Fishing at Lac Plantin, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  This water sits in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec. The ground round it is mixed forest. At 3.16 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. The margin runs to about 25 km in total. It ranks high for size among our Abitibi-Témiscamingue listings. The closest town, Notre-Dame-du-Lac, is 58 km distant. For a city, Greater Sudbury is 209 km off. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Plantin

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Abitibi-Témiscamingue include northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Lac Plantin fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -15°C in January up to 18°C in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Expect Lac Plantin to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Lac Nitakoton Niwakwan is 1.9 km off. None of that is settled for Lac Plantin in what we hold.