Lac Jibou in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Lac Jibou in the Mauricie part of Quebec. The setting is rolling bush. With some 13 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. With about 1.8 km of edge, you can try several depths in one session. Sainte-Thècle sits 49 km from the bank. After that come Saint-Tite at 50 km and Hérouxville at 52 km. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac Jibou

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Fish documented in Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Take Lac Jibou a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 18°C in July and bottoms out near -15°C in January. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The season between ice runs from about late April to late November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Lac Jibou fishes to that pattern most years.

• 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. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Lac de l'Hermine, 1.1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Lac Jibou carry more weight than any list.