Fishing at Lac Alice, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Lanaudière, Quebec, sits Lac Alice. The surface lies 265 metres up. Small at around 3 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. Most waters listed here for Lanaudière are larger. Start from Rawdon, 6.3 km down the road. The big place round here is Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne, 45 km distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Alice

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Lanaudière records list pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout among the fish reported. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. At Lac Alice the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 19°C at the top of summer and -13°C at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Average temperatures cross freezing around late April in spring and again near late November in autumn. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. It holds true on Lac Alice more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. If the gate is shut, Lac Levis at 1.3 km is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish Lac Alice.