Fishing Lac a la Croix in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Out in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, sits Lac a la Croix. It sits in northern bush. Surface area is around 28 hectares, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The edge runs 4.1 km or so, easy to work in an afternoon. Labrecque lies 55 km from the water. Saguenay sits 82 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No boundary runs near, so the local rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac a la Croix

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, recorded fish include northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Lac a la Croix responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between -18°C in January and 16°C in July. Ice holds for a long stretch, so the open weeks matter more here than further south. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early May. Ice usually gives way near early May, and forms again about mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. It holds true on Lac a la Croix more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Failing this one, try Lac de la Truite a Grosse Tete, 2.5 km away. Ask locally about Lac a la Croix if anything is unclear.