Fishing Lac John in Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac John in the Lanaudière part of Quebec. The water sits 445 metres up. Roughly 45 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. With 5.1 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Few waters listed in Lanaudière are bigger. Manawan at 37 km is the nearest place to stop. Ferme-Neuve is 62 km away, with Rivière-Rouge at 67 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac John

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Lanaudière include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Lac John the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 17°C and January reads -16°C. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Lac John around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Lac Keepover sits 2.9 km off and takes the overflow. Where Lac John is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.