Lac Tom Fishing in Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  In Quebec, Lac Tom falls inside Laurentides. The water sits 402 metres up. Surface area runs to about 7 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Rivière-Rouge lies 42 km from the water. The big place round here is Saint-Louis-de-Terrebonne, 139 km distant. Water in the same corner: Lac Adrien within 1.2 km, Lac a l'Aigle lies 1.3 km on, Lac Anny within 1.4 km, Lac Gisele lies 2.1 km on and Lac Duret within 2.1 km. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Tom

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Reported across Laurentides: pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch and brook trout. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. At Lac Tom light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -15°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around late April. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly mid November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac Tom.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Lac Adrien is 1.2 km off. For Lac Tom in particular, ask before you travel.