Fishing Lac Merand in Mauricie, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Merand in the Mauricie part of Quebec. The country here is taiga. By elevation it is in the upper part of our Quebec listings. Métabetchouan sits 45 km from here and is the nearest stop. Then Desbiens, 51 km, and Metabetchouan-Lac-a-la-Croix, 52 km. More in the same country: Lac des Campagnols 0.9 km, Lac Martin at 1.4 km, Lac Mallette 2.4 km, Lac du Sillon at 3 km and Lac du Brion 3.9 km. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Lac Merand

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Records held for Mauricie cover northern pike, brook trout and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Lac Merand where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 17°C for July and -16°C for January. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. The lid usually goes in early May, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at early May and the freeze at mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. At Lac Merand the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Lac des Campagnols, 0.9 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position on Lac Merand before loading the car.