Lac Vidal, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac Vidal is one of the Lanaudière listings for Quebec. Height above sea level is 454 metres. With some 53 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. A shoreline of some 4.1 km keeps the choices simple. On our Lanaudière list it sits near the top for size. Supplies mean a trip to Saint-Donat-de-Montcalm, 28 km off. Rivière-Rouge follows at 36 km, then Labelle at 36 km. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Vidal

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Lanaudière records list pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, rock bass and brook trout among the fish reported. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Lac Vidal that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -15°C in January and 17°C in July. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early May and starts locking again about late November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Lac Vidal rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Lac Crowfoot sits 2.1 km off and takes the overflow. For Lac Vidal in particular, ask before you travel.