Fishing Lac Boily in Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec

• Overview

  Lac Boily is a Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean water, Quebec side. The country here is northern bush. The water covers some 12 hectares, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Roughly 2.3 km of bank means you can walk to a fresh area when one goes quiet. For a base, Métabetchouan sits 38 km out. The nearest city of size is Saguenay, 107 km away. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Lac Boily

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Saguenay/Lac-Saint-Jean records list northern pike, Atlantic salmon, lake whitefish and fallfish among the fish reported. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Fish Lac Boily to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 17°C, while January sits near -17°C. This far north the hard season runs and runs. Ice-out usually falls in early May, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early May until roughly mid November. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Lac Boily.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Lac Lionel at 0.7 km is the sensible second choice. Confirm access to Lac Boily locally before you travel.