Lac au Menton, Quebec: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Lac au Menton is one of the Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings for Quebec. Height above sea level is 481 metres. This is big water, about 16.17 sq km, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. With about 85 km of shoreline, local advice saves a lot of walking. Size puts it in the front rank of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. Saint-Honoré sits 104 km from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Saguenay is 116 km off. Rules here are straightforward: one set of provincial rules.

• Where to Fish on Lac au Menton

  No depth figure appears in our records, so the bank has to tell you. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list 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 au Menton the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 16°C; the cold one sits at -19°C. The freeze holds for the better part of the year. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early May. Ice clears near early May and comes back about mid November in a typical year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. It holds true on Lac au Menton more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing is mapped in the way of a ramp or car park within a short radius. A wire trace and a big bright lure handle the pike; deep water asks for a heavier spoon. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Failing this one, try Lac Denis, 3.9 km away. Check the position at Lac au Menton before loading the car.