Lac Marcelin Fishing near Saint-Raphaël, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Marcelin falls inside Outaouais. The land about it is pine and birch. Roughly 44 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Shoreline comes to about 3.5 km, small enough to learn in a day. It is among the larger waters listed here for Outaouais. Saint-Raphaël is the closest place, 12 km off. Gatineau sits 89 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Marcelin

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Fish documented in Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. The county list is broader than any single water. Treat Lac Marcelin as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -13°C in January to roughly 19°C in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Lac Marcelin around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Some banks are open only from a marked point. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Lac a Cristy, 1.8 km away, makes the obvious fallback. For Lac Marcelin, the notice at the access point is the final word.