Fishing at Lac Joly, Lanaudière, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Lanaudière, Quebec, sits Lac Joly. The setting is lake country bush on every side. It covers about 3 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Lanaudière list. For a base, Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm sits 8.1 km out. Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne sits 80 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Joly

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. On Lac Joly the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 17°C and January near -14°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Lac Joly rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. The nearest alternative is Lac Castor, 0.8 km out. Nothing here settles the position at Lac Joly for certain.