Lac Pahonnet in Lanaudière: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Lac Pahonnet in the Lanaudière part of Quebec. The water sits 398 metres up. It measures about 38 hectares, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. There is roughly 4.0 km of shoreline here, which is a short walk end to end. Few waters listed in Lanaudière are bigger. Nearest town is Manawan, 36 km off. The big place round here is Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne, 201 km distant. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Pahonnet

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Lanaudière include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and rock bass. The list covers the county rather than this water alone, so treat it as a guide. At Lac Pahonnet the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is -16°C to 17°C. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough early May. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Pahonnet.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Lac Valette sits 1 km off and takes the overflow. Where Lac Pahonnet is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.