Lac Hotu Fishing Guide, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  This water sits in Lanaudière, Quebec. The ground around here is pine and birch. Small at around 9 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. For a base, Manawan sits 51 km out. Beyond it, Saint-Michel-des-Saints at 56 km and La Tuque at 77 km. Others close at hand: Lac Wilson about 2 km, Lac Diablotin a shade over 2.5 km, Lac de la Culbute about 2.5 km, Lac Mado a shade over 3 km and Lac de la Mine about 3 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Hotu

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The near bank of Lac Hotu is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 17°C and January at -16°C. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Look for the thaw near early May; the fishing lifts straight after. Averages suggest open water from about early May through to roughly mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Lac Hotu fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Lac Wilson, 2 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Hotu for certain.