Fishing Lac du Cormoran in Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Set in Lanaudière, Quebec, this is Lac du Cormoran. Around the bank it is northern bush. At 10 hectares it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. There is roughly 1.7 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. The nearest place of any size is Manawan, 40 km away. Beyond it, Weymontachie at 58 km and Saint-Michel-des-Saints at 80 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac du Cormoran

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Lanaudière cover pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. On Lac du Cormoran the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -16°C. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Time your trip to Lac du Cormoran by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. 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. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Lac de l'Acinus is 1 km distant. Check the position at Lac du Cormoran before loading the car.