Fishing at Lac MacCabe, Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac MacCabe, in Laurentides. The water sits 295 metres up. Small at around 5 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Saint-Raphaël is the closest town at 38 km. Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel is 39 km away, with Maniwaki at 40 km. Not far off: Petit lac Vaseux within 0.7 km, Lac Docteur at about 1.5 km, Lac a Roy within 2.6 km, Lac Chevreuil at about 2.7 km and Lac a la Mouche within 3.5 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac MacCabe

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Species logged across Laurentides include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brook trout and rock bass. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Fish Lac MacCabe where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -14°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. On average, late April opens the water and late November closes it again. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Lac MacCabe runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Should this one be busy, Petit lac Vaseux is 0.7 km off. Nothing here settles the position at Lac MacCabe for certain.