Fishing at Lac Josaphat, Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  This water sits in Mauricie, Quebec. The bank gives way to spruce and muskeg. It covers about 4 hectares, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Mauricie. Supplies mean a trip to Weymontachie, 38 km off. After that come La Tuque at 60 km and Leblanc at 92 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Josaphat

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Across Mauricie, recorded fish include northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. At Lac Josaphat light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs -16°C to 17°C. The year here is short and sharp: a long lid, then a burst of open water. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Josaphat.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No car park, ramp or path is recorded within easy reach of the shore. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Lac Clement is 0.7 km off. Treat access at Lac Josaphat as something to verify.