Lac des Grues Fishing Guide, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac des Grues in the Lanaudière part of Quebec. The setting is boreal forest. At 5 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Quebec listings. Nearest town is Manawan, 34 km off. Saint-Michel-des-Saints is 49 km away, with Rivière-Rouge at 64 km. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac des Grues

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Lanaudière, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Lac des Grues repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -16°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Lac des Grues fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Mapping shows a jetty some 1.1 km off. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Lac du Renard is 1.4 km distant. Where Lac des Grues is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.