Lac Girard Fishing near La Tuque, Quebec

• Overview

  The Mauricie entry here is Lac Girard, in Quebec. Land around it is spruce and muskeg. It runs to roughly 79 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The shoreline runs about 9.7 km, so it pays to pick a stretch and stay with it. Few waters listed in Mauricie are bigger. Nearest town is La Tuque, 44 km off. Beyond it, Laurentides at 63 km and Métabetchouan at 78 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Girard

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Mauricie records list northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read Lac Girard before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -16°C to 17°C. The fishing year opens late and shuts early. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Lac Girard rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. 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. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Lac Climax is 1.3 km distant. Check the position on Lac Girard before loading the car.