Lac Leclerc in Outaouais: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Outaouais end of Quebec holds Lac Leclerc. It sits in mixed forest country. With some 49 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 4.2 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Outaouais list. Supplies mean a trip to Saint-Boniface, 87 km off. Ferme-Neuve follows at 89 km, then Mont-Laurier at 99 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Leclerc

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. 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. Across Outaouais, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Lac Leclerc to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -17°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. On average, early May opens the water and late November closes it again. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan around that when you fish Lac Leclerc.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Failing this one, try Lac de la Vigne, 1.7 km away. Treat Lac Leclerc as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.