Petit lac des Pins Rouges in Mauricie: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  This water sits in Mauricie, Quebec. Around the bank it is rolling bush. Around 16 hectares of surface means several distinct areas to work. The edge runs 3.0 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. The town to know is Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, 22 km out. Trois-Rivières sits 55 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Petit lac des Pins Rouges

  Depth figures are not published for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. County-wide records name northern pike, brook trout, walleye and yellow perch. Species recorded across the county may be limited to a few waters. Anyone new to Petit lac des Pins Rouges should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 18°C and January near -14°C. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. The water is typically free of ice between late April and late November. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. The season on Petit lac des Pins Rouges rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Mapping is blank for access, so scout the approach before committing the car. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Petit lac Shawinigan is 1.2 km distant. Treat access at Petit lac des Pins Rouges as something to verify.