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

• Overview

  Lac au Mirage lies in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec. The surface lies 395 metres up. It measures some 4.23 sq km, and wind has room to build across it. The outline measures near 33 km, so a boat opens up water the bank never reaches. It ranks high for size among our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean listings. Métabetchouan at 34 km is the nearest place to stop. Saguenay sits 91 km out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Lac au Mirage

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name northern pike, Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Lac au Mirage the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 17°C for July and -17°C for January. Everything is compressed into the middle of the year. Look for the thaw near early May; the fishing lifts straight after. The lid tends to go about early May and return around mid November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. It sets the rhythm of the year at Lac au Mirage.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Lac des Sectionnaires is 1.9 km off. Nothing on Lac au Mirage should be assumed from this page alone.