Lac Snooks in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Mauricie, Quebec. This is northern bush country. With some 58 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Some 6.8 km of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. Size puts it in the front rank of our Mauricie list. Weymontachie sits 40 km from the bank. Then La Tuque, 64 km, and Manawan, 69 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Snooks

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Mauricie cover northern pike, brook trout and walleye. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Lac Snooks light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -16°C. Open water arrives late and leaves early, which concentrates the fishing. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around early May on average, with the water closing again about mid November. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on Lac Snooks rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Lac Dunk, 1.1 km out. Confirm access to Lac Snooks locally before you travel.