Fishing at Lac Anins, Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Anins lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. Salt water lies 28 km off. At roughly 2 hectares, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. Saint-Fulgence lies 30 km from the water. After that come Saint-Honoré at 33 km and Chicoutimi at 40 km. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Lac Anins

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Species logged across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. At Lac Anins the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from -19°C in January up to 15°C in July. A short, intense season is the rule this far north. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid May. Averages suggest open water from about mid May through to roughly early November. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Lac Anins fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Lac Nolet sits 0.6 km off and takes the overflow. Rules at Lac Anins are worth checking on the day.