Lac du Chinois in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Mauricie, Quebec, you have Lac du Chinois. Around the bank it is taiga. With some 43 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Around 6.6 km of bank, which is a long day on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Mauricie list. 42 km away sits Manawan, the nearest town. Trois-Rivières is the closest city, 202 km away. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Chinois

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Anyone new to Lac du Chinois should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 16°C, the coldest about -17°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That is the shape of the year on Lac du Chinois.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. 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 de la Division sits 0.9 km off and takes the overflow. Confirm access to Lac du Chinois locally before you travel.