Lac des Conscrits Fishing near Chertsey, Quebec

• Overview

  Within Lanaudière, Quebec, you have Lac des Conscrits. The surroundings are lake country bush. Surface area runs to about 3 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Most waters listed here for Lanaudière are larger. The nearest place of any size is Chertsey, 17 km away. For a city, Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne is 59 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Conscrits

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. County-wide records name pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Work Lac des Conscrits in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 18°C, the coldest about -14°C. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. At Lac des Conscrits the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Lac Johnson, 1.1 km out. For Lac des Conscrits, the notice at the access point is the final word.