Lac de la Cartouche Fishing Guide, Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac de la Cartouche falls inside Mauricie. It sits in spruce and muskeg. Roughly 52 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 5.0 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. On our Mauricie list it sits near the top for size. Leblanc sits 43 km from the bank. Saguenay is the closest city, 231 km away. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Cartouche

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Mauricie cover northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. The shape of Lac de la Cartouche decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 16°C for July and -18°C for January. Water stays cold even at the height of the year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. Expect the water usable from around early May until roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac de la Cartouche fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Lac Ruler is 1.2 km off. Treat Lac de la Cartouche as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.