Lac Long in Outaouais: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Outaouais, Quebec, sits Lac Long. What surrounds it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 33 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. There is roughly 4.9 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Size puts it in the front rank of our Outaouais list. Nearest place of any size is Thurso, 13 km away. It is 31 km to Orléans, the nearest city. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Long

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Lac Long where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 19°C and January near -13°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice is part of the season here, ending near late April. From about late April to around early December, expect open water on the long-run figures. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Lac Long runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac Daly at 0.9 km is the sensible second choice. Check the position at Lac Long before loading the car.