Lac Tirade Fishing Guide, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Quebec

• Overview

  Abitibi-Témiscamingue in Quebec is where Lac Tirade sits. Beyond the shoreline you have lake country bush. About 9 hectares of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. You are 109 km from Val-d'Or. After that come Saint-Boniface at 115 km and Senneterre at 124 km. Within easy reach: Lac Odon lies 0.6 km on, Lac Marinet 0.9 km away, Lac des Tisons lies 1.4 km on, Lac du Blizzard 1.9 km away and Lac Dunette lies 1.9 km on. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac Tirade

  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. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Fish documented in Abitibi-Témiscamingue include northern pike, yellow perch, walleye and white sucker. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. On Lac Tirade the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -16°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Lac Tirade runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Lac Odon sits 0.6 km off and takes the overflow. Ask locally about Lac Tirade if anything is unclear.