Lac de la Roche, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  This water sits in Laurentides, Quebec. Rolling bush runs right down to the water. It covers about 6 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. 4.2 km away sits Saint-Hippolyte, the nearest town. Beyond it, Sainte-Adèle at 6.9 km and Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson at 7.8 km. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Lac de la Roche

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Records held for Laurentides cover pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brook trout. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Lac de la Roche fishes better once you know its edges.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 19°C, the coldest about -13°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. The lid tends to go about late April and return around late November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac de la Roche.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Mapping shows a campsite some 900 m from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac du Pin Rouge, 0.6 km away, makes the obvious fallback. For Lac de la Roche, the notice at the access point is the final word.