I want to share with everyone my favorite place to fish in the province of Quebec. It’s called “L’Auberge La Barrière”. Although only located about 90 minutes north of Montreal, when you arrive, it seems like you’re in the great north. Peaceful environment in a quiet and breath taking wilderness. What’s more, they have a multitude of species throughout their 11 exclusive lakes, including speckled trout, rainbow trout, arctic char and the most impressive, golden trout, a Quebec’s exclusive. The fish are abundant and larger than average in size. Fishing is open all year round with the ice fishing season from December to April. I have sampled almost every month of fishing up there and October is definitely my favorite time of the year. Fall is upon us and the leaves are most beautiful, the cool nights and warm days set the fish into a feeding frenzy to pack on a few pounds for the winter so I’m heading north for a weekend of fishing fun and who knows maybe break a few of my personal bests along the way.
My host and co-owner Jean-Michel Gélinas was pretty much born and raised in this fishing paradise. He knows almost every nook and cranny of their 4500 acres and can catch trout like no one else. We commence our first morning by trying our luck at rainbow trout and once again the bite is on; within the first hours we have numerous fish between 3 and 5lbs with a behemoth topping the scale at just over 7lbs… What a morning! The key technique is trolling with light line on spinning reels with streamer flies, small floating minnows and trout nuggets behind a spoon used as a flasher, which is a very common technique in Quebec. A brief description would be to use a Lake Clear wobbler with about 3 feet of fluorocarbon behind it and hook a night crawler or artificial bait, in this a case a Powerbait® trout nugget does the trick. For some reason, chartreuse is the most productive color thru summer and then pink prevails the fall, who knows why but if it works don’t fix it.
After our impressive morning, we head to the lodge for a plentiful meal with Carole, Jean-Michel’s mother. We engage in our usual fish stories while catching up over a good meal. The lodge offers a variety of meals and accommodations for up to 130 people. The site has 11 cottages, including 2 secluded chalets accessible only by water and running on propane for those looking for a rustic experience. They also have 10 suites that can accommodate 2-10 people. Service here is important and all accommodations include washrooms, hot showers, linens and articles needed for a carefree stay. Many cottages have fireplaces. Now that we have enjoyed dessert, we head to the main lake to try our hand at the exclusive golden trout.
The main lake is located right in front of the lodge and is full of golden trout, speckles and rainbow’s ranging from a pound right up to a giant 11 pounder caught last spring. We have caught many fish with our trolling technique, but decide to go for some larger specimens by casting micro tubes on flats and near weed lines. It does not take Jean-Michel very long to engage a huge golden. It’s the biggest I have seen here so far exceeding well over 8lbs and giving him a fight of a lifetime. I net the fish and get a few quick pictures so we can release this jewel for someone else to capture. Catch and release is not usually encouraged on the main lake, as the survival rate is low. However, we are both experienced anglers and want someone else to enjoy the same opportunity at this magnificent specimen. After a few high fives and some chuckling, we decide to call it a day.
Following a peaceful night’s rest and a good breakfast, we head over to Lake Marc to catch a few speckled trout and rainbows. In fact, this is a much smaller lake and only 2 fish per anglers are allowed as the size of the catches are impressive. It took us a little while to find the school, but they were eager to bite once found. My first fish is a nice 4 pound speckled trout followed by another 3 pounder of the same species. Jean-Michel, once again, shows me up with a nice 5-pound rainbow, theses are going to make a nice supper for us and a few guests. After another successful morning has come to an end, we head in for lunch, while discussing our successes with other anglers, we discover that the arctic char were feeding big time this morning so we decide to spend my last afternoon at catching a few monsters.
At this time of year, the arctic char come in shallow and we can see them roaming on the flats so we cast our micro tubes a few feet past them waiting for a response. Seconds later, we have our first one on the line and it’s over 4lbs. It’s the start to a crazy afternoon as we catch fish after fish for about an hour. We ended up with 11 arctic char, with the two largest just over 6lbs. We take a few pictures and end our fishing adventure until next October…
“L’Auberge La Barrière” offers many different services, including hunting for pheasant, partridge, hare, bear and moose, with exclusive territories for each group of hunters.
They can accommodate all your fishing and lodging needs. Please feel free to call (450) 884-5748 or visit their website aubergelabarriere.com for reservations or any questions.
For further information, regarding this article or to contact Anthony Badham directly, please visit anthonyjohnoutdoors.com.