Fishing at Petit lac Desjardins, Outaouais, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Outaouais, Quebec, sits Petit lac Desjardins. Land around it is mixed forest. The water measures roughly 5 hectares, so nothing here is far from anything else. Ground here is low by Quebec standards. The town to know is Fort-Coulonge, 24 km out. For a city, Gatineau is 71 km off. Nearby, in order: Lac Hughes a touch under 1.7 km, Lac de la Ferme at 2 km, Lac Weller a touch under 2.3 km, Lac MacCreadie at 2.7 km and Lac Wayne a touch under 3.1 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac Desjardins

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Reported across Outaouais: pumpkinseed, yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Iowa darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Petit lac Desjardins where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 19°C at the top of summer and -13°C at the bottom of winter. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about early December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Petit lac Desjardins around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. 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. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Failing this one, try Lac Hughes, 1.7 km away. None of that is settled for Petit lac Desjardins in what we hold.