Fishing at Lac Machin, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac Machin, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue. The water sits 331 metres up. This is sizeable water at about 1.97 sq km, and a boat opens up most of it. You are looking at roughly 7.3 km of shoreline, with plenty of water between access points. Size puts it in the front rank of our Abitibi-Témiscamingue list. Some 92 km away sits Val-d'Or, the nearest settlement. Malartic is 97 km and Notre-Dame-du-Lac 105 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Machin

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Fish documented in Abitibi-Témiscamingue include northern pike, yellow perch, walleye, white sucker and brown bullhead. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Take Lac Machin a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -15°C to 17°C. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Machin.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. If the gate is shut, Lac Sheni at 1.8 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Lac Machin in what we hold.