Lac Pilon Fishing near Ripon, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Outaouais, Quebec, sits Lac Pilon. It lies 240 metres above sea level. At roughly 6 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Nearest town is Ripon, 13 km off. Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel follows at 13 km, then Saint-André-Avellin at 20 km. If this one is busy: Lac Barriere within 2 km, Lac Lafontaine about 2.9 km, Lac Dosch within 4.4 km, Lac Lafontaine about 4.4 km and Lac Georges within 4.8 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Pilon

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Outaouais include pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Lac Pilon repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 19°C and January about -13°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Lac Pilon runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. There is a slipway on the shore, 1.2 km from the water we list. Fishing from a pier is possible 540 m away. A camping area sits within 520 m of here. There are picnic tables 500 m away. Toilets show in mapping about 910 m away. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Lac Barriere, 2 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Pilon for certain.