Fishing Lac Watistun in Laurentides, Quebec

• Overview

  Look for Lac Watistun in Laurentides, Quebec. It stands 265 metres above sea level. This is a pocket water of some 5 hectares, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Some 21 km away sits La Minerve, the nearest settlement. Orléans sits 91 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Watistun

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Across Laurentides, recorded fish include pumpkinseed, smallmouth bass and yellow perch. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Lac Watistun the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 18°C for July and -14°C for January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The lid usually goes in late April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Averages place the thaw at late April and the freeze at late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. Lac Watistun runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Lac de l'Aulnaie at 1.2 km is the sensible second choice. What applies at Lac Watistun may have changed since it was mapped.