Lac Leonard Fishing near Mont-Laurier, Quebec

• Overview

  The Laurentides entry here is Lac Leonard, in Quebec. Elevation runs to 219 metres. It lies lower than most water we list in Quebec. For a base, Mont-Laurier sits 22 km out. Maniwaki follows at 38 km, then Ferme-Neuve at 39 km. Others close at hand: Lac Tomkin within 0.6 km, Lac a Pepere at 1.5 km, Lac Portelance within 1.8 km, Lac Gaucher at 1.9 km and Lac Ouimet within 2 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Leonard

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Laurentides include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Work Lac Leonard in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -14°C. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Once it clears, about late April, the fishing comes on quickly. The open-water window runs from around late April to about late November in an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Lac Leonard rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lac Tomkin at 0.6 km is the sensible second choice. For Lac Leonard, the notice at the access point is the final word.