Recreational fisheries play a vital role in the economy and culture of Canada. However, human activities and climate change pose significant threats to our lakes, bolstering the need to identify drivers of fish population abundance for the sustainable management of recreational fisheries. Since the late 1980s, the Quebec provincial government has been conducting standardized gillnet surveys to monitor game fish abundance and associated habitat variables across the province. Based on this large database, our study aimed to uncover the biotic and abiotic factors influencing the abundance of walleye (Sander vitreus), brook trout/charr (Salvelinus fontinalis), and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) populations across Quebec lakes. Machine learning and additive models revealed that explanatory variables differed among species, suggesting potential exploitation of distinct ecological niches. Importantly, for the two salmonids, fish community composition was the most important driver of abundance, suggesting a role of biotic interactions. When comparing the importance of environmental, fish community, and zooplankton variables for target fish species abundance in a subset of 94 lakes, structural equation modeling revealed that zooplankton influence was more important for walleye compared to the two other fish species, and that zooplankton communities were better predictors of game fish presence than abundance. Overall, this research enhances our understanding of fish production drivers in Quebec lakes with a perspective of improving fisheries conservation and management.