Lac Malfait Fishing near Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Malfait is a Lanaudière water, in Quebec. The surroundings are taiga. It runs to roughly 61 hectares — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Some 11 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. It is among the larger waters listed here for Lanaudière. The nearest town is Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 34 km away. Manawan is 36 km away, with Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm at 72 km. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac Malfait

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Lanaudière include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The shape of Lac Malfait decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 17°C, the coldest about -16°C. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Anyone fishing Lac Malfait regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Lac Veuillette, 1.2 km away, makes the obvious fallback. For Lac Malfait in particular, ask before you travel.