Fishing at Lac Lepine, Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  The Outaouais end of Quebec holds Lac Lepine. Height above sea level is 304 metres. Start from Deep River, 36 km down the road. It is 142 km to Gatineau, the nearest city. Close by you also have: Lac Francoeur a shade over 1.7 km, Lac Smallpox at about 2.2 km, Lac des Peupliers a shade over 2.6 km, Lac Raymond at about 4.4 km and Lac de l'Achigan a shade over 4.5 km. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac Lepine

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Outaouais records list pumpkinseed, yellow perch and smallmouth bass among the fish reported. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Lac Lepine the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -14°C. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Lac Lepine runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Should this one be busy, Lac Francoeur is 1.7 km off. Check the current arrangement for Lac Lepine.