Lac Martel in Outaouais: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Martel stands in Outaouais, Quebec. Elevation runs to 297 metres. It measures about 26 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The bank runs about 2.6 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. The nearest place of any size is Deep River, 49 km away. The big place round here is Gatineau, 174 km distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Martel

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Outaouais cover pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. The county list is broader than any single water. On Lac Martel the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -15°C in January and 18°C in July. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Lac Martel runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac Mitts, 2.1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Ask locally about Lac Martel if anything is unclear.