Fishing Lac Ricard in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec

• Overview

  Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, is where Lac Ricard sits. It sits 27 km in from the sea. Small at around 3 hectares: two anglers spread out cover most of it. It is low-lying compared with other Quebec water we list. Saint-Ubalde sits 19 km from here and is the nearest stop. Saint-Raymond is 21 km and Saint-Marc-des-Carrières 22 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Ricard

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Capitale-Nationale cover lake sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, longnose sucker and sauger. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. At Lac Ricard the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 18°C, while January sits near -14°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Ice usually gives way near late April, and forms again about late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Ricard.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Walleye come to jigs worked slow near bottom, and to trolled crankbaits along the drops at dusk. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac Jacques, 0.3 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Confirm access to Lac Ricard locally before you travel.