Fishing at Lac Larochelle, Côte-Nord, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Larochelle sits within Côte-Nord in Quebec. The water sits 169 metres up. The water covers some 25 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. About 5.0 km of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Ground here is low by Quebec standards. Maliotenam is the closest town at 37 km. The big place round here is Saguenay, 444 km distant. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Larochelle

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. 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. Côte-Nord records list logperch among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Lac Larochelle the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 15°C in July and bottoms out near -16°C in January. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. At Lac Larochelle the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Perch take small lures and worms fished near the bottom close to structure. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Lac Pontois, 2.5 km away. Where Lac Larochelle is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.