Lac Catinon Fishing Guide, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Lanaudière, Quebec, sits Lac Catinon. Elevation runs to 425 metres. The water covers some 35 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 4.5 km of margin, front to back. Size puts it in the front rank of our Lanaudière list. Nearest town is Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 49 km off. The big place round here is Trois-Rivières, 118 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Catinon

  Depth figures are not published for this one. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Lanaudière: pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Lac Catinon to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 17°C; by January the average is down near -16°C. The window is narrow, and fish feed hard while it lasts. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Time your trip to Lac Catinon by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Lac Splice, 1.4 km away. None of that is settled for Lac Catinon in what we hold.