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

• Overview

  Lac Belois sits in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, out in Quebec. It sits at 465 metres above sea level. The water covers some 69 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. With 5.0 km or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean list. The closest town, Pont Rouge, is 100 km distant. Saguenay is the closest city, 159 km away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Lac Belois

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. 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. Work Lac Belois in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 16°C, the coldest about -20°C. Open water is the exception rather than the rule here. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early May. The water is typically free of ice between early May and early November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan around that when you fish Lac Belois.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Should this one be busy, Lac Ancelin is 1.6 km off. Check the position at Lac Belois before loading the car.