Lac McCord Fishing Guide, Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac McCord is listed under Outaouais, Quebec. It lies 173 metres above sea level. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Quebec listings. The nearest place of any size is Shawville, 10 km away. The nearest city of size is Gatineau, 64 km away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac McCord

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Records held for Outaouais cover pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Treat Lac McCord as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -13°C in January up to 19°C in July. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac McCord.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Lac Toad is 0.5 km off. Where Lac McCord is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.