Lac au Foin in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Lac au Foin in the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean part of Quebec. Spruce and muskeg runs right down to the water. Roughly 17 hectares: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 4.0 km all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Métabetchouan is the closest place, 45 km off. After that come Chambord at 47 km and Roberval at 48 km. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Lac au Foin

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Species logged across Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean include 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. At Lac au Foin the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about -17°C in January to roughly 17°C in July. Cold dominates the calendar on water this far north. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early May. Average temperatures cross freezing around early May in spring and again near mid November in autumn. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. That is the shape of the year on Lac au Foin.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Lac Campestre, 1 km away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the position at Lac au Foin before loading the car.