Lac Tortue Fishing near Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Tortue is a Lanaudière water, in Quebec. The water sits 341 metres up. Surface area runs to about 8 hectares — small enough to read in one session. Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm at 18 km is the nearest place to stop. Chertsey lies 23 km off, Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson another 26 km. Round about: Lac Blanc at 1.6 km, Lacs du Castor a touch under 3.6 km, Lac du Corbeau at 3.9 km, Lac Toussaint a touch under 3.9 km and Lac Galipault at 4 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Lac Tortue

  Open data we checked carries no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Records held for Lanaudière cover pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Work Lac Tortue in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 18°C, with January the cold end at about -14°C. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Time your trip to Lac Tortue by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. The nearest alternative is Lac Blanc, 1.6 km out. Check the position on Lac Tortue before loading the car.