Lac Baril Fishing in Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Baril is one of the Mauricie waters in Quebec. The surroundings are boreal forest. At some 1.14 sq km it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. The perimeter runs near 9.9 km, so plan the walk before you start. Few waters listed in Mauricie are bigger. The town to know is Leblanc, 78 km out. Trois-Rivières sits 294 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Baril

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. 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. Across Mauricie, recorded fish include northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Take Lac Baril a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -18°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. It holds true on Lac Baril more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. 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. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. If the gate is shut, Lac Bull at 1.7 km is the nearest alternative. Confirm before you fish Lac Baril.