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

• Overview

  This water sits in Mauricie, Quebec. Height above sea level is 455 metres. At 8 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Nearest place of any size is Weymontachie, 40 km away. For a city, Saguenay is 170 km off. In the same area: Lac Lemay 1.5 km, Lac Francois the better part of 1.7 km, Lac Crete 1.7 km, Lac Desilets the better part of 2 km and Lac Lucratia 2.6 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Cordon

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Mauricie cover northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Anyone new to Lac du Cordon should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 17°C, the coldest about -17°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac du Cordon.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac Lemay at 1.5 km is the sensible second choice. Rules at Lac du Cordon are worth checking on the day.