Lac Marteau in Abitibi-Témiscamingue: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Marteau is an Abitibi-Témiscamingue water, in Quebec. Land around it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 15 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Shoreline comes to about 2.0 km, small enough to learn in a day. The town to know is Notre-Dame-du-Lac, 48 km out. It is 188 km to Greater Sudbury, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Marteau

  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. Abitibi-Témiscamingue records list northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Lac Marteau responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for July and -15°C for January. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. On average, late April opens the water and late November closes it again. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Anyone fishing Lac Marteau regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A boat ramp sits about 1.3 km from the water. There is a mapped landing stage 1.3 km away. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Lac Denault at 1.4 km is the nearest alternative. None of that is settled for Lac Marteau in what we hold.