Lac Ovale in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Mauricie, Quebec, this is Lac Ovale. Elevation runs to 480 metres. About 3 hectares of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. Our Mauricie list holds plenty of bigger water. The nearest town is La Tuque, 47 km away. Laurentides lies 68 km off, Métabetchouan another 74 km. Neighbouring water: Lac Lionel some 0.4 km off, Lac du Lievre just 0.6 km, Lac Vic some 0.8 km off, Lac Maurice just 0.8 km and Lac Clair some 1 km off. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Lac Ovale

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Mauricie records list northern pike, brook trout and walleye among the fish reported. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. On Lac Ovale that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 17°C in July and bottoms out near -16°C in January. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. The open-water window runs from around early May to about mid November in an average year. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. That shapes the year on Lac Ovale.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Failing this one, try Lac Lionel, 0.4 km away. Treat Lac Ovale as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.