Fishing at Lac du Baquet, Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  You will find Lac du Baquet in Laurentides, Quebec. The setting is mixed forest on every side. The whole thing is a single swim; walk it in a minute. It is a small entry by Laurentides standards. Some 44 km away sits Rivière-Rouge, the nearest settlement. The nearest city of size is Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne, 142 km away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Baquet

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Public occurrence data for Laurentides names pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, brook trout and rock bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Lac du Baquet gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 17°C at the top of summer and -15°C at the bottom of winter. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about mid November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Lac du Baquet fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac Pou sits 0.7 km off and takes the overflow. The position on Lac du Baquet is worth confirming on the day.