Lac Ayotte in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Mauricie, Quebec, sits Lac Ayotte. The surface lies 191 metres up. Surface area runs to about 4 hectares — small enough to read in one session. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Mauricie. Saint-Tite is the closest place, 5.4 km off. For a city, Trois-Rivières is 48 km off. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Ayotte

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Public occurrence data for Mauricie names northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Lac Ayotte responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 18°C in July and bottom out at -14°C in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Open water usually runs from late April until about late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Lac Ayotte fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Mapping shows a campsite some 1.1 km from the water. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Lac a la Peinture is 0.8 km distant. For Lac Ayotte in particular, ask before you travel.