Quebec Fishing Regulations: What Works Near Montreal

You need a licence. That's where this starts. No licence, no fishing. The only exceptions are kids under eighteen and adults sixty-five and older fishing in their home province, though seniors still need to carry proof of age. Everything else after that depends on where you're standing, what you're targeting, and what time of year it is.

Getting Your Licence

A resident annual licence for species other than Atlantic salmon costs about $27. Non-residents pay more. A three-day tourist licence exists, and so does a one-day licence if you're just trying it out. Buy online through the Quebec government site or at any Canadian Tire that sells fishing gear.

Zones: Why Location Matters

The rules change depending on where you stand. Quebec splits into 29 fishing zones. Montreal sits in Zone 8. Drive an hour north and you're in Zone 12 or 9. Different zones, different dates, different limits. Zone 8 covers the St. Lawrence around Montreal, Lac Saint-Louis, Lac des Deux Montagnes, and the lower Ottawa River.

Major Species Near Montreal, Zone 8 Limits

The Two Sets of Dates You Need to Know

Quebec fishing regulations operate on two calendars: provincial zone dates and federal closed seasons. They don't always line up, and the strictest rule always applies.

• Pike: Federal closure Dec 1 – Thursday before the 3rd Friday in May. Zone 8 opens May 2, but the federal rule overrides, so effectively closed Dec 1 until the 3rd Friday in May.
• Walleye: Federal closure Apr 16 – May 15.
• Bass: Federal closure Apr 15 – June 15.
• Lake trout & other trout: Federal closure Oct 1 – Apr 24.

These are hard stops. You cannot fish for these species during these periods. If you catch one accidentally, it goes back immediately.

What Daily Catch Limit Actually Means

You catch six walleye. You stop fishing for walleye that day. You can still fish for pike or bass or perch, but not walleye. The limit resets at midnight, not when you leave the water.

Possession limit equals daily catch limit in most cases, you cannot have more than six walleye in your freezer, fridge, or cooler on the way home. If you fish two days in a row, you need to eat or give away your catch before day two. No accumulating.

Zone stacking is illegal. If you catch six walleye in Zone 8, then drive to Zone 12 and catch six more, you now possess twelve. The highest limit for any single zone applies to your total possession, you can't exceed it even if both catches were legal individually.

Transporting Fish

You cannot transport live fish away from the water, dead only. Fish must remain identifiable. A walleye fillet must still have a patch of skin so a warden can tell it's not a sauger. Whole fish and gutted fish are fine. But if you turn everything into anonymous white chunks, you're getting a ticket.

Walleye caught where a length limit applies must be transported whole or as wallet fillets, both fillets connected by the belly skin. No single fillets.

Winter Rules

From December 20 to March 31, you can fish through the ice with ten lines in Zone 8, not five, ten. Lac Saint-François west of a line from Pointe Beaudette to Pointe Saint-Louis is the exception: five lines only there.

Dead baitfish are allowed during this period, whole or cut up. The rest of the year, baitfish rules get tighter.

The Perch Problem: Lac Saint-Pierre Moratorium

Yellow perch in Lac Saint-Pierre and the surrounding St. Lawrence area are off limits, zero. The moratorium started in 2022 and runs five years through at least 2027. That area produces most of the perch for commercial and recreational fishermen, and the population crashed.

Perch everywhere else in Zone 8? Fifty per day. Go catch them.

Where to Check Before You Go

The government fishing site at peche.faune.gouv.qc.ca has a search tool, enter your zone and the body of water to see if that lake has special exceptions. Many do. Lac Saint-Louis follows Zone 8 rules, but some smaller nearby lakes have different limits or closed periods.

The iPêche app helps with identification. Free download. Works offline. Not legally binding, but useful when you can't tell a walleye from a sauger.

One Last Thing

The rules change. Every few years the ministry adjusts limits, slot sizes, or seasons. What was legal last spring might not be legal this spring. Check before you go.

A walleye ticket starts around $200. That's a lot of gas money and bait you just burned because you didn't spend five minutes on a website.

SUA Editorial Team Sub Urban Anglers, Montreal, QC

Montreal's freshwater fishing community, sharing techniques, spots, and stories from the water since 2020.