Fishing Lac de l'Orge in Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  The Lanaudière end of Quebec holds Lac de l'Orge. What surrounds it is rolling bush. You can fish the entire water from one spot if you pick it well. It is a small entry by Lanaudière standards. Some 20 km away sits Saint-Michel-des-Saints, the nearest settlement. Mandeville is 37 km and Saint-Gabriel 41 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac de l'Orge

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Open biodiversity records for Lanaudière list pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Take Lac de l'Orge a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 17°C, the coldest about -15°C. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. It holds true on Lac de l'Orge more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Lac Esox, 0.5 km out. Rules at Lac de l'Orge are worth checking on the day.