Lac du Castor Noir in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Mauricie, Quebec. Spruce and muskeg runs right down to the water. At about 74 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. At about 11 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Size puts it in the front rank of our Mauricie list. 46 km away sits Leblanc, the nearest town. Weymontachie lies 93 km off, Normandin another 127 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Castor Noir

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Mauricie records list northern pike, brook trout and walleye among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Lac du Castor Noir to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -18°C at the bottom of winter. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. The water is typically free of ice between early May and mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Time your trip to Lac du Castor Noir by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac Tony at 2 km is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Lac du Castor Noir.