Fishing at Lac Jackie, Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Jackie sits within Outaouais in Quebec. The water sits 367 metres up. At about 12 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Shoreline comes to about 2.4 km, small enough to learn in a day. Some 91 km away sits Saint-Boniface, the nearest settlement. Maniwaki is 102 km and Ferme-Neuve 109 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Jackie

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Outaouais cover pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Anyone new to Lac Jackie should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 17°C; by January the average is down near -17°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. Ice clears near early May and comes back about late November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Lac Jackie fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Lac Aconit is 0.6 km distant. Ask locally about Lac Jackie if anything is unclear.