Fishing at Lac Francois, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  This water sits in Lanaudière, Quebec. Elevation runs to 537 metres. The water covers some 12 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Roughly 2.1 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. It sits higher than most water we list in Quebec. The closest town, Manawan, is 25 km away. Saint-Michel-des-Saints is 45 km away, with Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm at 78 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Francois

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Lanaudière, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass. The county list is broader than any single water. Anyone new to Lac Francois should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -16°C in January up to 17°C in July. The ice season is long here and the open one short. Once it clears, about early May, the fishing comes on quickly. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Lac Francois fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. 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. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Lac Conrad, 0.6 km out. Where Lac Francois is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.