Lac de la Bottine in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac de la Bottine is set in Mauricie, Quebec. The water sits 357 metres up. Surface area runs to about 10 hectares — small enough to read in one session. The full circuit measures close to 1.6 km on foot. The nearest place of any size is Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, 38 km away. It is 70 km to Trois-Rivières, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Bottine

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Lac de la Bottine responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 18°C; by January the average is down near -15°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to late November. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. Time your trip to Lac de la Bottine by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Lac Bellerive at 0.4 km is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Lac de la Bottine.