Lac Poelon in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Lac Poelon lies in Mauricie, in Quebec. It sits at 530 metres above sea level. Compared with other Quebec water on our list, it sits high. Leblanc sits 41 km from the bank. Weymontachie follows at 53 km, then Saint-Félicien at 106 km. Water in the same corner: Lac la Truite some 0.3 km off, Lac Cache at 1.6 km, Lac Rosaire some 1.9 km off, Lac Gretier at 2.1 km and Lac de la Montagne some 2.3 km off. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Poelon

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Survey and observation records for Mauricie include northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Lac Poelon to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -18°C in January. Little of the calendar is open water, so timing counts for everything. Break-up comes around early May, and the run that follows is short and strong. In an average year the thaw lands around early May and the freeze near mid November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Expect Lac Poelon to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. 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. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Lac la Truite, 0.3 km away. Treat Lac Poelon as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.