Lac Philips, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Outaouais end of Quebec holds Lac Philips. The land about it is mixed forest. The water covers some 16 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 2.4 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Saint-Boniface is the closest place, 73 km off. Gatineau sits 162 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac Philips

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Species logged across Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch and smallmouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Lac Philips as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -16°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Philips.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Lac du Chameau, 1.6 km away. For Lac Philips, the notice at the access point is the final word.