Fishing Lac Tasikutaaq in Nord-du-Québec, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Tasikutaaq belongs to Nord-du-Québec, Quebec. The country here is spruce and muskeg. At 3.03 sq km this is proper open water rather than a pond. Shoreline length is close to 23 km, and each section fishes a little differently. By elevation it sits in the lower part of our Quebec listings. You are 66 km from Inukjuak. Puvirnituq follows at 175 km, then Sanikiluaq at 253 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Tasikutaaq

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Fish documented in Nord-du-Québec include Arctic charr, brook trout, lake trout, lake whitefish and cisco. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Lac Tasikutaaq responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 12°C and February reads -24°C. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Count the season from break-up, usually early June. The water is typically free of ice between early June and early November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. At Lac Tasikutaaq the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Failing this one, try Lac Cheminade, 5.8 km away. Rules at Lac Tasikutaaq are worth checking on the day.