Lac Meroz in Nord-du-Québec: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Nord-du-Québec, Quebec, is where Lac Meroz sits. It stands 399 metres above sea level. It runs to roughly 12 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. A shoreline of some 1.6 km keeps the choices simple. On size it sits at the modest end of our Nord-du-Québec list. The nearest place of any size is Chapais, 75 km away. The big place round here is Saguenay, 249 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Meroz

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Open biodiversity records for Nord-du-Québec list Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout and lake whitefish. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Lac Meroz fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -19°C in January up to 16°C in July. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Climate averages put the opening at about early May and the closing near mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Lac Meroz runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Lac Imling is 0.7 km distant. Confirm access to Lac Meroz locally before you travel.