Lac Marie Fishing near Chapais, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Marie belongs to Mauricie, Quebec. The bank is 392 metres above sea level. With some 43 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. There is roughly 4.8 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. It is among the larger waters listed here for Mauricie. Chapais lies 76 km from the water. Chibougamau is 102 km away, with Waswanipi at 106 km. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Marie

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Fish documented in Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. Fish Lac Marie where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 16°C at the top of summer and -19°C at the bottom of winter. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Winter locks it down, and early May brings it back. Climate figures give an open season running early May to mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Lac Marie runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac Sylvie sits 3.1 km off and takes the overflow. Where Lac Marie is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.