Fishing at Lac Baxter, Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Baxter is one of the Mauricie listings for Quebec. The surface lies 318 metres up. With some 21 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. A shoreline of some 2.0 km keeps the choices simple. Head to La Tuque, 24 km away, for anything you forgot. Then Laurentides, 70 km, and Weymontachie, 73 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac Baxter

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name northern pike, brook trout and walleye. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Lac Baxter responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -16°C. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan around that when you fish Lac Baxter.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Lac Bordeleau is 1.3 km distant. Confirm before you fish Lac Baxter.