Where to fish in La Petite-Nation, lake by lake

All of La Petite-Nation sits in Québec fishing zone 10. Sounds simple. It isn't, quite. Zone 10 comes with a long list of exceptions, and that's where people get caught: a short lake trout on Lac Simon, a line in a closed stretch of river in Duhamel, a hole drilled through the ice on a lake that shuts on December 20.

Here's the lay of the land. Dates come from Québec's 2026 regulations. Still, bookmark the zone 10 regulations. They have the final word, and they're the thing a wildlife officer will quote back at you.

Species and 2026 seasons

Lake trout, walleye, muskie and sturgeon are angling only. Striped bass and copper redhorse are off limits, full stop.

So trout wraps up September 15. After that, fall belongs to walleye, pike and bass, and honestly those are some of the best days on the water all year. Fewer boats, cooling water, and colour on the hills that makes the drive worth it on its own.

The big lake trout lakes

Lake trout get the most protection around here. On six lakes the minimum jumps from 45 cm to 55 cm: Simon, Papineau, Gagnon, Viceroy, de l'Argile and Petit lac Preston.

Lac Simon, shared by Lac-Simon and Duhamel, is the big one. You have to wash your boat before every launch, and nothing over 30 feet is allowed. On Lac Papineau, rainbow trout stocking stopped in 2019 to give the lake trout room to recover. Lac Gagnon, north of Duhamel, sits right at the door of the wildlife reserve.

Lac de l'Argile, between Val-des-Bois and Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette, has more variety: lake trout, smallmouth bass, pike and bullhead. One catch: on this lake, walleye, pike and bass close November 30, not in March.

The Lièvre and the Ottawa

The Lièvre River around Val-des-Bois is a different animal. Bass, walleye, perch, bullhead, lake whitefish, brook trout and even muskie. From Val-des-Bois you can run between the Rapides-des-Cèdres dam and the High Falls dam. Pourvoirie de la Lièvre in Bowman lists pike and crappie (marigane) too.

Down along the Ottawa River, you can fish from shore or by boat. No boat? Thurso built a fishing pier at the end of rue Galipeau Sud, near the ferry, just for anglers. It's in from May to October. To launch a tinner, the Papineauville public dock is free.

Small stocked lakes

Good for kids, or a quiet day without a motor:

• Lac Vert, right in the village of Val-des-Bois. Stocked every year, no gas motors.
• The Lac Croche site, 14 km from Montpellier up chemin de la Baie-de-l'Ours. Stocked lake, a wood-heated lodge and more than 30 km of trails.
• Lac de la Ferme in Duhamel. Brook trout stocked every year by the town, the Centre touristique du Lac-Simon and ACPTA. No motorboats.

All three have another perk: trout stays open in winter. More in our ice fishing guide.

The rules that catch people

Before you head out, check if your lake is on the zone 10 exceptions list. That's where the surprises live.

• Winter closure. Twenty lakes close from December 20 to March 31: Simon, Papineau, Gagnon, Iroquois, des Plages, de la Carpe, la Rouge, Saint-Sixte, Hawk, Lady, Smallian, Britannique, en Coeur, Long (Mayo), Grand lac à Roy, Grand lac du Pin Rouge, Blais, à la Croix, Viceroy and Petit lac Preston.
• Closed rivers in Duhamel. The Petite Nation River between the Route 321 bridge and the mouth of the Preston, and the Preston from its mouth to the 321 bridge, are closed all year. Further down, between the Preston and Lac Simon, zone rules apply, but it closes after September 15.
• Launching in Duhamel. Motorboats have to use a public or commercial ramp.

Your licence

Carry your licence and photo ID. Kids under 18 with a Pêche en herbe certificate don't need one. Buy it online through Mon dossier chasse et pêche or over the counter. These local shops are official vendors:

If you're coming from Ontario, note that Québec's licence-free weekend, the Fête de la pêche, is for residents. In 2026 it ran June 5 to 7, and it usually lands in early June.

Where to launch

We wrote a full piece on boat launches and marinas, lake by lake. The short version for Lac Simon: the municipal ramp at 850 chemin du Tour-du-Lac ($10 a launch in 2026, open until October 12), the visitor launch at Location Sport Duhamel on the Duhamel side, and Centre nautique Lac Simon in Chénéville, with gas and fishing boats for rent.

Deeper in the bush

Want a lake to yourself? Head north. The Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve has more than 760 lakes and day fishing from May 15 to September 15, depending on the lake. Lac Preston, all 770 hectares of it, is fished through the Gagnon check-in: lake trout and walleye in spring, bass added June 15, 9.9 hp max. The outfitters, from Kenauk to Chevreuil Blanc, each have their own lakes and rules. They're all in our outfitters roundup.

Get involved

ACPTA, the regional hunters, anglers, trappers and archers association, helps stock Lac de la Ferme. Up the Lièvre, the Val-des-Bois/Bowman hunting and fishing club runs learn-to-fish days for kids. Best way to find out where they're biting. Nobody will hand you their GPS waypoints, but people talk.

Everything else (zones, reserves, official links) is in the hunting and fishing guide.

Lac-SimonDuhamelBoileauVal-des-BoisNotre-Dame-de-la-SaletteMontpellierBowmanThursoPapineauvilleChénéville

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