Lac du Clochard Fishing in Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac du Clochard lies within the bounds of Lanaudière, Quebec. The bank gives way to rolling bush. About 9 hectares of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. Saint-Michel-des-Saints is the closest place, 17 km off. Trois-Rivières sits 94 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Clochard

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Species logged across Lanaudière include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Lac du Clochard the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -15°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. At Lac du Clochard the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Failing this one, try Lac des Grains, 1.7 km away. Confirm before you fish Lac du Clochard.