Lac Morissette Fishing near Waswanipi, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Morissette in the Mauricie part of Quebec. Country round the bank runs to taiga. At about 11 hectares, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 2.5 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Some 89 km away sits Waswanipi, the nearest settlement. For a city, Saguenay is 340 km off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Lac Morissette

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Mauricie 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. On Lac Morissette a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Morissette.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. If the gate is shut, Lac Rouleau at 1 km is the nearest alternative. Check the position on Lac Morissette before loading the car.