Lac Keshtets in Outaouais: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Keshtets belongs to Outaouais, Quebec. This is northern bush ground. It covers about 5 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The town to know is Ferme-Neuve, 94 km out. Beyond it, Saint-Boniface at 96 km and Mont-Laurier at 105 km. Other water nearby: Lac du Patre within 1.5 km, Lac du Rejet some 1.6 km off, Lac Lignine within 2.3 km, Lac de la Pelerine some 2.3 km off and Lac Gerard within 2.7 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac Keshtets

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Lac Keshtets gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -17°C. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. That is the shape of the year on Lac Keshtets.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. If the gate is shut, Lac du Patre at 1.5 km is the nearest alternative. Signs at Lac Keshtets carry more weight than any list.