Fishing Lac Andrew in Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  Laurentides in Quebec is where Lac Andrew sits. The surface lies 429 metres up. Surface area is around 10 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Around 2.2 km of margin, front to back. You are 46 km from Ferme-Neuve. Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne sits 173 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Andrew

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Fish documented in Laurentides include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brook trout and rock bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Lac Andrew for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -16°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac Andrew fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Lac Mink, 0.7 km out. What applies at Lac Andrew may have changed since it was mapped.