Lac Oppidum Fishing Guide, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Within Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec, you have Lac Oppidum. Elevation runs to 388 metres. It covers about 3 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Most waters listed here for Abitibi-Témiscamingue are larger. Nearest town is Val-d'Or, 78 km off. Senneterre is 85 km away, with Barraute at 99 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Oppidum

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name northern pike, yellow perch, walleye, white sucker and brown bullhead. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Lac Oppidum rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 17°C and January near -17°C on the long-run figures. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Time your trip to Lac Oppidum by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Lac Zagat is 0.8 km distant. None of that is settled for Lac Oppidum in what we hold.