Lac Catherine Fishing in Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Within Mauricie, Quebec, you have Lac Catherine. The bank gives way to mixed forest. It covers about 9 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. The closest town, Mandeville, is 13 km away. Trois-Rivières is the closest city, 64 km away. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Lac Catherine

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The near bank of Lac Catherine is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -14°C. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late April. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It holds true on Lac Catherine more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac du Castor sits 1.3 km off and takes the overflow. Treat Lac Catherine as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.