Fishing Grand lac David in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  The Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean end of Quebec holds Grand lac David. The bank is 527 metres above sea level. The water covers some 37 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. A shoreline of some 4.3 km keeps the choices simple. Size puts it in the front rank of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. Head to Saint-Honoré, 61 km away, for anything you forgot. Labrecque lies 66 km off, Saint-Ambroise another 66 km. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Grand lac David

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Read Grand lac David before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 16°C in July and bottoms out near -19°C in January. The season is measured in weeks rather than months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early May. The season between ice runs from about early May to mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It sets the rhythm of the year at Grand lac David.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. A boat ramp sits about 750 m from the water. Part of this sits inside or beside Zec Onatchiway, so read the notices. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Lac de la Cavale sits 1.6 km off and takes the overflow. Signs at Grand lac David carry more weight than any list.