Appropriate regulations
Regulations in Quebec are a little different from those in France. There are specific opening and closing dates for all sensitive species, in order to be as close as possible to the needs of each one. When these species are closed, lure fishing is still permitted, but it is forbidden to deliberately target a closed species. Lastly, Quebec is divided into zones, each with different opening/closing dates depending on the weather conditions in each zone, to meet, once again, the needs of the species. For example, the opening date for pike in zone 8 was May 7, while in zone 7 it was May 21. So it's a good idea to find out the rules of the zone before each trip.
Fishing
At the start of the season, we're used to finding fish along the edges. However, this year, the vegetation is not yet very present and the water is having trouble warming up. As a result, there aren't many fish in this type of area. To hope to find some fish, I prefer sunny days, so as to come across a few pike that are taking advantage of the sun to frequent the area.
Decoys
To explore these shallow areas, I mainly use 2 types of lure. My favorite is a nice-sized soft shad lure (6 or 7 inches) mounted as a Texan (I prefer Owner's Flashy Swimmer), leaded or unleaded depending on depth. This is the rig I always use first when fishing for pike in these conditions, whether in France, Sweden or here in Canada.
The second type of lure I like is a hard swimbait of the floating or slow sinking type, which is capable of swimming gently just below the surface. The season is just beginning and the best is yet to come!
