Lac Desjardins Fishing near Rivière-Rouge, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Desjardins is a Laurentides water, in Quebec. It sits in mixed forest. Surface area runs to about 5 hectares — small enough to read in one session. The nearest place of any size is Rivière-Rouge, 12 km away. Further out sit Labelle (25 km) and La Minerve (31 km). The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Desjardins

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Public occurrence data for Laurentides names pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. The shape of Lac Desjardins decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 18°C and January reads -15°C. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It holds true on Lac Desjardins more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Lac Ludovic, 1.4 km away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Lac Desjardins in what we hold.