Fishing at Lac Hola, Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Hola falls inside Mauricie. It stands 330 metres above sea level. With some 29 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 2.3 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Start from Weymontachie, 41 km down the road. Saguenay sits 168 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Hola

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Mauricie names northern pike, brook trout and walleye. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Work Lac Hola in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 17°C, with January the cold end at about -17°C. Winter owns most of the year at this latitude. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Time your trip to Lac Hola by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. 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. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Should this one be busy, Lac Ouinegomic is 3.1 km off. Treat access at Lac Hola as something to verify.