Fishing at Lac de l'Etape, Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Quebec holds Lac de l'Etape, in Mauricie. The bank is 197 metres above sea level. At about 10 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 1.5 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Ground here is low by Quebec standards. The town to know is La Tuque, 24 km out. Sainte-Foy is the closest city, 136 km away. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Lac de l'Etape

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Mauricie records list northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Lac de l'Etape the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 17°C on average, January about -16°C. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The open-water window runs from around late April to about mid November in an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Lac de l'Etape rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Lac du Boom at 0.8 km is the sensible second choice. Check the position on Lac de l'Etape before loading the car.