Fishing at Grand lac des Epinettes Noires, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Grand lac des Epinettes Noires falls in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, part of Quebec. It sits in taiga. The closest town, Pont Rouge, is 38 km away. It is 88 km to Saguenay, the nearest city. Other water nearby: Petit lac des Epinettes Noires within 1.1 km, Lac Gaudreault roughly 1.3 km, Lac du Bucher within 2.2 km, Lac des Faux-Trembles roughly 2.4 km and Lac du Sarcasme within 3.2 km. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Grand lac des Epinettes Noires

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish among the fish reported. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Grand lac des Epinettes Noires that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about -19°C and July at about 17°C, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter runs most of the calendar, and everything worth doing happens in the gap. After early May the shallows warm and the fish move up. The season between ice runs from about early May to mid November. Spring is short and heavy here; autumn is longer and steadier. Anyone fishing Grand lac des Epinettes Noires regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Petit lac des Epinettes Noires sits 1.1 km off and takes the overflow. Treat Grand lac des Epinettes Noires as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.