Lac Santa in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Mauricie, Quebec, this is Lac Santa. The setting is northern bush. Surface area is around 29 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The edge runs 2.1 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. The closest town, Leblanc, is 16 km away. Trois-Rivières is the closest city, 238 km away. Also worth knowing: Lac Big-Al within 1.1 km, Lac Hupon just 1.4 km, Lac Junon within 1.8 km, Lac Sleepy-Don just 1.8 km and Lac H within 2.4 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Santa

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Mauricie, recorded fish include northern pike, brook trout, walleye, yellow perch and white sucker. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. The near bank of Lac Santa is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -17°C in January up to 16°C in July. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early May. Break-up near early May, freeze-up near mid November: that is the shape of an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Santa.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Lac Big-Al at 1.1 km is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Lac Santa as something to verify.