°C on average, January about -18°C. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Anyone fishing Lac Gough regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Lac Camiers is 1.6 km distant. Check the position at Lac Gough before loading the car.