Lac O'Neil Fishing near Wakefield, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac O'Neil lies in Outaouais, in Quebec. It stands 180 metres above sea level. Surface area runs to about 9 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is low-lying compared with other Quebec water we list. Wakefield at 27 km is the nearest place to stop. Val-des-Monts is 35 km and Cantley 39 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac O'Neil

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Open biodiversity records for Outaouais list pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Lac O'Neil the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -13°C in January up to 19°C in July. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near early December in autumn. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Lac O'Neil fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Lac en Long sits 1 km off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Lac O'Neil.